in my opinion the dealbreaker being cellulite wasn’t that barbie was scared of ‘being fat’ rather that she was scared of imperfection. the barbies are made of plastic- which is smooth, untextured and untarnished- so i would assume even the plus size barbies don’t have cellulite as they are portrayed as plastic, untouched dolls without any textural ‘flaws’. therefore, the cellulite is an abnormal human feature to barbie and so she is scared of it and immediately deems it as imperfection and ruination of her perfect life. we all know cellulite is normal and natural, but barbie doesn’t and seeing her life change before her including on her own body would’ve been the depth of the dealbreaker. or maybe i’m just too analytical and looking at things that aren’t there.

I think Barbie entering into the real world for the first time symbolizes how girls enter her teenage years and the bubble pops and you become “a women “ in men and society eyes. You start to doubt about your confidence. Edit: men, stop crying. You guys don't get it, get over it.

Ken's arc is the one that actually represents the feminine experience. 1) feeling like you exist to support someone else more in power 2) realising that the real world is a "patriarchy" which celebrates "masculine strength" 3) mimicking the image and symbols of "masculine strength" so that you too will hold power 4) realising you were just playing the role because you felt unseen, powerless, and do not know your true self 5) try to find yourself while continuing to live in a society which pressures you into gender roles, when you are now fully aware the roles are merely "ideas"

Tbh not every movie catered towards women has to have a groundbreaking feminist message. The only criterion for a good "men's movie" is "Is this movie entertaining?" And I don't see why "women's movies" have to adhere to stricter standards

Cellulite is more an allusion to the plastic perfect skin of barbie, than gaining weigh. Slim people also get tons of it. No escape if you have human skin.

I think Barbie getting cellulite was a perfect breaking point. Because, even though there is a plus size Barbie in Barbieland, all of them are still made of smooth plastic. So the idea of skin that isn't perfect plastic is as foreign in Barbieland as getting a grey hair or a wrinkle.

I disagree that it doesn’t make sense for Barbie to end up wanting to go live in the real world. I really think the scene on the bench, where she cries for the first time and tells the old lady she’s beautiful, is everything. That scene really felt like Barbie learning how to empathise with others in a very deeply human way that she could never really experience in Barbieland, and since empathy is often referred to as being one of, if not the, key component in being human, the scene really feels like Barbie becoming human.

I disagree with the "flat feet = human => gross" argument. I think flat feet in Barbieland are gross because they are unnatural, it's like seeing hands without nails. Uncanny and weird.

I personally am OVER the "snarky teen/child that's smarter and more well spoken than everyone else" trope. I teach teenagers. They are incredibly smart, enlightened, and often grossly underestimated. But they have excessive faults, blind spots due to inexperience, and a ton of misplaced confidence that it seems like the majority of Hollywood writers go out of their way to not showcase.

Barbie did have positive experiences in the real world, though. One of my favorite scenes was her on that bench near the park just observing everyone and noticing the beauty of the world and feeling real emotions for the first time. That's what plants the seed in her that the world is more than the awful things she had also just experienced.

Cellulite isn’t to do with being a larger size, it’s a textural thing, all human sizes have cellulite and no barbies of any size have cellulite She’s not afraid of gaining weight and that was never brought up, she’s afraid of not being smooth plastic

I think the negative scenes in the real world were important for Barbie to understand that the world is not like she thought it was. But the key scene in the real world I think is when she sits on the bench and appreciates the beauty of everything and especially her talking to the older lady and seeing a future for herself she never had thought of (and seeing another life she could have). As far as Gloria and Sasha I think they could’ve given Gloria more of s backstory and love for the character but I think the scenes of Barbie remembering Sasha growing up were really good. Lastly I think the movie did a good job at showing Sasha’s shift in her views, it was definitely done more through subtext though. Anyways that’s my take

I agree with the criticisms but I also feel like this was finally a movie just unapologetically just fun for the girls and I really am tired of tearing things down that are just fun. We can always do better socially in every space but can’t we also just enjoy when something is made for us without being hypercritical that it wasn’t a feminist masterpiece

One of the best things to come out of this movie: You are Kenough, everybody.

in defense of gloria: it IS shown how her colleagues don't listen to her and how her daughter's snarky to her, but i think the real crowning achievement is that she doesn't change just because she's aware of the sexist double standards imposed on women. she has to go back and still live in a society that's still going to impose those standards on her regardless of a change in character or personality. the point is she's ordinary, and many women, while being hyper-aware of these standards can't do anything about it. that's why she proposes the ordinary barbie at the end; she's moved by barbie's ordinariness bc she herself is too. like many of us.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for explaining Gloria and Sasha's lack of character, scenes and development!! Oml, I felt like I was going crazy bc no one talks about how rushed their whole arcs are. And Greta can manage big casts, so I was pretty disappointed. The cognitive dissonance monologue feels so generic to me, and America Ferreira having literally no character played a huge part in that. (I also had no idea what her name even was and I've seen the movie twice)

The scene after the Kens have taken over, and Margot’s Barbie is breaking down, and she tells America’s character something along the lines of “I can’t fix this, I’m not one of the smart Barbies, I’m just stereotypical Barbie, not good enough for anything” I have NEVER felt so *seen* by a movie!! The re were so many layers to it all, like the way Ken was lost because his identity was wrapped in Barbie is very relatable to someone who has a tendency to lose themselves in relationships.

