Why the Barbie movie is the next epic in feminist filmmaking.
By Duncan Kilburn on April 21, 2023
A studio Barbie movie had been stuck in development hell since 2009 at Universal Pictures. Real production only began in 2014 after the rights had passed to Sony Pictures. The film was passed to various writers in Hollywood until Sony’s hold on the rights to Barbie expired in 2018. That was when Warner Bros. Pictures got hold of Barbie. Immediately Margot Robbie was in talks to play the lead role before being officially cast in 2019, along with confirmation that Oscar-nominated director Greta Gerwig would direct and co-write the script with her partner Noah Baumbach. Although the film isn’t being released until July 21st, 2023, it has inspired hype since set photos came out last year. The “Barbiecore” aesthetic of ’80s-inspired, pink and high femininity has taken over social media.
The world-famous doll Barbie has been a pop-culture phenomenon since she first hit store shelves in 1959, going on to sell over a billion dolls. Ruth Handler noticed how her daughter played with paper dolls and gave them adult roles. At the time, the only dolls for young girls were baby dolls meant to prepare them for motherhood. Ruth created Barbie to fill a void in the girl’s toy market. Since then, Barbie has been a controversial staple in pop culture and the development of young girls’ minds.
Barbie was often critiqued for the unrealistic body standards she put on girls and for forcing a highly feminine image. Others praised for inspiring girls to think beyond the expectations of them at the time. Barbie’s dream house was released in 1962 and symbolized women’s independence. The first astronaut Barbie was released in 1965, 18 years before Sally Ride became the first American woman to be sent to space. In 1968, after the American Civil Rights movement, Mattel released Barbie’s friend Christie, the first Black fashion doll.
Due to Barbie’s link to feminism and the progression of women in Western society, Greta Gerwig is a fantastic choice to direct the film. Gerwig is most known for her 2019 adaptation of Little Women. Little Women was a breakthrough in feminist storytelling as it demanded women’s stories be heard and to stop framing them as victims. The marketing for the film has shown the idyllic “Barbie world” where all Barbies hold impressive professions, such as President, Doctor, and Nobel Prize winner, while the Kens are just Ken. The movie poster says, “Barbie is everything; he’s just Ken.” In the trailer, Barbie and Ken leave for the “real world,” where things are very different, and women face uphill battles for fundamental rights.