The movie does a great job of owning up to the damage Mattel and Barbie have had on society and women/girls especially, but also uses Barbie and her world as a platform to display new and positive messages that are impactful. Another important message was how gender roles in society need to be changed.
Overcoming insecurities. In a world where body shaming and insecurities run rampant, the Barbie movie offers insights into overcoming such challenges. The movie depicts various characters who have to navigate their own insecurities and how they come up stronger in the end.
“I felt that the movie was a journey to self-discovery,” she explains. “Every character was along that journey in finding out who they really are and discovering that, at the end of the day, anyone can be anything and there's no one to stop you.”
In the Barbie film, the titular character confronts various societal pressures and expectations that individuals, particularly women, face daily. Through Barbie's journey, the film sheds light on the struggles of balancing personal aspirations with societal norms.
According to sociologist Mary Rogers, Barbie is “brimming with multiple meanings”. She is not just a toy, rather, she signifies how women had ever more choices opened to them as the twentieth century progressed. As Prown has put it, when a “society undergoes change… this manifests itself artifactually”.
BARBIE Movie Breakdown! - Easter Eggs and Deeper Meaning EXPLAINED
What is the lesson of the Barbie?
As Barbie said, “You have to try – even if you can't make it perfect you can make it better.” So, what does this mean for you? All leadership really begins with an understanding of oneself. It's impossible to understand and motivate others if you don't understand yourself and what motivates you.
The “Barbie” movie is a powerful story about womanhood and the patriarchy that we experience. Barbie is portrayed as who you think she is, the embodiment of the “perfect” woman. She lives in Barbie Land – a world where women run everything.
It is often noted for its message of how a patriarchal society puts expectations and pressures on women, partly through gender role stereotyping. It tells a story about a girl who dies trying to meet the unrealistic expectations that society holds for her.
Finding one's true identity involves periods of exploration and doubt. The Barbie movie illustrates multiple theories of identity development rooted in psychological research.
Handler helped sell these items and, along with her husband and a close friend, they launched the company “Mattel.” In 1945, Handler wanted her daughter Barbara to have action figures like her brother Ken, so she created her own. The first Barbie doll debuted at the New York toy fair in March 1959.
There are some progressive feminist moments in the film, but they are likely lost on most audiences as the material comes across as throwaway lines: 'I'm a man with no power, does that make me a woman? ' and 'everyone hates women, men hate women, women hate women.
Barbie is a symbol of ambition and power – from Ruth Handler's vision of creating a new kind of doll that encourages girls to consider options beyond motherhood and homemaking to the inspiring female leaders breaking through barriers when faced with today's challenges.
Ultimately, the movie has lessons for Barbies and Kens. Barbie realizes that it's no longer fulfilling to her to just be an “idea” of a woman. Her path to joy lies in becoming human and accepting all of the complexities, heartache and imperfections that go along with that.
This film recognises Barbie's problematic past, humorising it, acknowledging it and rebranding it for a modern audience. Director Greta Gerwig understands the nuances of how gender stereotypes are portrayed in both the “real world” and “Barbie Land” in a way that can only make us laugh at its ridiculousness.
It's about a spiritual connection between women of different generations, passing down their hopes and dreams for a better world for those who come after them. By taking Ruth's hand, Barbie becomes another link in this infinite chain of mothers and children. She becomes human.
Despite the treacherous journey we have as not just humans but as women in a world that has taken away our autonomy, which forces us into a box and shackles us with expectations and twisty-ties, Barbie realizes that this plight we call humanity is still worth it.
Since 1959, Barbie's purpose has been to inspire the limitless potential in every girl. We have always known that a small doll can make a big impact. Today we bring power to our purpose, not only as a global icon, but as an advocate for real social and environmental change.
Barbie shows us a world where women have power derived from kindness, unity, and self-actualization. She helps the audience believe that not only is that world possible, anything less is unacceptable. She doesn't, however, say creating this world will be easy. It won't be because the real world can be hard.
When children create imaginary worlds and role play with dolls like Barbie, it prompts them to talk about thoughts about others' emotions and feelings. This can have positive long-lasting effects on children, building social and emotional processing social skills like empathy.
Some argue that her emphasis on fashion, beauty, and materialism strengthens stereotypes and limits girls' aspirations. They claim that Barbie fails to empower young girls to pursue careers in male-dominated fields or engage in activities traditionally seen as "boyish."
“Barbie” analyzes expectations for women, the patriarchy and the female experience as a whole. Throughout the film, Gerwig does a beautiful job of discussing the expectations that are placed on women by both society and themselves.
At the start of the movie, we're brought into Barbieland, where the gender dynamics are reversed in a way that has yielded the Barbies (women) all the power, while the Kens (men) are relegated to second-class citizens. In some ways, it was the perfect gender-inverted reflection of the society we live in today.
