Jemima Harrison
Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie is set to be released in July, but it’s already taken social media by storm.
The film is sure to be one of the leading motion pictures this year: its trailer, which teases audiences with a nostalgic welcome to Barbie Land, has already racked up nine million views within 24 hours of dropping.
Frenzy
Despite the Barbie frenzy, Gerwig has continued to leave viewers guessing the plot.
Star Margot Robbie was just as ominous. She teased fans in an NME interview: “All we can say is whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that.”
“To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.”
Our only real clue comes from the synopsis, which says that when Barbie is expelled from Barbie Land for being less than perfect, she sets off for the human world to find true happiness.
Eagle-eyed fans have noticed that the trailer contained nods to The Wizard of Oz, which has been taken as a hint about the journey Barbie will find herself on.
Gerwig has previously written films with a feminist undertone, including the hit films Lady Bird and Little Women. With this in mind, could Barbie be another feminist commentary on our society today? The trailer seems to suggest this could be the case.
Barbie is Everything
The first easter egg that points to this is mirrored in the jaw-dropping cast of the film and their introductory posters.
The Barbies include Emma Mackey’s Barbie, who has a Noble Prize in physics, Dua Lipa’s Barbie, who is a mermaid, and Ana Cruz Kanye’s Barbie, who is a Supreme Court Justice.
“The Barbies are expected to be everything.”
There is also a pregnant Barbie, a Barbie who is a lawyer, a doctor, an author, and a diplomat. The Kens cast includes Ncuti Gatwa, Simu Liu, and Kingsley Ben-Adir, who are introduced only as ‘Kens.’
The female Barbies are expected to be everything. Not only do they have to look perfect, which undeniably all the Barbies do, but they also have to have exceptional careers, be a mother, be a friend, and even be a mystical mermaid.
This is summarised in Robbie’s poster which expresses that ‘Barbie is everything.’
The Kens, on the other hand, can be ‘just Ken,’ ‘another Ken,’ ‘Ken again,’ and ‘he’s Ken too.’
It seems Gerwig could be commenting on the multidimensional expectations women must maintain to be deemed successful in modern society. Meanwhile, men are perceived as naturally successful due to their gender.
Alexa, play ‘The Man’ by Taylor Swift!
Barbie and Beauty Standards
The other nod towards feminism is based on the lore of Mattel, the original creators of Barbie. She was originally created in 1959 as a fashion doll, becoming an adored staple of many young girls’ childhoods for the next six decades.
“The beauty standard for young women seems to become more inaccessible with each trending product of the month.”
Up until very recently, Barbie dolls have fashioned slim bodies and showcased perfect makeup and hair, alongside ‘grown-up’ outfits for little girls to admire. The beauty standard for young women seems to become more inaccessible with each trending product of the month. The pressure to look a certain way is imposed on even younger generations of women as time moves on.
Mattel has made strives to become more inclusive, including dolls with different body types, different skin tones, and disabilities. But in the first film trailer, Gerwig highlights the immense pressure the entertainment industry and wider society have on both young girls and women.
She displays Robbie as a giant Barbie who fashions the traditional impeccable makeup, hair, and skin-tight clothing, towering above a group of young girls clamouring at her feet in awe.
Here, could it be that Barbie represents the ever-growing, unreachable beauty standards that society has created for women? In the movie, will Gerwig rebel against the imposition of perfection expected of women through Barbie’s journey to the human world?
Social Commentary
I, personally, really hope that Gerwig uses this blockbuster as a stage for social commentary.
The attention this film will receive through its outstanding cast, directors, and creators would be a brilliant opportunity to raise questions about the state of our society. Perhaps the imaginary, whimsical, exciting world of Barbie that Gerwig has created may reflect the female experience in a way that has not been achieved before.
Meanwhile, the direction of the plot is still certainly up for debate. Perhaps a feminist element of the movie has been debunked.
The film releases into cinemas on July 21st – and it can’t come quickly enough!
Featured image courtesy of XINYI SONG via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
jemimaharrison_
Hello! My name is Jemima, and I am currently studying history at the University of Warwick! I have a passion for writing, and absolutely love what Empoword Journalism stands for - I can't wait to share and read stories and ideas together!