#critique of Barbie movies

[loganslowdown4]

Barbie movie eh?

I just had a vision that Thomas would maybe make a short or a movie review video as the Critic when he goes to watch the Barbie movie 😂😂💗

I really really hope so!

[they-them-pussy]

new metric for media literacy for film bros is if they understand the barbie movie.

the kens are first presented as accessories to their barbies and it's pointed out loud that they don't even have places to stay in barbieland. one of the barbies straight up asks "wait, where do the kens stay?". they're just arm candy made to look pretty and cool while the barbies run their world.

but that's fucked up!!! the film presents it as fucked up! that's why ken screams "YOU FAILED ME!" and why he is insecure in the first place because he wanted to be respected and seen as a person, not someone who only exists in relation to someone else. should he have done what he did? no!!! that's why it's part of the conflict! the root of both of their breakdowns was in their society in that the barbies are supposed to be perfect and the kens exist in relation to them! it's barbie and ken. he was a footnote. that's why barbie apologizes to him in the end and tells him he can be himself. she doesn't have to exist by some set of rules and neither does he! it's barbie and it's ken! sure, the resolution to the whole barbieland issue wasn't perfect, BUT KEN'S WHOLE ARC IS ABOUT HOW THEIR WORLD FAILED MEN. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS MOVIE WAS 'WOMEN GOOD MAN BAD'. WHAT ABOUT THE NUANCE

[nicollekidman]

Why are people mad at the barbie promo?

it's not a standard promotional cycle for a film that happens to involve mattel's famous toy. it is a massive brand push to revitalize a product for a new age, and the movie is the commercial. it is not normal to have promotion that includes collaborations with: airbnb, hair tools, many makeup companies, rollerskates, forever21, canned lemonade, ruggable, toothburshes, skincare, shoe lines, gap, pacsun, OPI etc etc etc............... like i'm going to go see the movie! it will in all likelihood be fun and enjoyable. but this rollout is explicitly mattel's first phase in what they hope is a HUGE endeavor to make "cinema" out of every one of their products, as a way to get more people to buy these products. regardless of how the barbie movie turns out, it is not actually good for anyone to have a failing film industry turn to self-cannibalizing commercial products for story. i hope everyone has a good time! i don't give a fuck if you want to buy a hot pink dress and go with your girlfriends and revel in your #womanhood or whatever. but the degree to which mattel has already had input in the actual movie + made people think that their massive push of product is some sort of cool innovative trendy Promotion (while having plans to do this to. 45 other producuts) is like. lol oh boy.

[deadliestpieceontheboard]

"The Barbie movie can't have anything meaningful to say because it's marketing for a doll". Cool, now try again without the nihilism.

[daenerysbeauty]

I feel like if Barbie had been an exploration of an adult woman’s bond with her daughter’s neglected doll and an examination of motherhood/girlhood OR if it had been about how men can feel isolated due to patriarchal norms and in turn become radicalized proponents of patriarchy but men themselves are not bad and deserve to feel wanted and to display healthy emotions and self worth OR if it had been a critique of corporate, it would have worked, but the film crammed everything in and didn’t develop much of it

[oakwyrm]

I enjoyed the Barbie movie for what it was, but I have some thoughts.

[library-fae]

as a trans guy, watching barbie was a weird experience. i felt disconnected from every character except allan, and even then there was a disconnect

this decision of solely men as the patriarchy and women as the oppressed ignores so much of the nuances of race, gender, sexuality, disability and culture and how that impacts your treatment in society

am i a trans gay disabled man given the same amount of priviledge as a cishet abled white man?

[gojuo]

barbenheimer for people whose IQ is in the double digits at the very least

[first-ex-wife]

I think one of my favourite little moments of the Barbie movie was when Ncuti's Ken says that he misses his friend Barbie

I think it says a lot of different things in a really succinct moment, starting with how isolating upholding the patriarchy can be. you can also see this when the Kens turn against each other, of course, but the maintenance of this power erodes at friendships, and especially sacrifices these relationships in order to serve something that is perceived to be much more valuable: dominance

it also shows that while the Kens thought that they wanted Barbies who hung on their every word and served them, they didn't. oppressing and dominating the Barbies in this way stripped away core elements of their being. they weren't their smart, capable, wonderful selves anymore, they just existed as servants. upholding the patriarchy requires dehumanizing those seen as lesser or beneath you (as much as you can dehumanize a doll), and I think it's important that the Kens realize that this dehumanization is not worth stripping the Barbies of everything that makes them special. in the end, they want the women they've always known, been friends with and fallen in love with, not empty, vapid shells. and I love that this Ken loves this Barbie for who she truly is

