BY ABI MCINTOSH
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that ‘Barbie’, directed by Greta Gerwig (GirlBoss™) was released in cinemas last week. As someone who has been a lifetime Barbie watcher, user and all-around consumer, I felt it was only necessary to give my two cents. I’d seen mixed reviews about the movie, but I have to admit I wasn’t as sceptical as others seemed to be; Greta hasn’t failed me yet, and her power combined with Margot Robbie’s producer magic gave me hope; plus, I thought it would be super nostalgic and I’m a sucker for a walk down memory lane. Post-watch, I was only more sure of my stance – for me, Barbie was instantly a favourite. In this review, I’ll be talking about two aspects of the film: the filmmaking side of the movie, and the storyline.
A more typical review of the movie as a film has it come out on top; the soundtrack, wardrobe and set all combine to give the viewer a true sense of Barbie-ness. The combination of artists like Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Charlie XCX and Tame Impala on paper certainly seemed to be a choice but completely paid off in the context of the film. Oftentimes, in big blockbusters, filmmakers become so invested in having a bunch of bangers on the soundtrack, that they forget to integrate them properly; each song in Barbie is perfectly used based on the atmosphere, mood and setting of the scene.
Don’t even get me started on the wardrobe! The fits all the Barbies were wearing are to die for, they’re all so quintessentially Barbie it makes me nostalgic. Obviously, Margot Robbie can pull off anything, but the costume designers must have been breaking their backs to deck everyone in every scene out in such amazing outfits – each ensemble was fitting to the character but didn’t confine them to a specific style. My particular favourite was Sterotypical Barbie’s cowgirl outfit. The shoes? The hat? The sparkly stars? It all tied together so well and didn’t even make Margot Robbie look ridiculous (but as the narrator said, I don’t even think that’s possible). I can’t wait to see how many people are dressed in her exact outfit for Halloween this year.
Can we just admire how real all the sets were? Including the transitions between the real world and Barbieland – they genuinely created a hand-painted 2D set! Each time a character is seen journeying between worlds, they’re sitting on what is essentially a cardboard cutout with a bit more structure. When I say they spared no expense, I mean it. Even the dreamhouses are a genuine set, which is incredible.
Some people have criticised the scriptwriting for being too childish or obvious – but isn’t that the whole point? They’re Barbies that are being used by children! It is a film meant for all ages. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t speaking in metaphors at age five because I had only just learnt how to tell stories. Silly lines that are super direct remind the audience of the setting of the film, and it’s genuinely quite endearing. It reminded me of being a kid and playing with my own Barbies because you can make them do whatever you want, even if you don’t really understand everything around you.
Promotion, for films, is everything. In this case, Barbie truly spared no expense and went all-out on their promotional events and premieres, which is kind of hilarious considering it’s been one of the most anticipated movies of the year. I do have to say though, they fumbled a bit with the Kench (anti-homeless bench painted pink with Ken plastered all over it). Coincidentally, it also clashed with the release date of Oppenheimer, another highly anticipated release.
Having gone into the cinema blind, I was expecting something similar to the classic Barbie show, ‘Life in the Dreamhouse’. I was certainly wrong, but not upset about it. Barbie turned out to be a movie about girlhood, womanhood, motherhood, and so many other experiences many women can relate to. Even the sweetest, most innocent moments made me tear up, simply because the lens Greta created about what it’s like to be a woman today, was so real and raw I felt understood from the inside out.
Barbie went from having an existential crisis about cellulite (something completely normal and acceptable), to actively choosing to age and become less ‘stereotypical’ and ideal because she’s learnt the beauty of being real.
This a particularly rebellious idea when you consider the stigma that surrounds ageing women. Retinol creams, baby Botox and anti-wrinkle straws are thrust upon girls before they even exit childhood. So for Barbie, who had never before even seen an older person, to tell the woman on the bench wholeheartedly that she is beautiful, and for the woman to confidently admit she knows it? Absolutely and so exceptionally revolutionary. That feeling is girlhood, which is potentially why men have such a problem with the film – they just simply don’t understand, and that’s ok! Women are allowed to have a movie specifically made for and by women.
Perhaps the reason people were so outraged at the ‘anti-men propaganda’ the film supposedly promotes, is because men in particular were fed a spoonful of their own medicine, and suddenly discovered – after feeding it to women since literally the beginning of time – that it tastes bitter and acetic, and goes down like coarse cement. And while yes, the roles in Barbie were technically reversed because Barbieland was a matriarchy, the Kens were never in any danger. They were just bored. I would argue that women in the real world would kill to be bored rather than scared. As soon as Barbie entered the real world, she immediately felt unsafe in her own skin. She was afraid of the attention she received, and couldn’t understand why men would behave in such a way. Then, when Ken brings patriarchy back to Barbieland, he uses it to reduce powerful women to maids and long-term long-distance low-commitment casual girlfriends – basically, an extension of themselves. To repeat, the Kens weren’t the main characters in Barbie land so they brought in patriarchy, stole the Barbie’s homes, took their jobs (but couldn’t do them properly) and then brainwashed them to be maids. So really, it wasn’t a role reversal at all – the Kens were still better off than the Barbies had been.
All in all, I really enjoyed Barbie. It made me laugh, cry, and think about the politico-economic state of the world all at once.