This summer we are seeing a whole lot of pink as fans are transported to Barbieland in Warner Bros new Barbie movie. Starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, this film was nothing short of fabulous. From the intricate set design to the empowering theme, Barbie truly made its mark on the movie world.
Every day is bright and wonderful in Barbieland, home of the Barbies, especially for the main character, Stereotypical Barbie. In Barbieland, where the Barbies rule every aspect of life, she lives in a perfectly pink Barbie Dream House. She has a ton of friends (all named Barbie), and her boyfriend, Ken, hangs out at the beach with the other Kens. In spite of the fact that he is neither a lifeguard nor a surfer, he argues that his work is “beach.”
The plot first takes off when Barbie suddenly begins to consider dying one day while at a party, for no apparent reason. Since she is an indestructible plastic doll, these thoughts are confusing and trigger a series of unfortunate events. She wakes up with bad breath, has a cold shower, a burnt waffle, falls off her roof, and worst of all, her feet go flat. All of these lead her to realize that the portal between Barbieland and the real world is broken, and someone is messing with her doll.
So, Barbie is forced to leave her utopia and travel to the real world with Ken in order to find who is playing with her and causing these issues . When she and Ken arrive, they find that they are suddenly self-conscious and mindful of being observed. She wonders why males are the more powerful sex and why women have such little to no influence. Women do not have the same type of importance in the real world as they have in hers, and it is a “reverse” society.
This is a reality jump for both the audience member and Barbie. The clear divide between the idealistic scenario and the truth of the real world demonstrates how heavily male-dominated the work industry is.
However, Ken adores this. He educates himself on patriarchy and returns to Barbieland while Barbie is still in LA, to take over with his “Kendom” after being so motivated by the power of men and horses.
Barbie is met with Ken’s new world as she returns from the actual world after discovering the mother (Gloria) and daughter (Sasha) who had been playing with her. Kens now dominate the world, and Barbies have been removed from all jobs. All of the Barbies have been “brainwashed” to follow the Kens’ instructions.
Barbie feels helpless for the first time in her life after attempting to communicate with Ken. She is now being treated as if she doesn’t exist because she is a woman. She gives up at this point in the movie and decides it is not worth it to try and get Barbieland back. Gloria and Sasha, however, insist that she not let them down.
Gloria has the ability to break the Barbies’ trance by delivering an inspirational monologue about how difficult it is to be a woman. Once the Barbies are all back to normal, they utilize some manipulation to pit the Kens against one another. The Barbies retake their positions and put the government back in order as the Kens fight.
Afterwards, Barbie and Ken have a conversation about how Ken’s actions are all the result of him struggling with his own identity since he doesn’t know who he is apart from being related to Barbie, who doesn’t even like him. Barbie advises him that he doesn’t have to be anything else and that it’s time for him to discover who he is without her.
The Barbies then determine that Barbieland should alter and at the very least work towards real equal rights for Barbies and Kens.
Gloria also suggests creating an ordinary Barbie doll, which reinforces the movie’s theme that everyone should be allowed to pursue their own ambitions without being pressured to live up to a fixed ideal.
This experience leaves Barbie to question her existence. As she and Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, take a walk, they wave goodbye to Barbieland. They enter an empty white void and Barbie admits she doesn’t feel like Barbie anymore. A montage then plays that takes you through the joys of womanhood, a powerful conclusion to the movie.
Overall, the Barbie movie was empowering, comedic
, and thought-provoking. As the trailer states, “if you love Barbie, this movie is for you. If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you”
