By Yuvthi Misser
From @barbiethemovie on Instagram
Beneath the different shades of pink, failed beach-offs, and Margot Robbie’s charming smile, the highly anticipated Barbie movie has taken the world by storm with its unexpected depth. From movie-goers dressed head-to-toe in pink to angry incels writing hateful Letterboxd reviews, Barbie will surely be cemented as a new metamodern classic. The film has grossed over one billion dollars worldwide, making Greta Gerwig the first female director to reach such success at the box office—spoiler warning for those who could not see the film as of yet.
The film, directed by powerhouse Greta Gerwig, stars Margot Robbie as “Stereotypical Barbie,” Ryan Gosling as “Ken,” and America Ferrera as “Gloria,” and countless other famous names in Hollywood. When Stereotypical Barbie faces an existential crisis in Barbie Land, she must go to the Real World to repair the connection between her and the girl playing with her. When confronted with the patriarchy in the Real World, something unheard of in perfect Barbie Land, Barbie’s journey becomes akin to a coming-of-age film and depicts every woman’s transition from girlhood to womanhood with an uplifting message for all women at the centre of it all.
The painful reality of transitioning from girlhood to womanhood
One of the film's most powerful motifs and themes is the painful reality of womanhood versus girlhood. Girlhood is innocence, depicted by the pink and dreamy world of Barbie Land, while the Real World depicts the painful reality of being a woman in a patriarchal world. Womanhood, in the film, is seen as the loss of innocence and sense of self-worth. Barbie Land has no societal issues, except for the fact that the Kens are treated unfairly (similar to how women are treated in the Real World). When Barbie and Ken arrive in the Real World for the first time, Barbie’s perception of the world is shattered when she is objectified and sexualised, while Ken becomes more confident when he realises the patriarchy exists.
When Barbie finds Gloria and her daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), they travel back to Barbie Land only to find that the Kens have overtaken the pink and plastic paradise and turned it into “Kendom.” Kendom is filled with horse paraphernalia and Brewski beers. More importantly, all the Barbies are now shells of who they once were, becoming accessories to their Kens instead of their fully realised selves.
The only thing that breaks the Barbies out of their patriarchal trance is Gloria’s monologue which is currently making rounds on social media and reminds them of their worth and their capabilities. After this, they work together to turn the Kens against each other and successfully reclaim Barbie Land.
Stereotypical Barbie overlooking Barbie Land. From: Time
Reimagining Barbie in a metamodern way
Metamodernism is currently one of my favourite story-telling techniques in film. It is a fusion of post-modernism apathy and critique and modernism’s idealism, making the audience feel reflective, critical, yet appreciative all in the same breath. Another popular film that uses this technique is Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Grewig executes this technique in her usual heartwarming and authentic manner by critiquing some of Barbie’s ideals while praising Barbie dolls for inspiring women around the globe. By the end of the film, we are left with this ambiguous yet full feeling. This is thanks to a montage of the crew’s home videos over Billie Eilish’s new ballad What Was I Made For, which made me tear up in the cinema. This unique and special touch to the film adds a layer of personalness and reflexivity, another characteristic of metamodernism.
While I did leave the cinema with a painful reminder about the realities that women live in, I walked away with a newfound hope for cinema as a whole, an appreciation for all of the women around me, and the encouragement to cherish my strengths, abilities and weaknesses.
I could go on and on about Barbie’s success and its triumphs in solidifying itself as a new classic of feminist cinema. The film is a firm five out of five stars for me and has changed my outlook on life in the best way, which is a testament to its metamodern approach. Barbie stands as a reminder of women’s strength and achievements and has even changed my outlook on Barbie dolls, in general. Barbie is everything, and so am I, and so is every single woman I know. I’d recommend this to every woman out there who is doubting themselves, especially in such turbulent and uncertain times.