Disclaimer: Contains Spoilers
This summer, millions of pink-clad movie lovers rushed into cinemas for a glimpse of the long awaited Barbie movie. Billboards, social media ads, memes, and a global tour—totaling 150 million dollars worth of marketing—led to extreme amounts of excitement over the pink, glittery film. While many expected the movie to be lighthearted and “girly,” Barbie proved instead to have a much deeper meaning, resulting in a large amount of controversy and dissent. Many online movie rating sites reflect the polarized opinions of the movie, with almost equal numbers of one- and five-star reviews on Google. Despite this, Barbie earned more than one billion dollars in worldwide box office sales in just seventeen days following its release and quickly became an internet sensation. Its nostalgia and feminist messages deeply resonated with both those who grew up playing with the plastic dolls and those who were drawn in by the movie’s buzz.
The Barbie movie depicts the idealistic and very pink Barbie Land, where Barbies and Kens lead seemingly perfect lives, led by the Barbies in various positions of power, and the Kens having the job of “beach.” This is quickly shattered when Stereotypical Barbie begins to have thoughts about death, wakes up with flat feet (oh, the horror!), and her imaginary shower runs cold. After literally falling from her dream house, she seeks the help of “Weird Barbie,” who tells her that in order to solve her problem, she must find the girl playing with her in the Real World and work through the issue with her. Ken tags along with Barbie to travel to the Real World, and they quickly realize how cruel it is compared to their haven of Barbie Land. Their initial adjustment to the Real World results in them getting arrested, alerting Mattel, the company who created Barbie, of their presence. Shortly thereafter, the two separate to find Barbie’s owner. A vision reveals to Barbie a tween girl—named Sasha—as her owner, but after tracking her down, she discovers that the real cause of these malfunctions is Sasha’s mother, Gloria, a Mattel employee. As Mattel employees pursue Barbie, Sasha and Gloria aid her escape to Barbie Land. Unfortunately, Barbie Land had dramatically changed during her time in the Real World, marking only the beginning of Barbie’s unfolding journey.
Turns out, while Barbie was busy finding her owner, Ken started to learn the power and reach of the patriarchy, glorifying the role of masculinity in society. He embraces the power that men have in the Real World, and brings his knowledge of the patriarchy back to Barbie Land. Upon Barbie’s return, they find that the Kens have turned Barbie Land into a caricature of a patriarchal society: the Barbies abandoned their jobs and are serving the Kens as maids and housewives, and the dream houses are turned into “mojo dojo casa houses.” Although Barbie initially feels hopeless, Gloria delivers a striking monologue about the reality of living as a woman in the Real World—the conflicting and impossible standards we must live up to. Through her speech, Gloria works with Stereotypical Barbie, Weird Barbie, and the other discontinued dolls to de-brainwash all Barbies. They ingeniously turn the Kens against each other while the Barbies restore Barbie Land to its former glory.
It’s clear that the Kens struggled with their own identity in Barbie Land, often regarding themselves as only a complement of Barbie, but not an important doll by themselves. Barbie teaches Ken that it’s not “Barbie and Ken,” but rather “it’s Barbie and it’s Ken.” She explains to him what it means to be an independent individual. The movie concludes with Barbie speaking to the spirit of the creator of Barbie, Ruth Handler, hoping to find guidance on her own ending. She decides to become human and live in the Real World, after her emotional and inspiring talk with Ruth, where they reflect on Barbie’s legacy and the role of women and mothers. This emotional moment then leads into a gynecologist joke, and artists Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj close the movie out as the credits roll.
The internet immediately reacted to Barbie, with many calling it subversive and empowering, while others found it offensive and misandrist. Comment sections were filled with a spectrum of opinions on the movie, ranging from angry complaints to praise. Amid the tumult, it is essential to recognize that the true message of the movie is that a hierarchical society is harmful for all involved, and equality and fairness are necessary. In Barbie Land, it’s the Kens who experience marginalization, mirroring the real-world where women are discriminated against.
Although the movie undoubtedly has feminist themes, the primary mission is to promote an egalitarian society, which is what Barbie pushes for at the end in Barbie Land. The Kens are given the opportunity to work for more power, but it is realistic, and mirrors how women have worked for power in the Real World today—it isn’t simply handed to them instantly. Barbie’s commentary on the patriarchy serves as a reminder that both men and women are impacted by these stereotypes and expectations. Both the Real World and Barbie Land must work towards equality, in both directions.
Barbie garnered a large amount of hate, with even Ben Shapiro and Ted Cruz pushing against it, but the movie itself is truly an amazing cinematic experience. The vibrant, candy colored set brought life to the iconic doll, creating a beautiful backdrop to the movie. The well-known director, Greta Gerwig, balanced both comedy and a deeper meaning of feminism and equality. While this message may be fairly surface-level, the commentary on motherhood and the experience of being a woman was emotional and resonated with many, leaving viewers teary-eyed.
Ultimately, the Barbie movie reminds us of the true purpose of the toy—to inspire young girls, as a career woman and role model—not as a figure for us to compare ourselves to. Beyond its visual impressiveness and storyline, the film stands as a celebration of both women and equality. Although many have misunderstood the movie as anti-men, it truly is pushing for fairness and justice on both sides, and will endure as a remarkable film.