One of the most famous toys in the world just had its live-action version, and it is not what everyone expected. "Barbie" stars Margot Robbie as the titular character and Ryan Gosling as Ken.
Directed by Oscar-nominated director Greta Gerwig, "Barbie" explores the challenges that women face in a patriarchal society.
The movie follows Barbie as she goes about her daily routine in Barbieland along with the other Barbies and Kens. She wakes up, takes a bath, eats breakfast and picks a dress to wear for the day. Everything that she does in Barbieland is basically what every child that owns a Barbie does with their toy.
However, she started to feel different and she began feeling sadness, emptiness, and loss. Her magic disappeared, and she did not know how to get it back.
With the help of weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), Barbie discovered that her owner created a narrative for her and turned her into depressed Barbie, and the only way to solve it is by visiting the human world and checking up on her human.
Ken tagged along as he did not want to Barbie to leave without him, and after a sequence of fun and colorful travels, they arrived in the human world.
Unfortunately, the human world is the exact opposite of Barbieland. Barbie discovered that women were not respected and that men were in control. Even Mattel, the company that manufactures the toy, does not have a woman in the board.
Barbie was confused and overwhelmed with the situation, but Ken wasn't. In fact, he discovered the patriarchy and the first thing that he thought of was bringing it into Barbieland.
Ken left Barbie in the human world, but luckily, she ran into Gloria, the mother of the child that owns her. It turns out that Gloria (America Ferrera) manifested depressed Barbie since she began playing with Barbie again after she drifted apart from her teenage daughter, Sasha (Ariana Greenbalt.)
As Barbie got to know about the human world more, she understood the difficulties that women face, and she lost the spark and positivity that she once felt.
Barbie slowly became human and knew that she does not fit in Barbieland anymore as she can't pretend that everything is fine when women in the real world has to fight for their rights to be heard and exist peacefully.
What I Love About Barbie
The movie is one of the few that I've seen that correctly shows what it is like being a woman in a world dominated and controlled by men. It is a struggle to fit in, especially when society always tells you what you should and should not be, may it be about your looks, your attitude, your personality, the way you dress, and the way you talk.
Women are expected to be smart and mature, but not too smart that we'll overshadow the men. Having to dumb ourselves down and is expected to be eye candy just to be deemed desirable.
Gloria's speech perfectly sums up all of these challenges, and she gave one of the most powerful monologues that I have seen in a long time.
The musical numbers are amazing, the cinematography is breathtaking, and the light moments made me laugh. The scene-stealing acts from America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Ryan Gosling and Michael Cera are worth a standing ovation.
The other Barbies and Kens in the film also did an fantastic job, with some being people of color such as Alexandra Shipp, Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ramzan Miah and Ana Cruz Kayne.
Other Barbies such as Sharon Rooney and Nicola Coughlan are Barbies represents body positivity, and Hari Nef, a transwoman whose visibility in a hit movie serves as a win for the transgender community, especially in a time when they're constantly being attacked.
What I Expected More Of
Although we got a glimpse of Gloria and Sasha's relationship, I think they were not shown enough. It would have been nicer to see how Sasha became detached from her mother when she became a teenager, and how that sudden change affected Gloria.
It would also have been nicer if they showed more of how harmful the patriarchy is for both men and women, and how all it does is suppress us, especially those who are considered the minority.
The Backlash
A lot of men took their opinion about the movie online, expressing their distaste about the premise of film, with some even claiming that it is "anti-men" and "too woke."
However, if only they paid attention to the movie and with what happened to Ken towards the end, they'll realize that the story is about them too, and how they don't have to conform into any societal norm just to be "manly."
Pointing out all of the things that makes women feel degraded, unsafe, and suppressed is not "woke." This only means that we can now confidently call out the behaviors that we have endured from our surroundings for so long.
Final Thoughts
"Barbie" is the film that every women must watch as it serves as a love letter to us and it acknowledges all that we do for the people around us, whether we are appreciated for it or not.
Greta Gerwig knows her target audience, and it shows that she wanted to tell this story for a long time now. The precise depiction of womanhood is what tugged our heartstrings, and made us sob in the theaters.
As Mattel announced that it will create its own "Mattel toy universe" following the success of "Barbie," I do hope they keep the theme going.
It was recently announced that Polly Pocket will have its live-action take and it will star Lilly Collins. Even though a lot of people are against the idea, I am curious to see how it can equate to or even surpass the success of "Barbie."
Whatever Mattel's plan is, I say it is refreshing to see new movies in the theaters. If Hollywood was able to keep pumping out superhero movies for a decade now, I believe they can switch to something as simple as a kids toy to tell stories that are closer to the human experience.
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