THE BARBIE MOVIE? FEMINISM? OR SOMETHING MORE?

Warning: This article will talk about the Barbie movie and its content. It will include spoilers from the movie. Read with discretion.

There is no doubt the movie ‘Barbie’ left an impression on many people. The movie is one of the biggest movies released so far in 2023. There is even a trend in which you can decide if your partner or future partner is a ‘red flag’ based on their interpretation of the movie or if they liked the movie or not. The 114-minute movie suddenly became more than just a form of entertainment. Most people would know that the movie has underlying feminist motives behind it. It was shown throughout the movie after all. However, there is something more to dig into from the movie.

The movie projected two worlds: our world and Barbieland. Our world is run by the patriarchy, while Barbieland is run by the matriarchy. It depicts both as bad. In our world, women are treated as an object, and on the other hand, Kens are treated like an accessory in Barbieland. Just as women are told that their value is connected to a man, Kens are told that their value is connected to Barbie. It seems like at the end of the movie, Barbie realized this too.

On the other hand, this movie also depicts how the patriarchy not only represses women but also men. This can be seen by the character Ken saying that he lost interest in the patriarchy when he learned that it is not about horses. Yet, he continues to put on a front to be strong and the one in charge without showing any emotions.

The last part that some people might find confusing is when Barbie asks if she could be human. Ruth, the creator of Barbie, said that only Barbie can do it herself. Now, this refers to our relationship with our parents. Our parents might have created and taken care of us, but what we decide to do is up to us. In the end, we all have our path, what we want to do could be different from our parents and we can only do it by ourselves.

All in all, Barbie is a great movie with such a powerful message. These are just some examples of how the movie could be interpreted. Several things might have been missed in this article, but it was a fun movie to debunk. So, if you have any theories, feel free to share them with your friends for a fun conversation.