The Real Meaning of Barbie (And That Surprise Ending) | Feminism Series

if gretiker Riggs Barbie made one thing clear it's that being a woman as joyous and Incredibly nuanced and experience as it can be is no easy feat but to many that's what makes the film so special I also just learned to cry first I got one tier and then I got a whole bunch and with the box office stats to back it up Barbie has struck the hearts of moviegoers and women in particular worldwide from storming movie theaters and swarms of pink to the emergence of touching Tick-Tock Trends celebrating girlhood it's clear the film's success is operating on a deeper level through Barbie women feel seen and heard but why what do the film's themes say about being a real ordinary woman Barbie is a film about being human here's our take on what Barbie's final transformation says about women's larger struggle to have Society acknowledge their Humanity the ways the film is in conversation with modern feminism and the real conclusion Mattel needs to take from this movie's major success to the general public Barbie has long been viewed as an extraordinary woman an ideal of section intellect and Beauty for young girls to Aspire to in our introduction to barbieland is no different each Barbie we meet is smart beautiful and talented how come you're so amazing but by the end of the film stereotypical Barbie willingly trades her perfect life in Barbie land for a normal ordinary one as a real woman the cellulite bad breath and intense waves of emotion that Barbie initially saw as things to be fixed become traits that she is ready to live with being a human can be pretty uncomfortable I know humans make things up like patriarchy and Barbie just to deal with how uncomfortable it is The Human Experience is Laden with complicated emotions and imperfections but Barbie brilliantly depicts the added weight of the female experience and what women have to go through in order to be seen as human she's not dead she's just having an existential crisis while her wit charm and confidence leads to respect in Barbie land in the real world that's certainly not the case women are socialized to go after an unattainable ideal with the idea that once they finally reach that point of perfection then they'll finally get taken seriously but as Barbie finds out in the real world and the Mojo Dojo Casa house it can feel nearly impossible to get anyone to see your true value when living as a woman within a patriarchal society but we don't only see this through Barbie in fact it's Gloria who truly shows Barbie what it means to be a woman I didn't even go on that cruise I wanted your school for Apple because I didn't have enough vacation days and your dad's allergic to side oh while we initially assume Barbie these real world connection is with Sasha we soon come to find out that it was actually her mother Gloria that Barbie needed to find all along stuck in deep morning of her own girlhood and feeling like she's losing her connection to her daughter as she grows into a young woman glorious sadness is the Catalyst for Barbie's malfunctions I got sad and weird maybe because I couldn't be like you I ended up making you like me her ordinariness is what makes her relatable Gloria empathizes the true sadness of growing up and discovering the harsh realities of being a woman but her human perspective allows Barbie to make sense of her hopelessness it is literally impossible to be a woman you are so beautiful and so smart and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough Gloria's rousing monologue brutally examines the excruciating hardships that come with being a woman in return giving Barbie the motivation necessary to regain power of Barbie land I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single Other Woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us through watching Gloria find her own inner confidence and sense of self-worth Marty also realizes her own desire for that kind of deep connection even if it does mean accepting the downsides too while being a woman in a patriarchal society is fraught with problems Barbie makes it clear that the issue isn't femininity or something inherent to women and uplifts and celebrates the beauty of embracing Womanhood fully I want to be part of the people that make meaning not the thing that's made I want to do me imagining I don't want to be the idea it is it is this ability to fully feel and her new friends recognizing her Humanity that finally makes Barbie a real woman and by finding confidence in her inner voice Gloria reconnects with her daughter and creates a happier and more fulfilling life for herself and although Barbie sheds her voluminous hair and glitzy outfits for plain Blazers and gyno appointments she's opened her heart to the nuanced yet beautiful experience of humanity in the end becoming an ordinary woman isn't about what she has to give up but about what she gains by walking open eyed into the full experience of Womanhood so being human is not something I need to ask for or something that I just discover I am although Mattel might not say so Barbie is undoubtedly a feminist film yet centering the story around a figure with such a controversial history with feminism was not necessarily easy to navigate the team had to make the film feel relevant