Barbie: A Betrayal to Feminism

Barbie (2023)

Running Time: 1h 54m

Age Rating: PG-13

Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

My Rating: 👠👠

I finally saw Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, and it's not what I expected it to be at all. I want to make it clear that I love Barbie. I grew up playing with her dolls and watching her animated movies. That’s why I was so excited to watch the live-action movie.

I’m a feminist and I’m all for equality, but sadly, this movie has nothing to do with equality. I thought I was going to love it, but unfortunately, I was wrong, as it ended up being a contradictory, sexist mess.

A Messy and Confusing Plot

The movie follows the story of our heroine, Stereotypical Barbie, played by Margot Robbie. She is a fun-loving and carefree doll who lives in Barbieland, a utopian society where women rule. However, for absolutely no reason, Barbie starts having death thoughts that affect her physically; we see her get bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet.

To find out what’s wrong with her, she pays a visit to Weird Barbie, played by Kate McKinnon. Weird Barbie tells Stereotypical Barbie that she has to go to the real world and find who plays with her to solve that problem.

So, Barbie goes to the real world with her boyfriend Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, who sneaks into her car to accompany her on her journey. After Barbie and Ken arrive in the real world, Ken learns it's a man’s world and Barbie discovers that women aren’t as empowered as in Barbieland. Mattel’s executives learn about them being in the real world and somehow know where Barbie is, and they get her.

Ken gets back to Barbieland to turn it into a patriarchal community and Barbie runs away from Mattel and finds out about Gloria, played by America Ferrera, the one who’s playing with her doll all that time. Without any explanation, Ken turns Barbieland into a patriarchal society by brainwashing Barbies.

Barbie gets back to Barbieland with Gloria and Sasha, Gloria’s daughter, and she's shocked when she sees Barbieland turn into Kendom. She gets pissed at Kens for taking over Barbieland and that Kens now have all the rights that once were limited to Barbies only, making them able to vote and win Nobel prizes, and even become presidents.

After suffering from an existential crisis, our heroine Barbie gets inspired by Gloria’s words and decides to save Barbieland with the help of Weird Barbie and Allan, as well as other Barbies; they manipulate Kens and eventually get back their Barbieland. However, after saving Barbieland, Stereotypical Barbie decides to become a human in the end.

The Good

Barbie started great; the storyline was going fine at the beginning and the movie had the potential to impress. But this didn’t last long. The film has some redeeming qualities, such as the cast, the amazing visuals, and the music.

Margot Robbie is charming as Barbie, and she does a good job of portraying her character. Ryan Gosling is also great as Ken. And I’ve got to admit that I loved Weird Barbie; she’s hilarious and quirky.

I liked the idea of Barbie dolls as a reflection of how they're being played with by humans in the real world; I found that genius. I also enjoyed some of the jokes in the movie and the random ads included. And I absolutely loved Gloria’s monologue; without a doubt, it’s the most powerful and iconic scene of the entire movie.

The visuals are super impressive, especially the scenes in Barbieland, which are colorful and vibrant. The costumes and sets are very well-designed. Pink popped up really perfectly.

I enjoyed the music by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt; it’s catchy and upbeat, featuring some original songs and some covers of classic Barbie songs.

The Bad

However, the film’s flaws outweigh its strengths. It’s full of plot holes and contradictions, as it tries to make a statement about feminism and equality, but ends up being sexist and hypocritical. For example:

• In the opening scene, we see little girls destroy their baby dolls in favor of Barbie dolls, implying that motherhood is inferior to careerism. However, later in the movie, Gloria suggests to Mattel’s executives the possibility of making an ordinary Barbie who wants to be a mom, which contradicts the opening message.
• The film portrays Barbieland as a perfect society where women literally have all the power and rights and men have none, implying it’s good and fair as a matriarchal society. However, when Kens take over Barbieland and turn it into a patriarchal society where men have all the rights and privileges, while Barbies are reduced to submissive and obedient objects, the movie criticizes it as oppressive and sexist. In both cases, this isn’t equality, but reverse sexism.
• The film shows the real world as a hell for women and a heaven for men, which is not true. The real world has many oppressed men who are not in power at all, as well as many empowered women who are in power. The film ignores the diversity and complexity of the real world and paints it with a broad brush.
• There’s no explanation of how Ken was able to brainwash all the Barbies in Barbieland to follow him, or how his personality changed so drastically from being a supportive partner to being a tyrannical leader.

The Ugly

The film’s worst aspects are definitely the portrayal of feminism, the body image jokes, and the ending, which is disappointing and nonsensical.

• The movie portrays feminism as a movement that seeks to dominate men rather than empower women. This is not only wrong but also harmful, as it creates division and hostility between genders rather than harmony and cooperation.
• The film doesn’t promote equality or balance between the genders, but rather reverses the roles and stereotypes.
• The scene where Barbies told our heroine to not get cellulite felt really weird because Barbie dolls supposedly come in every shape and size, and I believe some Barbie dolls have cellulite, as well as stretch marks and acnes, if I’m not wrong. So, panicking at the sight of cellulite and addressing it as a flaw is a very negative message, especially for audience with body image issues.
• The way the movie only focuses on Barbie alone and completely ignores Gloria’s feelings is absurd. Gloria is the human with real and serious problems, not the doll living in a fictional women’s world. I was so confused about that scene when Barbie cries and complains, out of nowhere, about not feeling beautiful and smart. Why is Gloria the one empowering her? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Isn't it Barbie's role as an empowering doll to help Gloria emotionally? I absolutely loved Gloria's monologue, but this makes no sense. 
• The way Barbie acts so selfish throughout the movie is annoying. She never cares about Ken or how other Kens feel as second-class citizens of Barbieland, even after being exposed to the real world where she feels inferior and objectified.

After saving Barbieland from Ken’s tyranny, Barbie decides to become a human and live with Gloria and Sasha. However, this decision makes no sense for some reasons:

• Barbie abandons her friends in Barbieland without explaining why she’s leaving. She abandons her responsibilities as a role model for other Barbies.
• Barbie gives up her immortality, autonomy, and freedom in Barbieland for a life in the real world that she didn’t feel so comfortable in before. Why would she even return to the world that objectifies her and treats her as inferior?

A Disappointing Experience

Barbie is a movie that tries to be feminist but fails miserably. It portrays women and men in a stereotypical and sexist way that doesn’t reflect the reality or the diversity of the real world. It doesn’t promote equality or empowerment, but rather reinforces the idea that women and men are enemies and that one has to dominate the other.

The movie makes no sense in a way that left me disappointed and unsatisfied. Overall, I give it 2 stars out of 5 only because of Gloria’s monologue.

And yes, Barbie wears Birkenstocks at the end.