What’s tall, blonde and plastic all over? It will be the summer movie of course. Barbie is a roller-coaster ride that is anything but linear, full of twists and turns that are more emotional than they are entertaining. A poignant picture of a young girl growing into womanhood by Greta Gerwig portrays this iconic, tall woman; her triumphal manifesto on stature is feminist expression, which embraces its own contradictions, joys and sorrows, limitations and freedoms.
Greta Gerwig’s script (co-authored with Noah Baumbach who is also his personal partner) has many layers as seen in Barbie: it pays homage to the idealistic Vitruvian lady decked out in pink while maintaining a critical stance against what she symbolizes. In Barbieland under Gerwig’s direction there are Barbies and Kens frolicking under sunlit skies. For decades it has been advertised as the ultimate dollhouse by Mattel (both on screen and off barbie creator). You name a color you find it here. Wanted salmon? Here it is. Rose? Oh yes! Hot? Just ask Barbie at the Sun when he rises! Are we even thinking about this movie without being millennial? But even if it’s full of possibilities and excitement, every day in Barbie’s life starts from zero – just like any other sitcomy showtune earworm Lizzo’s “Pink”. There are no choices as everything must meet the same perfection that has become an illusory choice.
That sums up Barbieland perfectly. Everything is as it should be. Women can be doctors, reporters, construction workers or Supreme Court judges or they can even become presidents themselves . But for Ken… well he’s just Ken really.. The production design by Sarah Greenwood was great incorporating actual props with sets that were reminiscent of fantasy playhouses.
Each individual Barbie and Ken conveys child-like optimism and enthusiasm and performs for the audience with a delightful lack of sophistication. The ensemble is star-studded: Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Simu Liu as well as Hati Nef, Alexandra Shipp,Ncuti Gatwa all give their Barbies or Kens some individuality that prevents the world from falling into a pit of drone-like sameness. Like children playing at dolls, it’s a society that teems with personality and human relationships. In particular, Ryan Gosling excels in making Barbie’s eternal sidekick’s subplot one about “Ken Discovers Sexism.” His complete lack of malice makes him something resembling an air-headed puppy; I found myself feeling sorry for him when he thoughtlessly began to embody certain dogmatic misogynistic notions prevalent within our society.
But Robbie is clearly the star of this show. It’s her role, her megawatt charisma perfectly matched to the world’s most famous doll. A naive sort of optimism underlies Margot Robbie’s performance which gradually gets ripped apart by realities in Real World (as the script calls this setting and its name also appears on one of its props). It is not an easy watch. As with Ken I wanted Barbie to be ignorant about the hardships faced in real life and felt my heart sink every time she discovered new levels of self-awareness. There isn’t a shadow of doubt that Robbie deserves accolade for juggling so many things at once in what starts out as a goofy film but later turns out to be much more serious than we had thought.;
Undoubtedly, America Ferrera is perfect in her role just like Margot Robbie and Gosling. Born into a Latino family, she was both my childhood icon and Barbie doll simultaneously, thus this The Real World is quite poignantly guided by an actress who influenced my youth the most. Our eyes are glued to Gloria, especially Mattel’s employee, living among us who experience it all with the heroine – ten times more than anybody else. She reminds us that our mothers had already been women when we were still children. It’s not about how grown-up we have become; inside us lie little unsure beings always marching ahead.
This is genius on the part of Barbie; it’s a fantasy but blended with reality. Yes, this is real life – rude people in the streets, corporate world with its executives’ arrogance and street harassment – but this does not make it too grimly realistic to deprive one of joy Riding through the offices at Mattel. And there Will Ferrell as a hilarious CEO reminding everyone about funny things taking place around here making everything funnier. Also notice that even the “portal” from the real world to Barbieland allows for such playfulness since it shows how unrealistically childish those entering either side are yet normal in Real World perspectives.
Life cycles are dealt with as an important theme throughout this film; . This words come out of Barbie’s mouth when she meets an old lady at a bus stop: “you’re beautiful.” Her voice carries a note of worship as if she told some heavenly truth about the great wonder called growing old in any woman’s life To live a lifetime that can only be qualified by every day you wake up rather than employment count. Every time I see her dressed young and fresh I am reminded that Barbie is born again each time I grow older.
Gerwig demonstrates her power by depicting femininity which has no age but keeps influencing us even though we remain to be a part of her existence throughout. Nonetheless, the underlying idea of this film is that feminist capitalism represented by Barbie is faulty in itself – professional excellence does not guarantee women’s freedom because complete systems are built on our oppression. Additionally, the movie shows how much it depends on “representation” as an instrument of social rethinking. When one thinks of Barbieland Barbies you would imagine them having every job under the sun, but who makes all decisions in her office? Given a chance to make just one wish, I would certainly demand an opportunity to delve more into the topic about Barbie and its influence on beauty standards besides a funny joke over the fourth wall.
However, there’s an incredibly deep understanding here of what becoming a woman from being a girl entails. As for Barbie’s own “maturation,” it’s both difficulties and fascination. This movie has such a lovely ending that depicts growth for Barbie as something other than just getting a job like landing in healthcare clinics meant exclusively for women or accepting intimate hygiene products as part of normal life.
Barbie, full of love for a well-established culture, reminds us that we can’t help but outgrow our childhood innocence. This is a nostalgic and bitter-sweet experience. It raises an important query: if the woman whom the world depends on to guide it has felt fear, why then should we impose on ourselves this expectation to live without anxiety or regret? Barbie tells us to take risks and be okay with not knowing everything because she too was once frightened.
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