#ruth handler

[luminouslumity]

If this sweet old lady turns out to be Ruth Handler, I'm going to cry! For those who don't know, Ruth was the creator of Barbie, who was named after her daughter Barbara (the sunshine boy that is Ken is named after her son), so Barbie potentially meeting the person who is basically her mother would be really sweet! That said, Ruth passed in 2002 at 85, so either this is her ghost, a manifestation of her via Barbie's memories, or this takes place in a universe in which Ruth is somehow still alive. And considering this is already a film about a doll coming to the real world, I'd say anything is possible at this point!

[tiny-bird-of-sunshine]

there is something so satisfying about two of the most famous and anticipated movies this year, that both broke box office records, both having a jewish protagnist. take that antisemites.

[beenovel]

Just went and saw Barbie (there are no spoilers in this post!!)

Oh. My. God.

I managed to experience the full range of human emotion in an hour and 54 minutes. I have cried eight times now (four in the theater, four outside).

There were a BUNCH of women wearing pink, everyone was complimenting each other on their outfits. There was one guy dressed and magic earring ken and it made my whole night.

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie should win award and I'm not fucking around here. They both did incredible performances in such different ways (if you want a spoiler post where I go into detail I can do that) like they both did amazing jobs. The casting was perfect for every single character

I don't care if you don't like Barbie you need to go see that movie right the fuck now

[adaptationsdaily]

Alan in Barbie (2023) Directed by Greta Gerwig

[typoinmybloodbitch]

barbie’s scenes with ruth were so so BEAUTIFUL like movies can add the mother daughter trope and i will eat that shit up EVERY TIME they do

[chantalswelt]

R: You understand that humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever. Humans not so much. You know that, right?

B: I do.

R: Being a human can be pretty uncomfortable.

B: I know.

R: Humans make things up like patriarchy and Barbie just to deal with how uncomfortable it is.

GIFs by me - source

[portraitofadumbassonfire]

"I wanna be...a part of the people that make meaning, not the thing that's made. I want to do the imagining, I don't want to be the idea.

Does that make sense?"

BARBIE (dir. Greta Gerwig, wr. Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach)

[newyorkthegoldenage]

On March 9, 1959, at the North American International Toy Fair at 200 Fifth Avenue, Ruth Handler, founder (with her husband Elliott) of the toy company Mattel, displayed a new doll she called Barbie. Named after her daughter, the doll was meant to show that little girls could grow up to be more than mothers or caregivers—they could be firefighters, doctors, astronauts. "Experts" predicted that the doll would be a flop—they couldn't imagine children wanting to play with a grown-up doll.

They were wrong. In its first year, 300,000 Barbie dolls were sold. The first one sold for $3.00. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Photo: the original 1959 Barbie, from Barbie Media via Business Insider

[clueless-fan-critic]

Barbie: Yeah, I’m a Guy Who Watched the Barbie Movie.

Sooooo... I’ve watched the Barbie movie. And I am a man. So deal with it.

What is the Barbie Movie?

Basically, the Barbie Movie is about... well, Barbie. Everything pink and feminine as far as the eye can see. The movie itself however is taking it in a far different direction.

The film’s director Greta Gerwig is basically a surprising director to have for the film. Gerwig is known for her female-driven movies like Ladybird and Little Women to name a few. So it’s no surprise that Barbie is on a journey of self-discovery about her identity as a woman and a Barbie.

There’s also this whole Barbenheimer meme going on, but I’m talking about Barbie.

After Watching...?

The Barbie Movie is both a jaunty jab at the stereotypes of both male and female roles and Mattel, as well as a beautifully hilarious film thanks to Margot Robbie’s portrayal as the classic or stereotypical Barbie. Robbie’s Barbie goes though a transformation from the definitive Barbie to a fully grown being. Her existence is put into question as she learns more and more about the real world and the harsh truths that come with it. She slowly discovers that she’s more than a Barbie, but an actual person with autonomy and choice.

America Ferrera kills it as a lover of Barbie who had to live with Barbie’s standards in the real world. Ferrera gives a powerful speech about the constant frustrations of what it’s like to be a woman, perfectly encapsulating the highs and lows of the gender in a completely human way. Ferrera is the perfect person to take on this role based on her work from Ugly Betty and Superstore, showing more humanly real traits than superficial perfection.

Ryan Gosling’s Ken as an antagonist made a lot of sense once you think about the theme of film. Ken is essentially the butt of the joke that Barbie takes for granted, making him feel inadequate. So when he finds the respect he craved in the real world, he starts to build a “Kendom” for him and his fellow Kens to feel good about themselves and step out of the shadow of the Barbies. It is exactly how we all think would happen if Ken found out about patriarchy.

It basically tackles both ideas of feminism, patriarchy, hyper femininity, and toxic masculinity in this film without making it too preachy or forced in your face or that men are trash and women are perfect. No, it takes those ideas in a way that addresses the flaws in each set of philosophies while not demonizing or glorifying any side. They’re just opposing ideas with their own problems to deal with and some good ideas that are taken too much as fact without common sense.