to Modern conversations while simultaneously grappling with the doll's past luckily gerwig's inherent knack for emotionally moving stories centering complex female characters gives Barbie the emotional residence necessary to achieve an impactful feminist story do this feminism has been through many waves and changes since Barbie's introduction in 1959 and she's been labeled as a bad role model or even the source of the problem on more than one occasion so the framing of the film where even Barbie herself has things to learn about real Womanhood allowed the film to contend with a more problematic parts of Barbie's past while also attempting to imagine a more positive path for her in the future while some of the film's approach to feminism may feel slightly on the nose it seems that its creators knew that it needed to be in order to get the point across to everyone you have to be their mommies but not remind them of their mommy any power you have must be masked under a giggle the campiness and comedy allow the film to navigate tough conversations in a relatable engaging way the movie is directly in conversation with Barbie's history as a paragon of a very specific ideal feminine beauty and the problems that has created for women and girls in the real world for decades while it took Mattel until the 80s to add dolls of color to the Barbie roster and even longer to incorporate different body types diversity is an inherent component of gerwig's Barbie land the film is also meta in its awareness of star Margot Robbie's Beauty breaking the fourth wall to poke fun at the idea of her being upset by becoming normal by openly taking Jabs at Barbie's complicated history the film assures viewers that the creators aren't afraid of contending what the issues head on her week is aware that Barbie has not always been an inclusive figure and uses absurdity and Camp to paint a diverse portrait of femininity to the diverse audience engaging with the film diving into the complexity of it and not running away from it but like looking at all the thorniness and stepping into it and this self-awareness that allows the film's emotional blows to land as well thanks to gerwig's sensibilities as not only a feminist filmmaker but an indie one as well with ladybird and Little Women under her belt it's clear that Gerwig has a great talent for telling intimate stories of Womanhood and I'm so sick of people saying that that love is just all a woman is fit for I'm so sick of it and rather than just being a surface level takedown of the patriarchy Gerwig expertly wheeze in emotionally grounded story components that not only give Barbie a feminist Edge but a human perspective it was a way to be like this is only ever made by human beings the movies dolls human beings make them one part of the ending does slightly deflate the film's larger conversation about the negative effects of the patriarchy however the relative ease with which the Barbies Take Back Control of barbieland makes the fact that the real-life patriarchy isn't even really dealt with at all in the end feel even more pronounced of course dismantling our patriarchal society in the real world is going to take a lot more than some subterfuge during a campfire sing-along but the fact that the movie kind of seems to just accept that there won't be any change outside of Barbie land feels out of line with the rest of the film Gloria's idea for an ordinary Barbie is powerful as it shows not only her personal growth but also Echoes the film's rejection of universal beauty standards and unattainable ideals that hold women back from reaching their true potential she's not extraordinary she just has a flattering top and she wants to get through the day feeling kind of good about herself but she still must run it by Mattel's male CEO who initially shoots the idea down and only accepts it not because it's a good idea but because it will be profitable terrible idea yeah that's going to make money oh having one of the final messages of the film B sure will pretend to care about you normies as long as we can make money off of you from the very people that Finance the movie feels incongruent with the rest of the film's Embrace of normality and loving yourself as you are or more cynically like the company showing its hand it makes it clear that despite the tireless efforts of the Barbies in the real world men and the dollar still have a tight grip on society but this doesn't mean that the entire film's message is for naught sure the real world might not have been fixed yet but that doesn't mean it can't be in the future overcoming the patriarchy in Barbie land showed Barbie and Gloria and Sasha how important it is to not give up on affecting change even when it feels like the odds are insurmountable and ending with Barbie making the choice to live as an ordinary Woman in real life and gives a feeling of hope that with conscious effort and teamwork on our parts change can come to the real world too you save Barbie land from patriarch that is very much a group effort maybe yourself a facing Barbie maybe I'm not Barbie anymore the success of Barbie was revitalizing for Mattel who had been grappling with how to rekindle interest in brand IP for years prior to the film's release but it seems that they might have taken the wrong conclusion