Barbie premiers in theatres
Is the Barbie movie changing how our generation views Barbie? Growing up I remember I wanted to be just like Barbie. Barbie was described with a perfect body, perfect makeup, the perfect outfit, no worries, and not a single hair out of place. She was known for being blonde, skinny, tall, and perfect in
every way. Fitting into this category growing up was impossible to achieve the perfection Barbie represented. Being so young it was hard to face the fact that Barbie represented beauty and you could only be like her if you had little fat on your body, always had makeup on, and never wore sweatpants because they aren’t accepted. I didn’t match the beautiful category Barbie represented and that always made me upset because I’m a girl who loves sweatpants, no makeup, and my hair up.
What if Mattel is making us rethink this perfect stereotypical Barbie? The Barbie movie was released July 21, 2023. The main character in the movie is the stereotypical Barbie. This character is played by the actor Margot Robbie. The first scene of the movie consists of Barbie waking up in her dream house with a perfect morning routine and no problem or worry in Barbie Land. Barbie then starts to
experience things that happen in the real world. Barbie experiences depression, anxiety, cellulite, and thoughts of death. She then goes to the real world and realizes that the name Barbie should represent anyone and everyone, not just stereotypical Barbie. In the movie everyone in Barbie Land is named Barbie. This means Barbie does not just represent the stereotypical Barbie it can be any shape, color, etc. Barbie does not just look like one thing it represents women as a whole coming together with our differences to become stronger.
I loved the movie. It showed me how powerful women are when we come together and that women don’t have one definition of beauty. It showcased that Barbie represents women having different careers and complications women can face. It also showed that women aren’t just beautiful for being white they are beautiful in every nationality and beautiful for all the different beautiful sizes and shapes women can be. All of these characteristics and more were represented in the Barbie movie. “Being a person of color and playing with barbie dolls growing up was a little different for me.” Esi Johnson said, I always felt a little sad because all the Barbies looked like my friends, not like me. I remember when I finally got my Princess Tiana Barbie doll and it was the best thing ever because she looked ‘just like me’ I seriously never put her down. I think the new Barbie movie was done well using diversity and showing that not all Barbies are the stereotypical Barbie. It makes the little me happy to see that everyone is being included.”
Womanhood is not just the stereotypical barbie tall blond and skinny, it is beautiful no matter what you look like or where you come from and where you’re going in life.
The movie reaches out explaining how hard living in today’s world is just as a human being.
“The Barbie movie gave me a perspective on how the world views men and women. It showed how we aren’t perfect. It also showed that women are objectified and men tend to think they are better than each other.” Owen May said, “Basically that the world is far from unity. In the movie the ment were represented over masculine. The movie showcased leaders, prideful, and too patriarchal, which in today’s world isn’t the case. I think the ending showed light into how men are all working together as one. I’m content with how they represented men.” May continued, “The biggest takeaway I got from the movie was that people make mistakes and men and women are supposed to work together to build on one another for support. The movie gave me a look into a woman’s perspective on the world and how they have to overcome the ken’s (adversity) and reclaim power together as men and women.”
Barbie in the real world realizes that not just women are held to a standard in the world. The world is very difficult to wander through the trials of life and we need to stick together instead of judging for our physical attributes and missteps we take in life.
