![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osprey_archerI’ve been a Greta Gerwig fan since I saw her in Frances Ha, so it’s been thrilling to see the rest of the world catch up, first in the critical acclaim of Lady Bird, then in the popular success of Little Women, and now in the crescendo of frenzy surrounding Barbie. I went on Saturday and found the theater a mass of pink and abuzz with excitement. I don’t think I’ve seen an audience with this kind of energy for a new release since The Return of the King.
And it was a lot of fun! Gerwig leaned hard into the Barbie aesthetic, everything bright bright BRIGHT colors, the water painted rather than actually wet, a world ruled by women where almost everyone is named Barbie: the air hums with the chirp of “Hi Barbie!” as the Barbies move around their paradise, where every day is a great day… unless you’re a Ken, when it’s only a great day if Barbie notices you.
All the actors are having a blast with their over-the-top characters. Margot Robie is fantastic as Stereotypical Barbie. (There’s a moment when she thinks she’s not pretty anymore, and the narrator, voiced by Helen Mirren, is like, “Don’t cast Margot Robie if you want this beat to land,” which brought down the house.) Ryan Gosling is a perfect foil as Ken. (“Who’s that guy?” I asked my friends, and they said, “That’s Ryan Gosling! But it’s so perfect for this movie that you don’t know…”). Kate McKinnon is gnawing on the scenery as Weird Barbie and clearly having the time of her life, and Michael Cera was born to play lonely Allan, the only Allan in a world otherwise populated with Barbies and Kens.
But something is going wrong with Stereotypical Barbie. Her toast burns! Her feet have gone flat! And she’s started to feel existential angst about death… Clearly, there’s only one thing to do: she has to go to the Real World to figure out what’s going wrong out there. Ken tags along for the ride… and discovers patriarchy. Although he’s a bit confused by the details (men and horses rule the world?), he gets the spirit, so he sneaks back to Barbieland to tell all the other Kens… and because patriarchy is a completely novel idea in Barbieland, the Barbies and Kens have no resistance, so it sweeps their society like smallpox.
I must confess I groaned over this plotline: “Why do tales of feminist utopias always go straight to the question ‘What if the men tried to destroy it?’,” was my internal plaint. And, I mean, sure, what if, but also, what if we tried to imagine other stories in this setting! Stories in which men are mere background players, perhaps. Or even stories that prominently feature men but aren’t about men trying to overthrow the utopia. They’re just living their second-class lives in it, as people do.
Also I just couldn’t with Stereotypical Barbie’s ultimate decision to become a human and live in the patriarchal human world and die someday, when she could spend the rest of her infinite life in paradise as a doll. Being a human is not that great! Go enjoy your doll eternity!
This is of course a prime case of getting annoyed at a story for not being the story that I wanted it to be, which is generally a bit unfair, and certainly very personal: other people may not be bothered by these elements at all. And certainly I still enjoyed the film, which is a lot of candy-colored fun. I just didn't love it the way that I loved Gerwig's Little Women.
And it was a lot of fun! Gerwig leaned hard into the Barbie aesthetic, everything bright bright BRIGHT colors, the water painted rather than actually wet, a world ruled by women where almost everyone is named Barbie: the air hums with the chirp of “Hi Barbie!” as the Barbies move around their paradise, where every day is a great day… unless you’re a Ken, when it’s only a great day if Barbie notices you.
All the actors are having a blast with their over-the-top characters. Margot Robie is fantastic as Stereotypical Barbie. (There’s a moment when she thinks she’s not pretty anymore, and the narrator, voiced by Helen Mirren, is like, “Don’t cast Margot Robie if you want this beat to land,” which brought down the house.) Ryan Gosling is a perfect foil as Ken. (“Who’s that guy?” I asked my friends, and they said, “That’s Ryan Gosling! But it’s so perfect for this movie that you don’t know…”). Kate McKinnon is gnawing on the scenery as Weird Barbie and clearly having the time of her life, and Michael Cera was born to play lonely Allan, the only Allan in a world otherwise populated with Barbies and Kens.
But something is going wrong with Stereotypical Barbie. Her toast burns! Her feet have gone flat! And she’s started to feel existential angst about death… Clearly, there’s only one thing to do: she has to go to the Real World to figure out what’s going wrong out there. Ken tags along for the ride… and discovers patriarchy. Although he’s a bit confused by the details (men and horses rule the world?), he gets the spirit, so he sneaks back to Barbieland to tell all the other Kens… and because patriarchy is a completely novel idea in Barbieland, the Barbies and Kens have no resistance, so it sweeps their society like smallpox.
I must confess I groaned over this plotline: “Why do tales of feminist utopias always go straight to the question ‘What if the men tried to destroy it?’,” was my internal plaint. And, I mean, sure, what if, but also, what if we tried to imagine other stories in this setting! Stories in which men are mere background players, perhaps. Or even stories that prominently feature men but aren’t about men trying to overthrow the utopia. They’re just living their second-class lives in it, as people do.
Also I just couldn’t with Stereotypical Barbie’s ultimate decision to become a human and live in the patriarchal human world and die someday, when she could spend the rest of her infinite life in paradise as a doll. Being a human is not that great! Go enjoy your doll eternity!
This is of course a prime case of getting annoyed at a story for not being the story that I wanted it to be, which is generally a bit unfair, and certainly very personal: other people may not be bothered by these elements at all. And certainly I still enjoyed the film, which is a lot of candy-colored fun. I just didn't love it the way that I loved Gerwig's Little Women.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-26 11:33 am (UTC)I suppose becoming a human is meant to show character growth, but surely there is another way to show character growth that is not "I embrace the inevitability of death!" Stereotypical Barbie realizes that she doesn't have to be Stereotypical and embraces a wider role in Barbieland, or something!