I also really like the use of the word "friend" because it contrasts with what Ryan Gosling's Ken thought he wanted, to take the relationship to a more romantic place. I think this serves to show that Kens learn they love their Barbies platonically, and that they'd rather have her in their life in this way than try to pursue something romantic because it's what they're told they should want. overall, I think it really is one of the best feminist moments in the film and also just really touching when she goes to him and they can be reunited

[troythecatfish]

[peachgummycandy]

i love this. i love seeing other people resonate with the things that resonated with me while watching barbie. i love learning what stood out to different people. i love reading about things i didn't even notice but agree with wholeheartedly. i love seeing different opinions that are are all so valid because we all have different experiences, but also seeing how deeply similar our experiences have been, and the relief that comes with knowing that.

i get bored by memes pretty fast, but i will never get sick of reading these. please add more

[mieczyhale]

"considering mattel is pro-israel i don't think they mind the genocidal barbie look"

y'all just be saying anything these days

[boudicca]

i haven't seen barbie yet and to be clear i'm aware of the obviously unacceptable racist lines in the movie but like. people on here seem so shocked by the movie not being this perfectly leftist intersectional feminist antiracist teardown of the patriarchy and heteronormativity. it's a greta gerwig movie about barbie, the world's skinniest blonde blue eyed plastic mass-produced doll. were you expecting rousseau and davis to be having introspective egalitarian antihierarchical dialogue moderated by simone de beauvoir between scenes

[thecynicalcinephile]

So, About The Barbie Movie (2023),

All brand movies need to be made by independent directors from now on. This is what you can get when you take your IP and put in the hands of someone who actually has a creative vision for it, instead of someone who just wants to cash the check, and give them real creative control.

Rather than just being a soleless cash grab, this film actually delves into the nuances of the source material, using it as a lense to discuss relatable real world issues while being absolutely hilarious at the same time. My whole theater was laughing, but I was genuinely moved by the ending.

Speaking about the ending, spoiler alert. Skip this paragraph if you don't want to know the ending. You've been warned. The creation of Normal Barbie and having Stereotypical Barbie become human, and thus eventually die, obviously symbolizes how we have to move on from perfect ideas. Life isn't perfect, and that's what makes it beautiful. Life should not be some endless pursuit of being constantly perfect and constantly young and never making any mistakes ever, life should be life because anything else would be a tragedy.

And the really beautiful part of this whole movie is, that's just one of many crucial & beautiful messages seeded throughout. If you watch this film, there will be at least one scene, one moment, one message that resonates with you, no matter where you are in life.

Go out and see this one in theaters. The trailers were right. If you love Barbie, this is for you. If you hate Barbie, this is for you. This is a real film for the whole family.

[yourmoonmomma]

Jayson & I watched Barbie last night. I thought it was a silly lil movie, one of the ones where you can laugh and cringe about the over the top relatable experiences.

But Jayson CRIED at the end?!?! And then I go online and a LOT OF PEOPLE ARE CRYING?!? And talking about how it hit em in the mommy issues department, or reminded them of the mother-daughter connection?!?!

All this movie taught me is that my job should also be Beach. I think my mother fucked me up in a way different way than some of these Barbie girlies moms did.

[theholidayslingerlikebadperfume]

a lot of the critique i see of the barbie film to this day completely ignores a lot of the film's own narrative and story-telling.

like why are yall still pretending like the barbie film didn't call out capitalism feminism? like that was very much a theme in that movie.

is it because barbie doesn't reject femininity at the end in what you've been told is what real feminism looks like all the time?????

i really don't understand why so many critiques of this film cannot look past all the pink and fun of girlhood depicted to see like actual, tangible feminist themes that go beyond "girl boss good" and actually includes a look at patriarchy from both sides of the gendered aisles there.

why are you calling it a intro to feminism film when the movie explicitly and heavily focuses on talking about how women AND MEN are both victims of the patriarchy and how dismantling it requires a dismantling of masculinity as well as femininity. that's at least 200 level feminism right there.

idk i just... women can like girly things and still have ideas worth listening to. women don't have to act like men to be respected and listened to.