Barbie from a storyteller’s perspective
A case study in storytelling
Greta Gerwig’s new film, Barbie, has overtaken the world. It has surpassed a billion dollars at the box office and motivated countless conversations among friends and family. With a pretty pink bow, this film has captured nostalgia, commented on gender power structures, and unearthed the existential human condition.
In her past films, Lady Bird and Little Women, Gerwig has successfully crafted raw and believable female characters that contrast with Hollywood’s male gaze depiction of cookie-cutter women. With Barbie, she continues to explore the complexities of female identity and goes a step further to make women’s struggles in society accessible to the mainstream.
The film’s pink wonderland and glossy finishes hold much narrative structure that helps propel this feminist film forward. In this article, I wanted to take a closer look at the storytelling aspects that Gerwig employs in her new film. Beware of spoilers.
Barbie’s Character arc
In terms of character arc, Barbie has a positive change arc. In this type of arc, a character follows a pre-established status quo. Let’s call this a belief they have in the world. The characters also believe a lie that guides their behavior around this status quo. Through the film, the belief and lie are challenged, and the character struggles until they encounter and adopt an overall truth that turns them into more fulfilled and satisfied individuals.
Belief: Barbie Land has solved all the problems of feminism
Lie: The world is perfect.
Truth: There is beauty in imperfection. Barbie trades plastic perfection for the raw authenticity of the real world.
I’ll expand more upon the development of this character arc through the three-act story structure.
1st act
Normalcy
The beginning of stories establishes a sense of normalcy that serves as a launching pad for viewers to refer to once the characters have embarked on a journey.
The movie starts with an upbeat and flashy song introduction, courtesy of Lizzo, into the perfect plastic world of Barbie Land. In this world, Margot Robbie follows a polished routine of waving to the other Barbies and going to the beach. It’s an idyllic world where flat feet and cellulite are non-existent.
At the beach, we meet her boyfriend, Ken — a tan and blonde Ryan Gosling who wishes to get Barbie’s attention and validation. Ken invites himself over to Barbie’s dream house later that evening, only to discover she has already planned a giant blowout party with planned choreography.
At the party, everyone dresses to impress. There are flashy lights and great dancing. Everyone is happy and celebrating the amazingness of Barbie Land. Then, mid-dance routine, Barbie breaks the mood with existential questions regarding death.
Though Barbie saves herself from the sudden slip of her tongue, this existential question serves as a string that Gerwig will continue to pull on. The introduction also serves to demonstrate Ken and Barbie’s relationship. Ken appears to be more dependent on Barbie than Barbie is on Ken.
Inciting Incident
The inciting incident serves as a point where the characters are stripped of the previously established normalcy.
In this case, it’s the day after the party when Barbie discovers she is malfunctioning. Her perfect morning routine goes awry when she wakes up to flat feet, a cold shower, burnt toast, and, as a cherry on top, falls off her roof (as opposed to gracefully floating down it).
The other Barbies suggest she visit Weird Barbie– a Barbie that has been played with too hard– for answers.
First plot point
The first plot point points characters in the direction to begin their journey. It also introduces or follows up on aspects of the story that will be relevant to the remainder of the story.
Motivated by necessity, Barbie makes the trek to visit Weird Barbie. Weird Barbie functions as a wise sage with answers on imperfection and the human world. She is different from the other Barbie’s in that she does not participate in the perfect routine of Barbie land.
Gerwig creates the divide between Weird Barbie and the other Barbies by giving Weird Barbie more fluorescent bright colors, which contrast with the usual pastels of Barbie Land. Weird Barbie also lives secluded in the mountains, has scribble marks on her face, a funky haircut, and lounges in the splits.
Weird Barbie explains to Barbie that her sudden thoughts of death originate from the human that is playing with her. She then gives Barbie a dead-end ultimatum — she can ignore her problems and return to the blissful ignorance of Barbie Land or venture to the Real World and find the human who’s been making her have depressing thoughts.
Reluctantly, Barbie prepares to go to the human world. In a reference to The Wizard of Oz, Barbie gets on her version of the yellow brick road, but instead of going to the Emerald City, she’s on course to the Real World.
She discovers that Ken has stowed himself away in her back seat, which is very on-character for a Ken who determines his worth by how useful he is to Barbie. The two then make their way to discover how humans live.
Reactionary
In the reactionary stage, the characters must navigate a new world that challenges their pre-established beliefs and lies. Through this, they are slowly guided to experience the truth.
Upon arriving in the Real World, Barbie feels strange in her neon leotard. She receives unwanted attention from men and describes herself as feeling uncomfortably observed. Contrastingly, Ken loves the attention and feels as though he is being admired.
Barbie quickly lands herself in jail after she punches a man who slaps her butt. There, she encounters cops who make uncomfortable comments about her. Other things like confusing Miss Universe contestants with the Supreme Court and wrongly thinking that a construction site will be filled with female empowerment suggest to Barbie that the real world is far from perfect.
Meanwhile, Ken has gone through a breakthrough and discovers all the power that men hold in the real world. His gears start turning about how he can set this up in Barbie Land.
As Barbie’s lie (her idea that the world is perfect) is broken down, she starts to experience a swoon of emotions– anxiety, happiness, sadness, fear, etc. This whirlwind of emotions manifests through her shedding a tear. The raw emotions caused by the intricacies and imperfections of the Real World make her experience something that goes beyond fabricated perfection. She experiences something real.
As Barbie navigates through her newfound emotions, she follows Weird Barbie’s advice. She sees a vision of the girl who plays with her going to school, and in an attempt to return to normalcy, she searches for her.