After a decade of superhero movie fatigue, I was so happy to see a fun summer blockbuster film that was targeted towards a feminine audience. Even though the feminist themes were surface level, it still has better feminist messaging than anything Marvel has released.

I love your idea of having Barbie spend one day in the real world! As for Gloria, I wish they would have made her a low leveled Barbie designer. We could see her in a creative slump or bored with coming up with the same thing over and over (maybe a little jab at some complaints mattel gets about Barbie's style) and then after meeting Barbie, she feels more connected to the doll she is helping to design for.

"The films approach to womens empowerment felt like an intro to feminism instagram graphic" EXACTLYYYYY 💯

I honestly think the movie works best when read as a coming of age story for Barbie, grappling with her brand identity and metaphorically replicating the often abrupt way in which children leave the realm of childhood safety (represented by Barbieland) into adulthood (represented by the harsh reality of the Real World).

I’ve watched this movie twice and I have to MASSIVELY disagree about the comedy. I don’t think comedy belittles a message, I actually think sometimes it enhances it. Sure, you might lightheartedly laugh at something that does indeed touch on a tough topic but those moments of true heart hit even harder and act as a sobering message. I’m in my late twenties and can happily say I’ve cried multiple times during this film and adore it. Sure, could it have delved deeper? Maybe! But I also don’t think it needs to. Look at all the conversations we’re having because of it. I do agree though, the Mattel scenes needed to go 😭

I thought it was weird when America's character suggested making a Barbie that was a mom. And it's like, Midge is right there...

Ken was not the villain, he was the antagonist.

The commentary wasn't perfect, but it was absolutely a conversation starter and I'm not gonna lie the emotional moments really hit for me. It gave me such a strong feeling of nostalgia that I probably wouldn't have grasped at a younger age. (I'm 18 and I grew up with Barbie dolls) It also hit different seeing it with my 52 year old mom who also played with Barbies as a child. It's also just come out at a very transitional time for me. I just graduated high school and I am about to enter college and by proxy adulthood so the themes landed even harder.

Ironically I feel like treating Barbie as though it should be a "groundbreaking feminist masterpiece" not just a comedy that is satirising issues related to gender, highlights one of the films key points. Women and the things women make are always judged to a higher standard than men and things they make, and it's ok to just be ordinary. I love that this movie invited discourse and is a great conversation starter. If you're going to watch a movie to learn nuanced and deep feminist theory you're looking in the wrong place. EDIT: To be clear I appreciate critique and would largely agree that the feminism is pretty surface level. But even that is unusual in mainstream cinema and deserves to be celebrated. The movie is not above critique but it's also silly to treat a 90 minute comedy like it can (and even should tbh) discuss all the nuances of feminist theory!

Barbie does have a genuine and meaningful, positive experience in the real world with the older lady on the bench. In those few seconds, Barbie is able to see the beauty of someone who has lived an entire lifetime in the "crappy" real world and still is able to maintain a positive outlook and self image. It impacts Barbie to hear the older woman say, without hesitation or apology, that she knows she is beautiful. Not only that, but, the montage at the end. The one filled with instances of all the other, beautiful, things it means to be a woman. Even being privy to a small portion of that is enough to solidify for Barbie that it is enough to want to leave Barbie land behind. It sends the message that, though the real world still needs to fix a lot of its issues in the way women are treated... being a woman, despite the obstacles, still has a unique beauty to it. At least that's how i saw it.

I completely agree about too much Ken. Could have done with a much shorter musical number. I love your idea for having Barbie stay in the real world for a night, hanging out with the 2 human characters. That was SUCH a missed opportunity.

I feel you glossed over one of the most important scenes in the movie, Barbie with the older woman in the bus stop. It is very significant because this experience sparks her interest in the real world and real women.

I don’t expect this movie to be all things at all the time. I think it was intentionally a simple take on feminism explored in a very complex way. Especially for a story that is very authentic to the doll

Your analysis of the film's treatment of key themes and issues really clarifies the main challenges with making this film a serious treatise on the experience of women and social roles. I think that the filmmakers did not want to offend anyone and wanted Barbie to have broad appeal. But it ends up being too light to have a sharp satirical focus and too weighed down by cynicism to be truly comical. It's a toy picture they tried to turn into a major cultural event. Barbie reminds me so much of the Brady Bunch revival movies, but the thing is the Brady movies were really entertaining and laugh out loud funny enough to hold your interest for the entire film. It was hard to stay awake at times during Barbie. They focused so much on the visuals and costumes and not enough on a compelling storyline.

Just watched this again after watchign the disney adkorable characters one and I'm now seeing a pattern of studios being afraid to let an emotional moment exist without ruining it with a punchline

I kinda felt like Sasha (and her friends) really were similar, and a nod, to Bratz. She is a lil judgemental because she's a teen, but in the end she is the one that wants to help save barbieland with her mom. When going into barbieland, her clothes still have that bratz-theme (loose pants & cool tshirts combo) whilst her mom has the barbie aestethic. (If i remember correctly, one of her friends in school was named Jade!!)

