Lauryn Clarke
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie has become the hit of the summer and is an absolute must-watch for Barbies and Kens alike. However, it has not escaped controversy altogether. Some critics question whether the movie pushes an anti-men agenda.
BARBIE MOVIE OVERVIEW
Margot Robbie is at the forefront of Gerwig’s star-studded cast. Robbie plays the role of Stereotypical Barbie who lives in the idyllic BarbieLand. In this magical dreamworld, all the Barbies can be whatever they want to be – a doctor, the President, or even a rubbish collector. However, Stereotypical Barbie soon realises that life in plastic is not always fantastic. She starts having thoughts about dying and is told she has to visit the Real World to remedy this. From there on out, it’s a wild and emotional ride.
“complex themes of womanhood and motherhood”
At its heart, this film is a mother-daughter story. In an interview with ScreenRant, Gerwig explains that because Barbie was originally made by Ruth Handler for her daughter Barbara (aka Barbie), this had to be at the core of what her adaptation is about. We see this mother-daughter bond through Robbie and America Ferrera, who plays Gloria. This duo work so well together in exploring complex themes of womanhood and motherhood. Every girl I’ve spoken to so far felt emotional after watching their touching performances in the movie.
AN EYE FOR DETAIL
The sets and cinematography of this movie are gorgeous. The Dreamhouses even look remarkably like their real-world plastic inspiration. This is because production designer Sarah Greenwood scaled the Dreamhouses accurately to size. She made them 23% smaller in relation to the human actors to mimic the way a Barbie doll is always bigger than her house.
“The world ran out of pink”
Many added touches like these were Gerwig’s ideas, as she was inspired by classic musicals such as An American in Paris. However, they had some unintended consequences. Speaking with Architectural Digest, Greenwood claimed that “the world ran out of pink” as construction of the set caused a shortage of Rosco fluorescent pink paint.
The costumes, which are simply fantastic, cannot go without mention. Costume designer Jacqueline Durran – who previously worked with Gerwig on Little Women – absolutely knocked it out of the park. Each Barbie looks straight off a shelf in a toy store. Looking at Kate McKinnon (Weird Barbie) in this film, you are sure to be reminded of exactly what your “weird Barbie” looked like (though I admit mine was missing an arm and covered in sharpie with only one of two pigtails left). Each Barbie importantly has her own distinctive style, but nobody looks out of place when they are all together.
IS GERWIG’S BARBIE MOVIE PRO-FEMINISM OR ANTI-MEN?
This movie has unexpectedly caused a lot of controversy. All you have to do is look at IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes and you’ll see 1* reviews claiming this movie is “anti-men” or “pushing a feminist agenda”. So is this film really anti-men? Absolutely not IMO.
“only serves to portray men the way that movies have been portraying women for decades.”
Just because all the Barbies have jobs and the Kens have vague titles like “beach” in BarbieLand, it doesn’t mean that Gerwig is indoctrinating women into viewing men as obsolete accessories. In fact, this only serves to portray men the way that movies have been portraying women for decades. At least Gerwig shows the harm of being reductionist about anyone, as she presents the importance of having a sense of purpose and belonging for Barbies and Kens alike.
Using the word ‘patriarchy’ and showing it in action does not make a misandrist. People may have valid criticisms about this movie, but saying it is ‘anti-men’ or ‘pushing the feminist agenda’ is not one of them.
A PRETTY IN PINK WATCH FOR EVERYONE
Regardless of gender, this movie is a powerful, fun-filled watch for everyone. In order to fully embrace the Barbie vibes, I recommend dressing up in your finest pinks and going to see it in the cinema with friends – it’s what Barbie would want!
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Featured image courtesy of UKinUSA on Flickr. Image licence can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Lauryn Clarke
Lauryn is currently working as a coordinator for an education charity, but enjoys writing articles about pop culture and politics in her free time. She enjoys pizza, white wine, and ranting on Twitter.