I Don’t Care That You Didn’t Like Barbie
The premiere of the Barbie movie this past summer had a horde of people dressed in pink flooding the theaters to watch their childhood icon come to life.
Not everyone shared the excitement, however. Barbie has repeatedly been criticized for simplifying feminism. Specifically, America Ferrera’s monologue that described some of the woes of womanhood. In it, she explained the balancing act that women are forced to perform. For example, the expectations to be pretty but not too pretty, thin but not too thin, smart but not too smart, etc.
Barbie has been a topic of controversy since her debut in 1959. Ruth Handler had the idea for the doll after she realized her daughter’s toys only offered the role of a mother whereas her son’s toys allowed him to play as a firefighter, astronaut, doctor, etc. Despite the noble cause, Barbie’s iconic design would be accused of upholding and subscribing to unrealistic beauty standards.
In my opinion, the franchise has adapted to the changes in our society and culture very well. Mattel currently has 680 dolls with varying body types, skin tones, ages, and careers listed on its site right now. It also donates $250,000 a year to non-profit organizations dedicated to helping young girls reach their full potential through its “Dream Gap Project.”
I’m not trying to paint Barbie as a feminist icon. I simply think it’s unfair to judge the brand so harshly.
My issue with Barbie, more specifically the Barbie movie, is the resulting focus on men. I’ll be honest, I’m tired of hearing about Rylan Gosling and Ken. It’s ironic, but unfortunately not surprising, considering it’s a film centered around womanhood.
Gosling began trending on the internet shortly after the movie’s release, as his character was instantly a fan favorite. His slogan from the movie, “I am Kenough,” was slapped on t-shirts and hoodies, repeatedly selling out on Mattel’s website.
Barbie won one out of the nine Academy Awards it was nominated for: “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish won Best Music (Original Song). Despite this, Gosling performed his song “I’m Just Ken” live at the ceremony this year. He was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. I’d like to mention that Margot Robbie wasn’t nominated for Best Lead Actress. I’m not interested in arguing about the reasons that may be. I’m just making an observation.
While reading other articles about the movie on Medium, I found that a lot of people took issue with Barbie for a handful of reasons. These include the matriarchy depicted in the film, a lack of representation, and the portrayal of femininity. Personally, I don’t feel bad for fictional men getting a taste of their own medicine and I don’t think Barbie is a horrible role model.
However, I do believe that being a woman and disliking a movie marketed towards women doesn’t make you special. Criticizing Barbie for not meeting your feminist standards while calling her a bimbo in the same breath is so ironic that it’s actually hilarious. Do you really expect a movie based on a plastic toy to be a feminist think piece?
I agree, there’s a number of people who have given a little too much praise to Barbie’s social commentary. I take no issue with criticism of these narratives, but have a little class.
I’m supposed to include a call to action in this piece so here it is: stop pissing me off.