I actually agree with almost all the critics especially the shallowness of the characters but I still find so refreshing to have a camp, girly and fun movie! Especially when seeing all the girlies dressing in pink for the movie, having fun etc so I hope it is only the start of more girls girls movie like that who will become more refined!

You hit the nail on the head!! Most things felt rushed. We didn’t have time for emotions to sink in, or for us to witness the “why” behind characters’ personalities and directives. I love you idea of replacing the Mattel subplot with Barbie spending a night or two in the real world, to truly experience more of what humanity is like. She could really pry into Gloria’s character too. That would give so much more meaning to the movie as a whole.

But Gloria’s biggest hardships were shown in the two montages of her and Sasha’s relationship since Sasha was a little girl. It shows that she’s sad that the child-like imagination in Sasha is fading away and that she’s gradually being ignored and brushed off by her daughter who used to double as a friend.

At first I thought Gloria’s big monologue was very basic but then I realized it’s not for people in the discourse, it’s for the people who haven’t heard it before. It’s for the moms, not the daughters. Also can we just appreciate how Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling just embodied their characters? I hope they both get Oscar noms.

Summary for those that didn't get the movie: Mattel wanted to keep the Barbie brand alive by making a movie for any woman old enough to feel nostalgic about Barbie. NOT FOR KIDS! Yet at the theater I saw a bunch of kids. 🤷‍♀️ The whole movie is supposed to be satire of Barbie lore, how little girls tend to play with Barbies (ex. Kens have no homes, they are an accessory for the Barbies, how everything is "perfect", etc), and satire about how ridiculous the patriarchal side of society is by showing you how ridiculous a matriarchy is in Barbieland. Now, the juicy stuff. The whole movie is filled with metaphors! Yes, Barbie represents a doll but she is also supposed to represent a little girl growing into a woman! She realizes that her body is that of a woman and that it can be objectified now when she gets to the real world. The real world represents growing up and realizing how things work, how things are different than what you expected as a little girl, how not everything is perfect and how you have to deal with it anyway because you are an adult. The fact that she is developed and does have a vagina, the realization that she will eventually age and die, hence the scene with the old lady at the bus stop, these are all things she already knew as a little girl but that where never at the front of her mind until now that shes growing up. The Margot Robbie Barbie represents specifically a girl that is growing up, that is doubting herself, and doesn't know who she is, the other barbies generally know who they are or who they want to be (ex, doctor, president, etc) but the main protagonist doesn't. Yes Mattel tries to prevent havoc from occurring but it also represents how corporations target young girls and women as consumers and try to put them in "boxes" to solve all their problems and sell them "solutions" or fixed identities to make money. Barbie looking for answers with a corporation didn't solve anything. So later in the movie she seeks answers with her creator who can very easily represent god or a mother figure, telling her that yes, they created/birthed her but that she needs to be the one to decide who she is and who she wants to be. Barbie decides to leave fantasy land and go to the real world where she can find herself and confront reality and mature as a woman. Ken also represents a boy reaching manhood. He does not represent all men, he only represents those who wanted to take the easy path, those who chose to keep the mentality of immature boys instead of putting in the hard work in becoming men. Ken doesnt decide to find himself, he ties his self worth to female attention and trying to seem more cool/masculine than other Kens. When he goes into the real world he doesn't feel objectified even when is being objectified and sees all attention as good attention. When he goes to the real world he seeks jobs with other men (lifeguard, etc) but these men tell him that he still needs to put in some work to become something (prepare himself, learn skills, etc), so he decides to take the easy path instead and goes back to the fantasy world to try to gain power there by force. At the end of the movie he realizes that his self worth doesn't depend on a woman, that its ok that he doesn't know who he is or what he wants to do with his life yet, but that he needs to try to figure it out, even if it takes work. The whole movie shows that both matriarchy and patriarchy are stupid. That both men and women can be shitty to eachother when they cling to eachother for self worth without at least trying to figure out who they are outside of a relationship and the work they need to put in themselves as they grow from kids to adults to face reality. In other words its about both men and women maturing before they can come together in a healthy way.

I think it also would have been interesting to explore how the production of ‘mojo dojo casa houses’ into the real world affected boys and their perception of masculinity like barbie affected young girls in the way that it reinforced unrealistic standards of beauty and achievement onto them

My only flaws in the movie: 1. How fast Sasha and Gloria changes. Gloria’s speech is beautiful but it didn’t win me over because how little she was developed. I agree that Barbie should’ve stayed in Gloria’s house for a day, just like how Giselle from enchanted stayed in Robert’s house for more then a day. 2. Ruth as a mother and Barbie as a daughter would’ve been expressed better. The mother daughter expression could’ve been pushed more. 3. I think because it has too many conversation and discussion that it overlaps and overdoing. It does some showing and not telling, some not all. I feel like they should’ve condensed the overstated conversation and expand on the relationship with Gloria and Sasha and have Barbie express the ugly side of life like getting old, grey hair, etc. and other common human things, then it would’ve been better. I would’ve preferred if their messaging was subtle, the humor is pretty good. I feel like some things were condensed through editing, but because of this movie, I doubt it won’t win any awards. I see this movie getting an Oscar or two. I feel like the feeling and commentary of the movie hits better with the sound off sadly, but I’m not entirely disappointed seeing it, is a relief. I just wished there was more to be added. The music, visuals and the acting are phenomenal, just wanted more. Barbie the icon is great, but I would’ve loved Barbie the character. I’ll still rewatch it, it’s not bad, is like a 9/10.

