The Barbie Movie
There is no denying the impact the Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is having. It has not just resonated with children and adults of both sexes, but people of all kinds across the globe. It is now officially the highest-grossing Warner Brothers movie -EVER- ahead of Batman, and Greta Gerwig is now the highest-grossing female director of all time in domestic box office sales. The movie has broken numerous box office records, including being both the biggest preview night and box office opening in 2023 and as of last week surpassed $1.34 Billion in worldwide sales, making it the highest grossing film of 2023. And that’s just since its July 21st release. These are certainly no small feats, especially given Barbie’s history.
I must admit, after seeing the film, I felt a lot of feelings. Happy, reminiscent, sad and even confused at times-and that’s just a few of the emotions I progressed through. The film was pure eye, ear and heart candy for me, between the fashion, music and pink dreamlike state it induced. I literally laughed with absolute giddiness as I relived the Barbie-life I created in my mind through the movie on the screen - until I found myself crying big, fat tears as I flashed back to when I got my Barbie Dream House. At the age of four, I was attacked by my neighbors’ German Shepherd while feeding it ice cream and the Barbie Dream House was a present from my parents to cheer me up and give me something special and fun to do while I recovered. I LOVED Barbie, Ken and all of the characters that Barbie represented, as so many girls did back then and still do today. Needless to say, the Barbie Dream House brings back a multitude of memories for me.
Honestly, over the years, I have fluctuated back-and-forth between love and admiration for Barbie, and contempt. On one hand, I’ve been captivated by, even proud of the ideals and strong, iconic qualities that creator Ruth Handler gave her. Yet on the other, I've been disheartened by the controversies that have sprung up. And I don’t think I am alone here. Handler created Barbie to teach young girls to be empowered by making their own choices and become anything they want to be, which is why she has had over 200 careers. An article in Hadassah Magazine by Renée Rosen explains that "By the early 1960s, Mattel was flooded with fan mail from girls asking for Barbie to marry her perpetual boyfriend, Ken, and have a baby,”. Handler refused to allow Barbie to marry Ken because she didn’t want young girls to feel as though being married and having children was their only option. In 1964 “Skipper”, Barbie’s younger sister, was created by Handler for Barbie instead of a baby. On the flip-side, Barbie has been blamed for causing body dysmorphia due to her unattainable, ‘perfect’ shape and encouraging materialism and sexism. Women have endured a world of inequality amidst sky-high expectations to be perfect for forever and interestingly enough, Barbie has too. She has been seen as a figure of strength and positivity, and other times as an object. An object criticized, even mocked for her femininity and beauty. In fact, many girls and women, much like America Ferrara’s character Gloria in the Barbie movie, have been unsure over time just how to feel about Barbie. Ferrara gives an impactful performance as a result of those exact feelings and throughout the film she comes to numerous revelations that lead her to give an incredible monologue, speaking to this issue along with what women face every single day: having to do and be all to everyone, while still never being seen as equal to men.
The story relates the real-world experience of women throughout history and speaks to the difficulties that we have experienced in the past but also up to this very day. And while we are making strides thanks to all the powerful, hard-working women that came before us from Annie Easley to Jane Fonda, Oprah Winfrey to Greta Thunberg, Rosa Parks to Margaret Thatcher, Marie Curie to Amelia Earhart and last but certainly not least, Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie and co-founder of Mattel toys, we have a long way to go. Ruth, even as the co-founder of Mattel, along with her husband, had to convince an all-male board of directors to bring Barbie to life in the 1950s. Imagine what THAT was like!!! Once she managed that, she had to fight through the failed launch of the doll at the 1959 NYC American Toy Fair but eventually prevailed as a result of her persistence and the core ideals that she built around Barbie.
Clearly the world was ready for this film and so was I. Kudos to Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrara and all those involved with making it. The Barbie movie is not only timely and significant for girls and women, but for all of us. And not just a pretty, pink dream, but a film that shares a powerful message that I hope takes root in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. I could go on and on but the bottom line is, there is still so much work to be done when it comes to women’s rights, human rights, and everything going on in the world right now - A LOT.
We’ll leave the longer list of topics for another day but for now I just want to say that I’m grateful for the timing of this movie. It has inspired me to create some Barbiecore pieces and to get my first blog out into the world but I want to ask you to help me keep the ball rolling. Let’s discuss… What did or does current day Barbie mean to you? What did you think of the film? What other topics can we touch on relating to this, or anything else that comes to mind?! I want to encourage conversations of all kinds and build a community with you so please, chime in whether here, on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok or via email. All of those links are available here on the Laina Chere website.
Happy Labor Day weekend! I hope you have a wonderful relaxing one with those you love. And if you haven’t see the Barbie movie yet, go check it out and share your thoughts with us!
Xo, Laina Chere