At the school, she meets Sasha, the girl Barbie thinks is playing with her. She turns out to be a brutally honest tween who finishes bursting Barbie’s bubble on how the real world functions. The world isn’t perfect and the invention of Barbie did not solve all the problems of women. Instead, it set false beauty standards on what women should look like.
Meanwhile, the bosses at Mattel have discovered that Barbie and Ken are in the real world. This threatens Mattel as the doll’s actions in the real world can unleash chaos in their new release of products. They must return Barbie to Barbie Land at all costs.
In this corporate scene, we also meet what appears to be the only woman in the company, Gloria, a desk assistant who is drawing a Barbie with existential thoughts.
While the Mattel employees are going to retrieve Barbie, she experiences a character breakdown. She can no longer cling to her belief that Barbie Land has solved the problems of feminism or her lie that the world is perfect. When Mattel employees arrive to retrieve her, she is more than willing to go to her creators and hand the problem to those above her.
In the reactionary section, Gerwig begins to pull on subplots that will help set up the film’s second act. Viewers learn that the desk assistant, Gloria, is Sasha’s mom and wants to rescue Barbie. We also see that Ken returns to Barbie Land to implement the patriarchy to elevate men’s power.
Backing up Into a Corner
In Backing Up Into a Corner, the characters can no longer cling to their lie or belief. Thus, they encounter people who guide them to encounter the truth.
When Barbie arrives at the Mattel headquarters, the leaders try to put her back into a box, but after discovering that no woman is in charge, she runs away. In the carefully choreographed chase scene, Barbie stumbles upon Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, and the closest thing Barbie has to a maternal figure. She helps her escape from the Mattel headquarters.
When she makes it out, Gloria saves Barbie from her Mattel bosses in a getaway car, and Barbie discovers that she is the one who is having existential thoughts. Sasha is Gloria’s daughter, but she never really played with Barbie like her mother did. Barbie brings both Gloria and Sasha back to Barbie Land.
2nd act
Second Plot Point
The Second Plot Point will function as a beat that adds structure to the narrative and reveals deeper themes about the story. Usually, the character’s emotional reactions to losing their lie and belief turn into them taking physical action.
When Barbie returns to Barbie Land, she discovers that Ken has introduced patriarchy and taken over. Barbie Land is overflowing with Mojo Dojo Casa houses, horses, and beer. The other Barbie’s have turned into subservient sidekicks that dress for the male gaze and serve to entertain the Kens.
This second beat breaks Barbie down because she has to face that even her world is no longer perfect. She feels lost and stuck.
Disaster Dark Moment
In the Disaster Dark Moment, the characters feel lost and without guidance.
This shift in Barbie Land puts her in a larger existential crisis, and she falls helplessly on the grass. Moreover, after realizing that Barbie Land has similar problems to the real world, Gloria and Sasha decide to leave.
To make matters worse, the Kens decide to change the Barbie Land constitution and turn it into Kenland.
Aha Moment
The Aha Moment manifests itself when all hope is lost. Suddenly, a light at the end of the tunnel appears, and someone comes to fight back against the dark and gloom. This moment provides hope for the coming climax.
While Gloria and Sasha are driving back to the real world, Sasha convinces Gloria to return and help Barbie because she should fight for the things she cares about. They find Barbie and other brainwashed Barbies at Weird Barbie’s house (crazy sentence, I know!).
In an attempt to relate to Barbie’s existential crisis, Gloria delivers her feminist monologue on patriarchy’s effects on women. This speech miraculously rewires some of the other Barbies back to their old self.
Little by little, Gloria and the rewired Barbies help the brainwashed Barbies return to their senses. With more Barbies to fight against Ken’s patriarchy, Barbie feels things might return to normal.
The Barbies devise a plan to turn the Kens against each other. They will fake interest in what the Kens like to do but then play with their egos to turn them against each other.
3rd act
Climax
The climax functions as the peak of conflict and tension. It tests the characters and prepares them to confront the truth.
The Barbies have successfully turned the Kens against each other by playing with their egos. They engage in a dance-off followed by an epic war at the beach. Meanwhile, the Barbies meet at the courthouse to vote for a return to Barbie Land.
After-Effects
In the after-effects, there appears to be a return to normalcy, but the characters have changed, so what was once normal to them is not what they want anymore. After the climax, the characters have to face the truth.
Upon discovering that Barbie Land has been restored, Ken has a breakdown. We discover he was motivated to establish the patriarchy to gain Barbie’s attention and establish a stronger romantic relationship. However, Barbie admits that she doesn’t love him and that he should work to find a purpose in which he is ‘Kenough’ and doesn’t rely on Barbie’s attention for personal fulfilment.
Even though Barbie Land has returned to its female utopia of the beginning, Barbie struggles with finding her happy ending. She can’t return to the shallow, perfect world of Barbie Land and doesn’t feel fulfilled with her predetermined conclusion of loving Ken.
Barbie experiences an awakening in which she requires fulfillment beyond the fabricated plastic of Barbie Land. She meets with Ruth in a liminal space in which Barbie expresses her interest in going beyond being an idea. She wants to be the one imagining the idea. With existential thoughts and a sudden interest in imperfection, Barbie decides to become human to continue adding to the narrative of female empowerment. The human world will be far from the pink perfection of Barbie land, but it will be real and raw.
Sources
https://www.litbug.com/2023/07/22/barbie-movie-review-analysis-2023/
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/barbie-movie-review-2023
https://www.vulture.com/article/barbie-ending-explained-transcending-corporate-ip.html