I think a lot of people are making the mistake of taking the film more seriously than it takes itself.

I do not mind the "shallowness" of the movie because I am very emotional and if it had run any deeper I could not have enjoyed the aesthetic and jokes because I probably would have cried the whole time. It is pink and fun and just enough to make people think and that is what I hoped for. Also, we needed two musical scenes.

Your suggestion of having her stay in the real world longer is amazing, I really wish they’d done that 😩

Amy Schumer as Barbie? Thank goodness that didn't happen!

The woman sitting next to me in the theater couldn't stop crying when the credits rolled. While I also think the film tackled too many themes and missed a lot of opportunities (why didn't Gloria and Midge get a moment??) I think there will be people who are profoundly affected by the straightforward message that women should exist as they choose to

The only thing I disagree with in this video is that cellulite equals being fat. It does not and never has. All women of all shapes & sizes are capable of having cellulite. I think the use of cellulite is just another way to show how Barbie isn’t perfect and was becoming more of a real life woman. I do agree that using aging would have been more meaningful but I don’t think the cellulite was used as a reference for her being afraid of gaining weight.

I actually found the scene where Barbie and Ken renact Streetcar Named Desire, but with Ken at the upstairs-- shouting down to Barbie--an interesting deconstruction of gender performativity, as we see the Ken's performing what they've been told is masculine, making evident the more subtle, insidious ways societal norms shape and shame the individual to conform to societal expectations. Ken is in the traditionally dominate, higher space, having taken over Barbies house, yet he feels truly powerless and threatened by Barbies autonomy, being on the ground but able to walk away as Ken suffers, trapped in his despair and awesome power ballads. However, the performativity is exposed even further when Ken reveals he really wasn't interested in Patriarchy after he found horses weren't involved, but was expected to perform anyway. The combination of satire and sentiment reflect the tonal duality of Bojack Horseman, another fantasy comedy that replaces the gender politics with just, soul crushing depictions of mental illness. Also, Ken's name, written in the Metallica font on his black leather fannypack really embodies the thin line between masculinity and parody. Regardless, I want to buy that fannypack so bad. Gotta get that merch.

it felt for me like it tried to have its cake and eat it too; tried to be existential but didn’t develop, tried to be camp and self aware but then tried to be serious in the same breath. it was pretty short and didn’t leave much room to explore.

I wished that they'd done more with Midge, Allan or Sasha. Those characters felt wasted, especially Midge, and she barely got to say anything, if I remember correctly.

I think it is unfair for us to expect this movie to represent every single aspect or angle of feminism, because no movie would live up that expectation. Yes, the feminism seems at times superficial here but considering it's a PG-13 movie, I think ti will be a great introduction for girls growing into teenagers,

She didn't just experience misery in the real world. There is that wonderful scene on the bus bench when she cries for the first time, and when she turns to the old woman, humans age unlike Barbie, and she says 'you are beautiful' to a woman who is definitely real world. The real world is complex but it is real.

“we have to always be extraordinary but somehow we’re always doing it wrong” I feel maybe the mark was missed on this one, whirl sure its a very surface level and bit cheesy but thats the point! its just a fun movie about transitioning from girlhood into women hood and the territory that comes with. The audience for this movie are for all people of all ages and sends a very understandable message especially to young girls. I feel saying that this movie wasnt “deep enough” is totally looking over the main point of the movie. If you watch tbis movie with the intent to criticize you will always find something wrong with it. Its ok to just watch a movie for fun and have fun watching a movie!! its not always about the deeper meaning of things

weakens the emotinal impact? bro i disagree, i was SOBBING at the montage scene, there were its serious sad moments- especially for a comedy, not a drama. and yet it still managed to be heartfelt and touching. Also, i disagree with the will ferrel thing. i thought he was hilarious and i loved his performance, one of my favorite lines form the film was the "im the son of a mother and the mother of a son" thing. i was literally laughing out loud at that. yes hes played comedic characters like that a lot, but thats just cuz hes GOOD at it. just my opinion.

i really liked the movie, i definitely didn’t view it as a serious, groundbreaking feminist story more of a satire and it works that way, also very wholesome my inner child is happy all the little details/barbie lore were so fun if you understood them. however i agree gloria and sasha and their relationship should have been more fleshed out + the movie definitely could of been an extra 40 mins longer to be more satisfying and have more depth but it’s definitely one of my new comfort movies!

I don’t care what anyone says. This movie was amazing. People need to understand that this movie is supposed to act as a CATALYST for conversations relating to this issues. That’s why it didn’t have like final ending. Their stories are still on going so when kids ask their parents about this, parents can explain. I love it 💓

14:43 isn't true, as evidenced by the scene at 14:52. One of the major things Barbie learned from her time in the real world is that human things like aging can be beautiful and rewarding. Also, she did have other positive experiences, in the most human way ever. Bonding with Gloria and Sasha while in a genuinely high stakes situation with Mattel was a way for Barbie to see the joy and positivity even when things are going to shit, which imo is a very human experience to have. Yes, the harassment and disrespect are experiences, but so are the laughs and companionship.