from Barbie's stunning success they've jam-packed a years-long film slate with movies about toys including content ranging from a JJ Abrams helmed Hot Wheels adaptation to Lena Dunham's take on Polly Pocket fronted by Lily Collins it seems that in their minds Barbie doing so well means people just want to see every single childhood toy they can remember living out some kind of dramatic story but Barbie being a well-known toy wasn't what really led to the film's runaway success All Things Considered Barbie was a huge risk that felt both like there's story in that and it felt terrifying because it felt like oh you can really there's a lot of places you could put a foot wrong yet somehow it worked not because it was a movie about a toy but because it was a movie about women made by women the Barbie phenomenon proves that what women really want to see are female focused stories capturing them as people with depth and Nuance not just surface level strong female characters tagged onto a story for brownie points and importantly it also proved that films about women aren't just some unprofitable Niche but something audiences across the board are interested in and willing to pay to see Hollywood has long shown preference for male characters seemingly operating under the assumption that they're seen as the default human that everyone can relate to while audiences will have a harder time connecting with women there's also long been a bias towards male audiences because of the assumption that young men were the main people paying for movie tickets but the truth has always been that audiences regardless of gender will absolutely show up to watch well-written female protagonists across genres Barbie's success wasn't a fluke but a direct result of Gerwig and Company working to create a character that felt real and honest and a story that was compelling and didn't just rest on its Laurel while Barbie's iconic IP was bound to create Buzz regardless of the names attached the Barbie phenomenon was so impactful largely due to the amazing creative teams both in front of and behind the camera this is a good product of so many discussions and so many references and I can't even tell you the meetings we've had about pink production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer truly brought the world of Barbie to life with their intricate and detail-oriented sets replicating the sheer vibrant Joy of girlhood in contrast with many Blockbuster filmmakers relying on building entire worlds solely using green screens in bfx gurwig and Robbie held steadfast on conveying the magic of Barbie on screen through practical designs that show their deep care for the subject matter it would have been easy to do it in front of just a pure green screen but I think there's a tangibility that the actors get throughout the production process the women fought for their own distinct Vision warding off multiple attempts on Mattel's end to protect the Brand's image at the expense of the story this meant fighting for the inclusion of scenes criticizing the historical Legacy of Barbie and even rejecting a request to change Robbie's stereotypical Barbie to original Barbie and in the end it was Gerwig and Robbie's distinct Vision that made the movie so great looking at the reactions to the film and How Deeply it has moved so many people it's clear that the audience's love for the movie isn't just about their connection to Barbie the doll created by the Mattel company the creative team dug deeper to create a narrative that was true to the female experience and that women and girls could all see themselves in and that men had no problem enjoying too and that's what made the movie such a huge success so if Mattel wants to see similar reactions and success with their upcoming toy related projects they need to focus on story not IP Barbie's Success is Not only a crucial moment for Cinema but for women everywhere you guys are the best thank you okay this to have a major Blockbuster film made by women for women is no small feat and speaks volumes about the kind of content female viewers are yearning for on their screens and while Mattel may try to recreate the Barbie phenomenon the karmic combination of Gerwig Robbie and the iconic Barbie brand is a once in a lifetime type collaboration that we're lucky to have experienced going forward we can only hope that studio Executives continue to bring authentic depictions of Womanhood to the screen no matter how perfect or plastic they might seem on the surface that's the take click here to watch the video we think you'll love or here to check out a whole playlist of awesome content don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications

Channel: The Take

Views: 94,910

Keywords: barbie, ryan gosling, greta gerwig, margot robbie, will ferrell, mattel, hari neff, dua lipa, charli xcx, billie eillish, feminism, the take, lady bird, little women, frances ha, allen, ruth handler, tiny shoulders, feminist, barbie barbie, trailer barbie, barbie movie, the barbie, barbie analysis, barbie analysis movie, barbie explained, barbie ending, barbie ending explained, barbie 2023, barbie the movie, barbie feminist, barbie feminism, the barbie movie

Id: QbPMA7lRsEY

Length: 14min 26sec (866 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 14 2023