Barbie’s Bastardized Critique of Patriarchy
Movies are a product of the social climate that they are produced in. Barbie is no exception, endorsing the widely popularized idea that the way to defeat the patriarchy is to leave the system that gave rise to it untouched but install women at the helm. With an all-star cast and extravagant sets, the film is a perfect addition to an era defined by calls for more women bankers and politicians without any discussion about what it is that bankers and politicians actually do.
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Margot Robbie stars as Barbie in a quintessential casting choice alongside an equally appropriate Ryan Gosling who plays Ken. The film opens with some supposed history, claiming that “since there have been little girls, there have been dolls” while portraying girls playing with baby dolls. Then enters Barbie, who is revolutionary because playing with her doesn’t serve as preparation for motherhood.
We are then transported to Barbieland where Robbie lives alongside doctor and physicist Barbie in dream houses lacking doors and windows. Every day in Barbieland is perfect, with choreographed dance parties, beaches with waves made of plastic, and a black Barbie president. Kens only exist “in the warm gaze of Barbie” and have no real influence in the Barbieland society.
But this takes a turn when Robbie, who proudly calls herself Stereotypical Barbie, is forced to go into the real world. She and Gosling have very different reactions, with Barbie expressing disgust at being cat-called and objectified. Gosling on the other hand, uncovers the perks of patriarchy. He embarks on a quest to see how far this can go, asking a banker how he can get a job he is not qualified for. Although he is rejected, the banker consoles him saying they do in fact “do patriarchy”, they just “hide it.” How terrible that the banks that have tanked the entire economy multiple times are not letting women take part in the fun!
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Of course, Barbie is forced to acknowledge the resentment many have towards what she represents. This is delivered by a Gen Z teenager who gives a forced and over-the-top monologue of rage that ends by calling Barbie a fascist. Her opposition to Barbie is short-lived, as she ends up encouraging and joining Barbie in the fight to save Barbieland from the patriarchy.
Gosling’s quest to bring patriarchy to Barbieland provides him an opportunity to showcase the fact that there is no limit to how annoying Ken can be. He starts off whining and pining for Barbie and transforms into a minx-wearing bro with an obsession with mini- fridges. Gosling’s acting is quite convincing, but unfortunately with the writing and plot of Barbie, this means that he succeeded in conveying a superficial, one-dimensional man who only later gives up on patriarchy for an absurdly stupid reason.
Robbie for her part also tried to portray a Barbie with depth and complexity. This is most evident when Barbie starts to experience unwanted emotions like anxiety and sadness, but Robbie’s performance falls flat as it hinges itself to detached crying and artificial temper tantrums. Robbie exudes what I can only assume is supposed to be something close to fury when she learns that the CEO of Mattel is not a woman. This is a turning point for Barbie, who is outraged by the horror that a man is in charge of a multibillion-dollar company whose dolls are produced in sweatshops.
The idea that women are inherently more benevolent and competent to run society is the central thesis of Barbie and of the #girlboss times we are living in. One of the biggest rallying cries against the “Ken-dom” in Barbieland is that the Kens wish to hold a special election to change the constitution of Barbieland. What this change is, we are never told. No matter what it is, it was proposed by the Kens, so it must be bad. The implications of such controversy are not only that women know best, but that we must do everything we can to protect the current system in place.
Despite my unfavorable feelings towards the content and message of Barbie, I would be remiss to not admit that I was listening to its soundtrack long before I saw the movie. With the likes of Lizzo and Dua Lipa, the music captures the light and fun mood of the movie. In this case light refers to light in critical thinking.
I expect many will respond to this review with “well, what did you expect from a Barbie movie?” It’s true that the appeal of Barbie is its A-list actors, bright colors, and light- hearted plotline. Mostly, my dislike of Barbie has more to do with my own disdain for the mainstream feminist movement that sees changing the identity of those in power as the solution to the patriarchal society we live in. Indeed, Barbie is just a reflection of what is being propagated by those in power as the path to progress for women.
Barbie indicates that we as a society are not grappling with the way patriarchy came about. Patriarchy arose not because “men invented it,” as Barbie asserts, but because of underlying economic structures that developed at the dawn of civilization. To deal with this, we must expand our criticism of patriarchy to go beyond mansplaining. The reality is that overcoming patriarchy is one that requires deep, fundamental change. And that necessitates women and men working together to reject both Barbieland and Kendom alike.