One of Enchanted’s major wins was getting us to understand why Giselle would choose the real world

The scene with Barbie and the wonderful lady at the bus stop will stay with me forever and that alone is enough for me to be glad this movie exists. 🥰

Ken's plight does show why the Matriarchy was harmful too. Ken was treated like an object in Barbie Land. He was there to be an accessory to her. While it is played for a laugh. The fact that he got so excited that someone asked for the time. Just acknowledging him as a person. It is rather sad. More upsetting is how he got swept up into the patriarchy after years of being a primarily non-toxic male in support of Barbie. I've seen many girls comment on how Ken reminds them of their childhood male friends turning into sexist and gross jerks. I think Ken's villainous does reflect how it isn't people who are inherently evil. No one is born racist, sexist, etc. it is taught by our parents, society, etc. It's this thing that I think men should have taken into consideration watching the movie. As a guy, I will never be able to sympathize with the messages catered directly to females. It's not because I'm dense or don't care. As a male. I will always be treated differently, better in some regards, and rarely worse. I can still empathize with the plights of the mother. Feel for how unfair the situation is. Want to have it so women aren't in a position where they feel like nothing. Any guy watching the movie should have looked at kens plight, sympathized with it, realize it's how woman are treated in the real world (but much worse). Help to empathize with the overall message of being a woman.

I feel like I didn't need to be explicitly told most of the things you mentioned because I KNOW them, you know? This movie is For The Girls in every way. We don't need to hear Sasha say what her relationship to womanhood is because we know it. Her rejection of Barbie says it all to me because most girls live that. We didn't need to see Gloria be shat all over in corporate America or explicitly state her complicated relationship to motherhood because we already know it. We live it and we see our mothers, sisters, friends live it even if we haven't. Those experiences are as ubiquitous as Barbie herself. And, yes, they are incredibly nuanced, but I didn't really think it was the movie's job to be a masterclass in feminist theory. It's something fun for the girls and clearly most people are connecting with it in a deeper and more personal way. The movie did its job and it's going to be right up there with Clueless and Legally Blonde as a classic girl movie.

i disagree about barbie only having negative experiences in the real world. she has that beautiful moment in the park when she really gets to take in the world for the first time. i also think she had a great time talking to ruth in the mattel building and probably enjoyed the car chase where she gets to meet gloria. even though i do really agree that she should have spent more time in the real world i don't think its fair to say she only had negative experiences.

I disagree that the jokes take away from the seriousness, I feel like it’s appropriate for the movie to sort of “ignore” the seriousness up until the end. It’s reflecting Barbie and how she doesn’t start to really understand the seriousness of what happened until the end of the movie, then she is forced to deal with it, like life. 12:17

Margo Robbie saying she isn't beautiful could possibly be more meaningful than funny. Since beauty standards are so messed up it makes beautiful people think they are not. And unrealistic standards from barbie making real barbie feel like rubbish is really real irl

i think if it would be more "emotional" as you'd like it to be, it would've be less impactful. Because they would've minimize women to their emotional nature, and personally, i liked that they would've explore the emotional nature of the kens, because given that the barbies looked more empowered and stable to have control over positions of power.

Personally, I loved how this movie highlighted how both men and women are affected by the systemic issues in our world caused by the patriarchy. The Kens’ fall from grace is clearly caused by the pressure on men to be perfectly put together, in control, never emotional (excluding anger), have the perfect body, get girls effortlessly, and overall just be soulless, Godfather-loving macho men. This can be juxtaposed by Allan, who I believe is a representation of a man who does not fit in with the others because he is not traditionally masculine. Gerwig did a phenomenal job showcasing the effects these “ideals” have on men and the women around them, and how this isn’t what Ken is. Additionally, I love how the film showed how unattractive this is to women lol. This isn’t a film that hates men, it’s a film that hates the system that favors men (specifically heterosexual, white, able-bodied, conventionally attractive men)

25:05 i think you missed the point!! Every woman has cellulite, regardless of their weight: meanwhile, the barbies don’t have it because they’re supposed to be made from plastic, not human skin. Also cellulite shows up during adolescence, waaay earlier than gray hair, so I think it fits the coming-of-age aspect of the story. I do agree with the other perplexities you’ve expressed about the film tho

It'd be great to see a second movie expanding on Barbie's life as a human. Maybe, she would even decide to go back to Barbieland. Btw, I think the movie has really turned the tables by portraying men, aka Kens, as the "accessories" to Barbies - the role usually played by women in the real world

As a female, I cant really call the barbie movie something i can have fun with. If i wanted to have fun with the character, i wish they actually made it about her enjoying life like the ken dolls instead of the plot being about how miserable she is if she stepped into reality. I only wished we had a girly movie being just girly without bringing in the usual debates about gender politics. Its unfair that girl targeted movies has to establish something catered to "girl boss" themes and orher on the nose subjects.

