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Right wing commentator, Ben Shapiro pictured at the Barbie movie wearing all black, frowning and holding a stack of angry notes he took during the movie. (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by trashhalo@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

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My producers dragged me to see 'Barbie' and it was one of the most woke movies have ever seen. My ful review of this flaming garbage heap of a film will be out on my YouTube channel tomorrow at 10am ET.

I normally post news on here but this picture is legit hilarious. Mods feel free to delete if not appropriate 😹

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[–] acastcandream@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It’s about Barbie being a strong, independent woman.

What interesting is it's actually everyone else who is being strong and independent! You'll notice Barbie is not actually doing anything. All of her problems are either purely internal (existential crisis that she is navigating by observing others) OR completely external but she can't solve them herself. The mom/daughter and Ken are the ones experiencing autonomy and self-actualization, they are the ones taking direct action and driving the plot forward. Barbie is a catalyst.

Barbie is - wait for it - an accessory to help them with their personal growths! And by participating in this, Barbie is not only helping everyone else, but becoming a "real" multi-dimensional character in her own right.

I really enjoyed this movie, sorry to dig this weeks old post up lol

[–] loobkoob@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Don't apologise for digging it up, it's a really good comment! Barbie being an accessory to other people's growth is a brilliant way of framing it that I hadn't considered - I love that!

I also like framing it that, at the beginning of the film, everyone's identity is somewhat defined by Barbie (as a concept - not the character):

Barbie is obvious - she is just living the "dream" Barbie life and doesn't know anything outside of that. She struggles when she starts to gain humanity because she feels inferior to the other, more accomplished Barbies (doctor Barbie, president Barbie, astronaut Barbie, etc);
Ken - his entire life revolves around being "and Ken"; He exists to be Barbie's mild love interest, and is basically irrelevant when Barbie's not around;
The mother is basically clinging onto childhood optimism and better times by playing with Barbie. She's using Barbie as an escape, but she's also warping the concept of Barbie with her depression;
The daughter is wholly and actively rejecting Barbie (and her and her friends are also references to Bratz - the "anti-Barbie"), to the point where she's overly cynical, tough, bitter, and not empathetic enough.

By the end of the film, I think everyone ends up empowering and being empowered by the ideals of Barbie (the concept) while also rejecting the relationship they had with the concept at the start of the film:

Barbie learns to be human. She gains empathy. She sees the value in women having roles like doctor, president, astronaut, etc, but realises it shouldn't be an expectation for every woman and that she's not inferior for not having one of those jobs;
Ken starts his journey of discovering his own identity, rather than just being an extension of/accessory to Barbie;
The mother and daughter repair their relationship and the mother (we can assume) stops her "depressed Barbie" creations as her life improves.
The daughter realises some parts of Barbie's message are positives - that it's meant for empowerment rather than to set unrealistic expectations. So in some ways, she embraces the concept of Barbie, which is a rejection of her previous relationship with the concept.