Barbie

by Rebecca van Besouw | Oct 5, 2023 | Entertainment

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Barbie needs no introduction. It has been one of the most anticipated films of the year since its first trailer released. It spawned many memes, and its marketing campaign can only be described as aggressively pink. But with all the hype surrounding the film, the question still remains: is it worth seeing? Absolutely.

The film opens in Barbieland, a magical world of feminist liberation in which every Barbie can be whoever she wants to be, and every Ken can hang out on the beach and wait for the Barbies to notice them. Margot Robbie heads the cast as ‘stereotypical’ Barbie, who at first has everything she could ever dream of, but soon becomes plagued with existential questions and thoughts of death. Disturbed, she decides to visit the Real World in order to find out what is wrong with her. To give more details about the plot would spoil the fun, because above all else the film strives to be a wildly entertaining ride with an unpredictable sense of humour.

It manages to be self-aware of the plastic nature of Barbie while still acting as a loving tribute to the doll as a cultural icon. Director Greta Gerwig clearly had a vision for the film’s style: pastel colours pop off the screen, and the costumes show an impressive level of knowledge about Barbie’s history. The actors are all stellar, with Ryan Gosling giving a particularly memorable performance as the Ken who gets a taste of the Real World and learns all the wrong lessons about gender equality.

Although the film is fun, it also has a message. Barbie’s existential crisis leads into a host of other issues faced by women in the Real World. The film’s transparent discussion of the current state of feminism is both sincere and frequently funny, as it highlights problems women face in a male-dominated world – problems that Barbie cannot fix by simply being Barbie. The presentation of the message is not perfect. This is a film made by several massive corporations, after all, so the film’s ideas cannot be truly radical. But it is still a relevant and necessary message; one that will resonate with many women.

In the end, the film succeeds in balancing serious ideas and a silly, brightly-coloured, unapologetically feminine world. See it with a crowd for the best experience, and remember to wear pink.