I have had cellulite visible since age 12. I enjoyed the cellulite joke. yes there is fat/plus sizr Barbies in Barbieland but they are dolls! their skin is smooth, cellulite free because they are plastic! in the real world being fat is not equivalent to cellulite. and that is something they did, that even though Margot is labeled as bombshell she has cellulite because she is human

I don’t think that motherhood should be a plot or an angle on the movie it’s literally mention to exemplify that before barbie girls only were expected to be mother, I think that Barbie it’s everything but a mother, as kids had the toy for that, so I preferred the angle of the creator instead of a mother, even though Ruth refers as mother

The thing I absolutely loved was the fact that i watched this with my mom. We had multiple moments where we took each others hand or leaned on each others shoulders. I actually had a really heart-felt conversation with my mom about how i'm scared of growing up (i'm 19) and how I miss my innocent childhood. We are even looking if we can go again, just us two, since we brought my dad and brother with us the first time.

15:47 I think a day in the real world might’ve felt like a copy paste of Enchanted. I think her draw to the real world was captured well enough in the mindful moment when she saw people experiencing a range of emotions and feeling it with them.

I love your takes on movies, and I respect your opinion, but I have to disagree some on this one. I saw Barbie a few days ago and I have felt more emotionally attached to it as time has passed. I think it does an excellent job of explaining the message while still being lighthearted and funny. The first point of yours I disagree with it that when they make jokes, it under cuts the message they’re making. I don’t think that’s the case at all here. Most of the time when trying to discuss a serious topic (like misogyny here) it causes (typically men) to not listen or understand because they feel they are personally being blamed. But if the message is being given with quick quips and jokes, the people who need to hear the message are more likely to listen to it. I would have liked to see Barbie have one positive experience in the real world, but I think Mattel is important. It shows that even things made for women are still run by men. And I don’t think Gloria’s character is bad either. I see her as a representation of all women, a Y/N of sorts. And her big speech doesn’t change her personality because it’s something that all women know and understand and live already. So she’s not making a leap of judgment. I also disagree with the “Barbie not realizing she’s smart”. I think it mimics how as children grow up, they start to realize they know more than they think. Like I’ve had instances where I’ve explained something scientific, only then realizing just how much I know. I don’t think it makes her look stupid, I think it’s realistic. In the end, I think it is a well done feminist movie. It appears shallow, but it “lures” in people who wouldn’t normally watch any feminist content. It’s lighthearted to allow the points to hit a little softer. Meaning, it’s a fun movie to watch at the time, put provokes thought after. I respect your opinion though! Everyone having their take on movies is important :))

Ryan Gosling should honestly be in more comedies, he's clearly great in them. Also, Will Ferrell's character and the Mattel executives didn't need to exist, I honestly kept forgetting about them.

This video analysis has a lot of gaps in its “constructive criticism.” For one thing, if you believed that Barbie’s fear of getting cellulite was connected to fat-phobia, you clearly didn’t watch the same movie. Stereotypical Barbie reiterates multiple times that her number one fear is CHANGE. She wants to stay in Barbieland initially because she fears the constantly changing Real World. As humans, our bodies change all the time! Our bodies are capable of fluctuations in weight and aging! That means that your body can have cellulite regardless of size. Barbie resists becoming human BECAUSE she’s afraid of the changes that come with growing up and being a real person. NOT because she’s fatphobic. That’s why the moment with the old woman is so crucial to Barbie’s evolution as a character, since she comes face to face with someone who HAS experienced those changes. She then realizes that change can be scary but also a beautiful part of life. It was a very profound moment of women celebrating other women. We need more of that in a society that still participates in tearing down women. In conclusion, suggesting that Barbie is shallow CONTRIBUTES to the culture of hating female characters, which is not the kind of world we should be striving for.

Don't worry about the older woman, Barbie compliments. That was a good scene. That older woman is the daughter of Ruth Handler (The creator of Barbie), Barbara Handler. (Which is the origin to "Barbie"). So basically The first Barbie compliments her origin.

The bus stop moment was my favourite, and I think her saying the line to a total stranger is really important. It's not a message of "you're beautiful on the inside." I read it more as Barbie finds it beautiful that this woman's visible aging shows she has lived a long life (instead of the same day over and over). Maybe Barbie simply finds her beautiful because she's something new and organic. I think Barbie doesn't have to have positive real world experiences to convince her to become human - I think it's enough that she isn't satisfied with being a conceptual object anymore. But I otherwise agree with a lot of the review. I think Sasha could have been integrated a bit into Ken's arc, since she's introduced asserting power over others at school to make herself feel important. They could compare patriarchy to juvenile posturing in a more sincere way. Also the non-Margot Barbies should have gotten their own musical number.

the fact that theres a barbie president and a nobel prize winner is still not an excuse for them to know what that entails as a whole just as a child doesn’t know either of it when they’re playing with that, and actually yes barbie saying “omg did i just say that?” it’s a great line that proves the previous point, it seems like all the barbies in barbieland are awear of the posibilities and carreers for women in the real world but still they are clueless about what all those things actually entails, so when barbie gets to the real world and knows a new perspective she has the ability to talk with a human knowledge of what being a nobel prize winner or a president entails, instead of talking like the clueless doll that she used to be

I think it's using Plato's Cave allegory, which I think is why (although she has primarily, though not exclusively, negative experiences in the real world) she may choose "knowledge" above an abstraction of the real world. Would be HUGELY interesting to see it analysed from a platonist perspective!! A lot of themes seemed to be carried through this lens, intentionally or not. Considering it this way helped to ground some of the things you spoke 💖

Great review, you hit the nail on the head with a lot of the things that bugged me about this movie. It feels so close to being a genuinely meaningful story about gender and identity but ends up so shallow and corporate. Thanks for writing this, and I’ll be in the minority agreeing with you that the cellulite bit was bad

Honestly. I kinda found Sasha annoying, even though I love Ariana Greenblatt.

