#barbie analysis

I liked women having the chance to point out the impossible expectations in the society, even if they couldn't go as far as to name the perpetrators or acknowledge the root of it, but I get that, it was not a political movie, it's supposed to be goofy and fun. I very strongly found myself in Barbie when she steps into the our world and just starts noticing everything that's wrong with it; being stared at with the undertone of violence, construction crew failing to be female, the boards and corporations failing to be lead by women exclusively, that's what I'm feeling every day when I look around! It's wrong, and I'm glad they pointed it out.

One small thing that chafed on me was Barbie genuinely being scared of not having perfect body, being upset at tiny things like flat feet or cellulite, why would that be an issue in a female-dominated society? I would have loved if nobody blinked at it because it made absolutely no threat to their political superiority or their value. It also felt a bit odd when Barbie complimented a lady of being beautiful; at that point Barbie didn't hate the signs of aging or reality on others, but still was scared of them on herself. That part didn't translate well for me.

Wish more Barbies had lesbian energy! Weird Barbie had to cover that all by herself and she did an amazing job, but like, get her a girlfriend, come on.

I also loved Barbies and later, women, stating proudly that they know what they're worth and absolutely refusing to be humble about any of it. I loved how appearance of Barbies basically didn't matter, they were all respectable, smart, achieved, valuable and admirable community members, with agency and free will. In a female-dominated world it really does not matter, it was kinda funny that they had to look like barbies, in a world where there was absolutely no need to look like that.

this decision of solely men as the patriarchy and women as the oppressed ignores so much of the nuances of race, gender, sexuality, disability and culture and how that impacts your treatment in society

So something I want to address because I've heard it said before: Barbie is not a kid's movie. It's a movie some kids will enjoy, but it ain't aimed at them, it's aimed at adults in the context of them having been kids in the past. The movie's rated PG-13, it talks about a lot of social issues and has a lot of innuendo which will fly right over children's heads, and the characters you're supposed to relate to are all adults - something which I found very notable, with Gloria in particular.

Gloria's the part of the movie that I enjoyed the most. I'd heard NOTHING about her before watching the movie, despite not really trying to avoid spoilers. The whole patriarchy thing with Ken and its overthrow? Saw a lot about that. But not much about Gloria.

I loved the subversion the movie pulled off, with showing those flashbacks to Barbie of Gloria and her daughter, and making the audience think that it was her DAUGHTER who needed help since well, isn't that normally how these movies go?

Only to have it be Gloria instead, for HER to be the one with anxiety and thoughts of death and whose life wasn't quite working out the way she hoped, who was struggling but still doing her best and felt like, while she was a mom, she was being characterized as MORE than just that.

The campy elements were fun, and I loved how Barbieland functioned like how kids play with the dolls, it was a neat aspect of the worldbuilding.

Just in general the world was really campy and fun, and I think that's what younger children will be able to really enjoy about the movie.

As for the whole patriarchy plotline... eh. That I'm pretty mixed on.

Like, I think it did a nice job laying out the power of representation, how it feels to see people like yourself everywhere in diverse, powerful positions, like seeing Ken's reaction to actually seeing men hold power, be respected, be looked up to. To feel like he was enough, just for who he was.

But the part with the Kens taking over and making everything a patriarchy with all the Barbies being brainwashed and turned into accessories for them... I didn't think that worked as well? Especially with them all just forgetting who they were. It didn't really feel like it was addressing how patriarchy actually worked, it was really shallow.

I did appreciate that the more outcast characters, the ones who never really fit into Barbie Land or Kendom, being immune to the brainwashing, since they were on the outskirts of both.

I also thought the resolution didn't really show how to deal with patriarchy all that well? Like I've seen people on tumblr talking about how the movie showed how patriarchy doesn't even really benefit men, but the Kens honestly appeared to be having a great time until the Barbies purposely pitted them against each other - and even then they ended up coming together. I mean, Ken cries at the end and talks about how he wasn't really interested in Patriarchy that much after finding out that it wasn't about horses and that the fridges were too small and that running things was too much work, but it felt like sour grapes more than anything, there wasn't really lead-up to that. It was very Tell, Don't Show.

That message was ALSO greatly undercut by Barbieland becoming a Matriarchy again with just a little hint of more consideration for the Kens, maybe. So like, is it only supposed to be patriarchy that's harmful to everyone, or is matriarchy just special? Like is matriarchy ALSO something that sucks for the women under it?

I think that while the whole messaging about how patriarchal societies function was muddled, the messaging about being yourself, loving yourself, and you being enough just by virtue of who you are was much stronger. I really liked the whole message about Ken needing to learn who he is without Barbie, that's he's Kenough on his own, that's he doesn't need to be defined by his relationship with her. And Stereotypical Barbie learning that even though she may not be one of the barbies with a particular job, she's still enough, she can still do things, she doesn't need to wait for someone else.

The entire song anneliese and erika were talking about their problems and how much they dream of freedom,away from their responsibilities and this is their final decision

They both understand their situation and most importantly how they can't just walk away,no matter how much they want to do so

Anneliese is aware that despite everything she and her kingdom receive will be great,she loves someone else but knows that as a princess her people come first. She'll marry king Dominic to save her Kingdom at the cost of her own happiness

Erika knows that she can't just leave. It doesn't matter how terrible and unfair her life is,she's forced to work for long years as she barely gets anything in return. But she still remains hopeful

What does this mean? It means the animators didn’t feel like drawing a kitchen, probably. But nah, prepare for some overthought theories.