The scene that moved me the most was Barbie’s choice to become human after experiencing life and having a conversation with the creator of Barbie Ruth Handler. Combined with the haunting Billie Eilish song “What Was I Made For” and flashes of various girls and women living life, it was a beautiful tribute to what Barbie was initially made for: a tribute to a daughter from a mother.

What Was Barbie Made For?

Barbie was made for those who think Barbie is just a doll that goes against modern women and those who believe Barbie to be an inspiring figure to strive, but most of all those who know the full history of a mother-daughter relationship in its creation.

If you love Barbie, you’ll love the movie. If you hate Barbie, you’ll love the movie. If you don’t know Barbie, you’ll love the movie.

[magpiemagica]

Just finished Black Barbie on Netflix with my mom. She and I liked it and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in Barbie, African American history, children’s psychology, fashion dolls, or the toy industry. Or documentaries in general.

As a doll loving autit, a lot of the Barbie history was recap. However, as a white American, listening to new experiences and viewpoints from a community I’m not a part of taught me a bunch.

This solidified a lot of the criticisms and frustrations I’ve already been having with modern Barbie/Mattel.

I hope this film helps spark productive conversations.

(Also side note: The doc’s timeline does up until the Big City Big Dreams movie. Pre Barbie movie era.)

[escapismthroughfilm]

⋆˚｡⋆ ⋆˚｡⋆⋆˚｡⋆ ⋆Barbie (2023) dir. Greta Gerwig⋆˚｡⋆ ⋆˚｡⋆⋆˚｡⋆ ⋆

[zebracorn-chan]

💘💖💝Happy National Barbie Day!💓💞💕

[annbourbon]

I saw this on Pinterest and despite some of the comments trying to explain it, I decided to give it a shot and explain it too:

Because when we're kids we do not think about it because we haven't been contaminated with those ideas. But you keep an idea going on for a while and that idea starts to transform into this.

That's why "ideas live forever" matters a lot when Ruth says it.

We are constantly fed by magazines, movies and social media about how we're not enough. Then we blame it onto icons (images, dolls, celebrities, people) to make sure our rage has a way out and we can express it because we've been pressurized either by those or even worse, our peers, and the people we love to fit and accept certain roles, and we even have a way to measure happiness.

But then Greta and America come into the picture to make sure your brain turns back to the way you used to be with Barbie Monologue. In a way, it's like, here's hoping you come back to your senses too, like the other Barbies.

Only for society getting pissed off at it after watching the movie. And making it about men. Again. Because "Get back into the box Barbie!" it's a perfect analogy of conformism.

Kind of ironic because I only have to look back at America's Ferrera speech to be once again proved right. Imagine feeling threatened by a plastic doll 💀 and with this my little essay concludes.

Now, better saying that fitting into labels and standards will kill us all lol

Yes, it's true that they help us to realize who we are and what do we want but they also help us to "keep the status" and make sure "others" do not enter into our world. From that moment on, there's and will always be a barrier. A wall. It takes constant work to make sure those walls stay down, making sure people cross without getting worried about these things. Labels are fluid. Do not let them define you.

[jewishpopculture]

“Barbie” has finally been released to theaters.

Multiple Jewish actors appear in the film, including Kingsley Ben-Adir, Hari Nef, Ana Cruz Kayne, Ariana Greenblatt, Marisa Abela, and Rhea Perlman.

The inventor of the Barbie doll, Ruth Handler, was also Jewish.

Noah Baumbach, who co-wrote the script with the film’s director Greta Gerwig, is Jewish as well.

[itsagentromanoff]

The new Barbie movie was really good

[barbielore]

I’m genuinely surprised to know that there are no officially released Mattel products for Barbie that reference Jewish religious or cultural customs. I genuinely would have thought that there would be at least one by now - at least as a part of a collectors series, if nothing else.

This comes as a particular surprise as the creator of Barbie, Ruth Handler, and Barbie’s namesake, Ruth’s daughter Barbara, were Jewish women. In fact, when Saudi Arabia commented on the ban on the sale of Barbie dolls, one of the reasons given for this is that Barbie was Jewish.

Most of the mass market Barbies produced around the December season tend to be marketed as secular “Holiday” Barbies rather than naming Christmas or any other religious celebration.

I think it’s fair to say a lot of these dolls appear Christmas-adjacent, using iconography associated with e.g. Santa, candy canes and Christmas trees.

And there are some that explicitly refer to Christmas or Easter, though typically with a lean to the less religious aspects of the holiday, like gift giving and egg collecting.

And there are Barbies that have been released themed around religious and/or cultural celebrations from around the world - just to name a few, there are Barbies to celebrate Kwanzaa, Diwali, and Dia de los Muertos.

So personally, I think Barbie is overdue for a Jewish culture Barbie - what do you think?