The only thing that really bothered me ab this movie is the ending tbh. SPOILERS!!! Like I’m tired of the “non-human ends up becoming human,” trope and I think it’s frustrating. Also, Barbie being a shallow entrance point into feminism makes sense considering who wrote & directed it, who starred in it, and who the intended audience is. It was never supposed to be THE pentacle of feminist theory & rhetoric, it was meant to be a very surface level crash course.

21:08 I actually felt sufficient exploration of motherhood theme in the wordless montage of film that Ruth shared with Barbie. I teared up at that and my sister openly wept at that part as she wrestled her wiggly first baby in the theater. The motherhood feels were there for me.

The Barbie land matriarchy was supposed to represent the human world patriarchy but less dark. It was meant to show the hypocrisy

I wish they had done more with Alan

I feel like Barbie showed pink, pretty, girl power world where matriarchy and feminisim rules and men are accessories and when they travel to the real world we are shown the patriarchy, the men in charge, the exact opposite of the female empowered Barbie land where the women are treated like objects. The political side of this film showed that both extreme patriarchal and matriarchal worlds extremely hurt the opposite gender.

Gloria's speech about womanhood was very emotional to me, I legit cried hearing it. It felt important and big for me

I feel the exact same way..while I am so glad a movie about feminism has reached such mainstream success, its honestly so terrifying how many people thought it was radical and got so angry when it's just scratching the surface

I think it’s important to remember that it’s an immense privilege to have even an intermediate concept of those ideas. Most Americans do not have the leisure or the access to a lot of information we take for granted to sit for hours bouncing these ideas off each other, reading, researching, etc. This film is made by a toy company about the toy product that made it billions of dollars and put it on the map in collaboration with one of Hollywood’s oldest largest studios. It was never going to give feminism with fangs. It’s about a children’s toy with the approval of its ceos who are represented as simple dudes who want to have tickle fights. Like… come on. It is also a comedy made for a broad audience which again most Americans are not talking about these things at length. For instance, my dad only cursorily knows some of this through me. He’s a truck driver who barely takes vacation because he can’t afford it. That’s how most Americans live. This may be elementary to many of us but will be the first time grappling with these ideas for many. And honestly it’s ok to refresh yourself on old concepts and have light fare about it. I would’ve loved a comedy like this as a child to introduce me to these conversations in a way that presented them as safe to have. I had things like Legally Blonde and All I Wanna Do growing up but this is much more pointed which is useful for girls coming up who may throw this on for a sleep over.

1. This is a personal anecdote that really isn't objective on the overall quality or commentary that the film provides but this movie really helped me to better connected with my identity as a trans person. Very specifically the line that Gloria says, "I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us." There have been so many times that I've decided to put on pants (which aren't inherently masculine, but make an AMAB person like me present more masculine) instead of dressing more femininely because I wanted people to like me or take me more seriously. It helped me acknowledge the screwed up privilege in that but also how much I'm willing to let other people's perception of me affect how I express my gender identity. Which brings me to my next point... 2. This movie did the right thing by not trying to be an academic breakdown of feminism through the lens of Barbie. There's a reason why it was the highest grossing film over the weekend, and that's because it was able to capture an audience that previously had not really been a part of online discourse. I never thought of this movie as a movie attempting to give a younger generation an in on feminism. They're already on the internet and they're already a part of the "discourse." I've always thought this movie was meant for the working mom who comes home from work, makes dinner, and then goes to bed because she has work in the morning and she has to take her kids to school. Those kinds of parents don't have time to be apart of the online discourse or the discussions we've been having about feminism and as a result, they've not been given the space to express how they've been affected by a patriarchal society. It's why I think, despite being a feeling expressed online for a while know, Gloria's monologue works well. It has been heard but not by this audience. 3. I also think that this movie has a better grasp on the goals of feminism than other mainstream movies that claim to be feminist. The beginning of the movie looks like something straight off the end of Camilla Cabello's Cinderella. They're all girl bosses because that's what a feminist is right? The movie shows us that feminism, and feminist movements, have always been about the freedom of choice and the freedom to choose your own path. You should be just a mother if that's what you want, you should be able to be anything you want, and that's true feminism (at least from where I'm standing). It shows how patriarchal thinking is toxic to everyone, including men who don't know how to define themselves outside of what society thinks they should be. Overall, I do think the movie is doing A LOT, and to some extent I agree that Gloria should have been a bigger part of the movie. As someone who identifies as transfemme/nonbinary, I also think that this movie is VERY binary and it doesn't hold a lot of space for people like me who don't fit perfectly in the binary. Any criticism of this film (except for the criticism that it's a man-hating piece of trash) I've seen so far is valid and I understand the reasoning behind it. It's not a perfect film for me but at the end of the day I think this movie is doing a lot more good than it is bad. There's so much joy in this film and I think that's something that everyone needs.