Elina is too poor to have a kitchen. She survives by hunting and gathering in the Magic Meadow. Given the discrimination she is shown to face for her disability, its not unreasonable to assume she might have trouble finding employment. IIRC there are no mentions of her having a job.

Alternatively, (and again, this is IIRC) we don’t really see fairies exchanging money, so they may not be a capitalist society, so it may not be possible for Elina to be poor in the traditional sense. However, its still possible she faces discrimination in housing. This leads back to scenario 1, where she is forced to live in a flower and gather wild plants to eat.

It’s also possible its just a Fairy cultural thing. Maybe nobody really has kitchens, or only the really wealthy have kitchens, and most fairies use some sort of communal kitchen located in each community. This goes along with the not-a-capitalist-society theory (and is my preferred explanation). If you look at Azura’s house, I don’t think we really saw a kitchen? (again, all off memory so I could be wrong) She had a dining room and tea stuff. Regardless, even if she has a kitchen, given that she is one of the most powerful 8 or 9 fairies in the kingdom, her home may be well above standard. 

We also don’t see much of what fairies in Fairytopia eat outside of cakes and tea. It may be typical for Fairies to get by hunting and gathering wild resources. Their world may be more plentiful and easier to live off the land than what we’re used to. (Or, their physiology is different than a humans and they literally just live of cakes and cookies and its healthy for them? Sign me up.)

Elina also serves Azura cupcakes and pastries when she visits her in Magic of The Rainbow. This could go along with the communal kitchen theory, or she could have just bought them. Or all my theories are wrong and Elina just has a kitchen hidden behind some of Peony’s petals somewhere. 

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Idk if this is an unpopular opinion but I kinda like how Barbie shows some grace to the Kens/men in the film instead of completely demonizing them for following patriarchy? They didn’t go about it perfectly though so this is my semi-analysis to work out my feelings.

Basically, Kens were treated lesser than Barbies, and Barbie was not kind towards Ken. Obviously, he’s not owed nor entitled to Barbie’s attention at all times of the day, or her affection, and it’s understandable why she didn’t find it comfortable to be around him. However, Barbie did treat Ken as her accessory, and that dynamic resulted in Ken relying on her as his sole purpose (which reflects in Barbie and Ken marketing in the real world). His arc was to figure out that it’s okay to be alone because he is Kenough as is. Ken doesn’t need Barbie, and Barbie doesn’t need Ken. They are enough as individuals instead of a doll and her male accessory.

Another unique take on patriarchy hurting men is how the Barbie CEO (the guy Will Ferrell plays) is depicted. He’s obviously a greedy buisnessman, but unlike the other guys in office, he actually has a passion for Barbie, even if misguided. He’s the only man to wear pink accessories in the real world and talks about Barbieland like it’s a real alternate universe, and actually cares about what little girls look up to. He also admits at the end that he always wanted to be comfortable enough to want to tickle and be tickled by other men in a platonic manner. To me at least, he reminds me of boys who had an interest in playing with dolls but were denied it because it wasn’t “manly” and it was “gay”.

Finally, the biggest thing that stuck out was Allan and how he was the only guy to not fall for patriarchy. On my first viewing I did wonder why Allan specifically disliked the way Kens were handling things but it stuck out that Allan is Allan. He doesn’t have identity issues bc he’s not a Ken. He never has to question his worth bc his story doesn’t involve being tied to Barbie (instead being considered in a marriage with Midge/a gay counterpart to Ken). His doll line was discontinued and for the most part was it’s own thing. Narratively, it makes sense why he would dislike how the Kens were beginning to run things.

The way Ken’s turn to being an “antagonist” was fueled by his desire to be accepted by Barbie romantically (or even platonically) and not because he genuinely believed that women are lesser. It reminds me of boys who never worried about girls and women until men in higher positions (podcast dudes, “alpha males” etc.) tell them that they should view women as lesser. Then, these boys change, and begin to categorize women which in turn, influences them to view women as lesser. They may have been good guys, but unfortunately, it’s up to them to find out who they really are and if they still remain misogynists, then they’re no longer good.

Really hoping this film inspires guys that women isn’t an end goal and that they are good enough as is. They don’t need to base their self worth on anything except themselves and only then, they will begin to respect women bc they too, are also victims of patriarchy.

With that said, the one legit criticism I have (not including minor nitpicks) is that Ken should have apologized to Barbie like she did to him. Ken obviously was hurting, but he raided her house and tried to change the constitution in favor of Kens while hurting the Barbies. And again, it was all for her validation. He still hurt Barbie by doing something that was horrible to her and never said sorry once. I do feel Barbie should have apologized regardless, but Ken should’ve also said something because lashing out is different than changing Barbieland into his own thing. I get it was a subtle criticism that total matriarchy wasn’t the move either, but Ken still damaged Barbie’s things and changed her friends because he felt hurt.

Anyways, this movie is great and a 10/10. Greta Gerwig is up there as one of my favorite directors.