Since teasers for Barbie debuted months prior to its release, the impression of a dazzling, humorous comedy left a strong imprint on predictions about the film. As full-length trailers were released, these predictions were solidified. However, Barbie surprised audiences with a heartfelt reflection on womanhood, what it means to be a human, and to tell your own story.
Set in the pink plasticity of Barbie Land, Margot Robbie plays the role of stereotypical Barbie, who after a series of unusual events ventures into the real world to repair the relationship with the girl that is playing with her trans-universal doll.
The vibrancy of Barbie Land is contrasted by the dull, muted shades of the real world.
Barbie’s journey into the real world represents a loss of innocence in an alternative coming-of-age manner. Realizing the truths of the real world and the prejudices women face turns out not to be the most vibrant and joyous process, which causes Barbie to spiral into dread and shame. The feeling that her identity as a Barbie, a symbol of empowerment among girls and women, has amounted to no change results in the primary question she must face: what was she made for?
Accompanying Barbie on her journey is Ken, played by Ryan Gosling in a career best supporting performance. Throughout the film, Ken acts as an antagonistic figure who experiences his own transformation alongside Barbie.
Upon entering the real world, his reaction is in stark contrast to Barbie’s. Feeling empowered by the hyper-chauvinistic experiences of the patriarchal real world, Ken goes on to assert similar power over the Barbie Land, using patriarchy as an unhealthy way of coping with his feeling of inferiority towards the Barbies.
Ken’s character arc serves as a representation of the boys we grew up with who willingly exploited the system of patriarchy that seeks to elevate them even at the expense of women. Barbie and Ken’s journey back to Barbie Land represents a sort of healing of an inner child, unlearning the notions they previously believed to be true pertaining to how the patriarchy manipulated them. In order to set the record straight and undo their wrongs, they must return to where they began.
At the end of the film, Barbie is left at a crossroads of where her own story must go. In a conversation with the creator of the dolls, Ruth, Barbie expresses how she doesn’t feel like a doll, and asks for permission to be a human. Ruth states how she does not need permission, and that the power to be the creator of ideas is all in her hands.
This sentiment is one of the film’s most powerful, as it eliminates the question she was faced with during her crisis. She doesn’t need to know what she was made for; the fact is that she was made, and that she is both the idea and the imaginer.
Barbie is an amalgamation of many polarizing elements. It’s nostalgic but forward thinking; radiant but dim; camp but impressive; clever but heartfelt. It is a film with an airtight narrative and a complete, satisfying character arc that leaves the audience laughing through tears.
Films in popular cinema that are successful at straddling these extremely polarized themes are rare, making Barbie an instant classic.