THIS IS THE BEST ANALYSIS I SAW ON THE BARBIE MOVIE! I love that you give your audience ideas for improving the movie rather than saying xy is bad or lacks potential. I am glad you made this video because so many reviews online (especially made by men ehm ehm) have no nuance or deeper understanding of Barbie as a brand. You did an excellent job!

I love watching your reviews! After watching this one and the one you did for the little mermaid recently you summed up my thoughts and wishes perfectly! For me, Barbie going into the real world reminded me of The Giver, where Jonas gains the knowledge of what pleasure is because he also experiences pain, and he is the chosen person of his community to experience these things and eventually leaves for the real world. After watching this movie I really wished they had added Barbie trying to learn a new skill and being bad at it at first, make a new friend, or anything to make us believe that living in reality and growing up is a good thing. I also wish the movie had explored the idea of death and where it came from more, since "thoughts of death" was only mentioned a few times without showing that Barbie would really understand what it meant. Gloria mentions the "thoughts of death" that were making Barbie have those thoughts too, but I think that seeing the older women in real life would have been a good opportunity for Barbie to have a realization of what death actually means and why that would make it a big deal for her to become human. Love your channel

can't belive THE barbie movie has more Ken focus and screen time than every other barbie movie ever 😭😭

i mostly agree but a few minor points except the 5. points where i disagree: 1. Ken wasn’t presented as just a friend, he was literally called Barbie's boyfriend. so it makes more sense that his expectations were that of a boyfriend, not just a typical guy friend who wants to be more 2. barbie did experience goodness that came out of the real world; meeting an old woman, ruth as a creator, sasha and her daughter's relationship and how they tackle it - the latter two culminating in her words "i want to be ideator, not just an idea" 3. i think the comedic timing was good in that the serious moments, of which there were many, gave a good amount of time to process, esp through repetition 4. if the movie when with this reviewer's rewrite of sasha bringing barbie back to her house to hide...it just would've been so typical. i was gladly surprised by sasha going to barbieland with barbie 5. reviewer backs up into her own logic when she says "the film shows that the matriarchy is just as problematic as the patriarchy" when she goes onto give examples of how kendom was worse than barbieland 6. people like the person who the reviewer puts a clown face over think that the barbie movie hates men bc the film is angry at men, not bc ken was depicted as a bimbo. 7. i think using cellulite vs. signs of aging as a "last straw" moment does hit harder bc the former is more commonly addressed as a beauty flaw, but the reviewer does admit that this is a minor thing 8. reviewer's last line is "this movie quickly vanishes into nothing" but i've still been thinking about it and it's been two days and i'm a guy

I loved the movie, no matter its faults. I consider extremely annoying the very familiar trend to criticize harshly those who DO SOMETHING, thrying to find flaws in every effort. I do NOT care about missing details, but rather appreciate and welcome the refreshing perspective. Perception of feminism is subjective.

i literally loved the way you put and interpret everything i totally agree the way you said "little boys are allowed to grow up and retain their childhood interests and hobbies, but little girls are expected to stop playing make believe" like that actually hit me so hard i teared up

I think one element that you loverlooked is that to some extent Barbie & Ken are developed as if they're children in the begining in Barbieland, and Barbies journey to becoming "human" is a reflection of the journey of growing up from childhood more than anything else, which is very often when women start becoming self aware of the world around them and the fact they're treated differently. I know that some people might just say its because its meant to be like children playing with dolls, but it seems all very intentional, when Ken learns about patriarchy he takes it back to Barbieland and introduces it in the same way a child might, even going as far as to have a fake/play/pretend battle exactly like little boys do, which I think massively plays into the simplification of some of the messages and themes, because they're learning about them much in the way a child would with no prior knowledge of these concepts. I also feel like Greta would've gone further with a lot of these themes, but I think her and Margot were probably quite aware of trying to make this messaging as palatable as possible to sell to the masses, and people are still calling it "man hating" even with how light and comedic it is, even some women won't support its feminist message. I dont think its a perfect movie, I wish Gloria had far more development, and Ken took up precious screen time that should've gone to developing Barbie (But perhaps its intentional commentary on how even in a Barbie movie the male character has more development than her?), but I think it does a much better job of spreading its message than you give it credit for.

I didn't go into the movie thinking it would be a feminist masterpiece. I enjoyed the movie even though I thought it wasn't that deep.

My biggest complaint is actually that after the barbies take back Barbieland, they reinstate the system they had before (which didn't allow the kens to have any identity of their own, which is what caused Ken to be so fixated on Barbie and getting her to like him) and the narrator jokes "maybe one day the kens will have as much power in Barbieland as women do in the real world." They literally walk right up to the point and then completely ignore it.

Cellulite isn’t necessarily caused by being overweight. There’s a number of reasons, many of which are just “symptoms of being human”. So I’d think the cellulite joke is justified. Also, cellulite such a non-issue in my opinion, and that’s part of the chuckle.