Minor Spoiler Alert!
Like most girls of my generation (Baby Boomer born in 1958), I was thrilled to get my first Barbie doll when I was somewhere around five or six. An aunt had taken my sister and me to a toy store and said we could each pick something out. My eyes widened when I saw the stiff limbed, tiny waisted, high instep, blond haired symbol of coolness. She wore a bathing suit, makeup painted on her thin face, hair pulled up into a high pony tail. Not biologically correct in any way, sans genitals, and if she were life size, her waist would be 50 centimeters, (19.685 inches) and her hips, just 71 centimeters (27.953 inches).
My mom had several work from home jobs while we were young and one of them was sewing doll clothes for a woman named Mrs. Handy. That meant she would also use her talents to keep this Barbie and an assortment of others over the years, well garbed as well. I wish I had kept them. They might have been worth something now. I remember creating all kinds of adventures and story lines.
My Barbies were empowered and intelligent and pretty. Everything I wanted to see in myself. I was flat footed and pigeon toed, so I envied her high instep and that she could wear stilettos. These days, the closer I am to the ground, the better I feel.
Although I hadn’t originally planned to watch the newly released Barbie film, (created by the uber talented Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach) my best friend Barb who my father used to call “Barbie Doll,” invited me to go. She was the ideal person with whom to watch it. I expected something far different from what unfolded. Instead of a cotton candy pink world that was sappy and sweet, Barbie Land, the matriarchal society in which the characters lived, was, in some ways, a mirror image of ‘real life’. Yes, the female characters inhabited a whole bunch of dreamhouses and spent their days looking gorgeous and well groomed, teetering on high heels that were in the shape of their itsy bitsy feet. Each day was more perfect than the other with no worries, fears or insecurities. There was also no depth to their lives…after all, they were dolls and not living, breathing, messy human beings.
They also had careers that ranged from doctor, to President, from Supreme Court justice to journalist, with one exception. ‘Stereotypical Barbie,’ (Margot Robbie) had no career, no aspirations and lived each day thinking that everything was perfect and she herself had to be. That is, until one day, she had a bizarre thought, that had her questioning her existence and brought her down to earth, quite literally.
Off on a trek she went to discover the meaning of her mental aberration, accompanied by Ken, one of many who shared that name (Ryan Gosling) who stowed away in her pink convertible where she crossed the boundary into the ‘real world’. Kind of a she/ro’s journey that I won’t spoil by going into too much detail. While there, she and Ken encounter the worst of patriarchal attitudes and sadly, Ken brings the idea of male superiority back to Barbie Land. Suffice it to say, the film flips gender norms on its perfectly coiffed head.
The male characters, all named Ken, except for one named Allan, are as much accessories to the female characters as their shoes and cars. They are not unique unto themselves and the bleach blond beach boy version of Ken has an existential crisis too.
This dude bro mentality doesn’t go over too well for the primary Barbie and some others who were considered misfits and hung out with ‘Weird Barbie,’ embodied by the hysterically funny SNL alum Kate McKinnon. She gives Robbie’s Barbie a choice, represented by a spike heel and comfy Birkenstock. The latter is my favorite footwear most days. A delightful encounter takes place on a park bench between Barbie and an older woman who contentedly sits there, comfortable in her own skin. The sweetest character that had both Barb and me wiping our eyes when she introduced was a surprise. Rhea Pearlman played Ruth Handler, the creator of the iconic doll, who shows up near the end of the film. And the narrator of this once upon a time story? None other than the British class act Helen Mirren.
The movie works on many levels. Although it might be considered a kids movie, it really isn’t. The many double entendres will go over the heads of all but the most sophisticated young viewers. They may find the story line appealing, even if they don’t grasp the subtle and overt messages about empowerment, healing of mother-daughter relationships, the dangers of perfectionism, assertiveness, women’s rights, reconciliation and being true to who you are. The issues of body shaming and impossibly high standards for beauty are addressed, as many women would say that this image remains with them from childhood. Mattel even pokes fun at itself, as the corporate entity that manufactures the Barbie line in the form of Will Ferrell as the CEO. In the real world, America Ferrara plays the mom of a teen girl who was disenchanted with Barbie since she was young as she made abundantly clear with the disdain that can only come from an adolescent. Ferrara’s character is also an employee at Mattel and feels undervalued.
She uttered the words that will become an iconic speech, which begins with these lines, “It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.”
She continues, “You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas.
You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman, but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men’s bad behaviour, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining.
You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood. But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.
You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.
I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don’t even know.”
There is also the right wing backlash against the film. in part, because one of the actors, who plays Doctor Barbie is a trans woman named Hari Nef. Oh, the grooming….
And how can it miss when one of the songs was written by Indigo Girls (Closer to Fine) covered by Brandi and Catherine Carlile and The Mamas and Papas (Make Your Own Kind of Music)? The soundtrack is worth a listen as well.
The final scene left me smiling for reasons you will discover should you decide to watch the film.
The multi-generational audience members dressed for the occasion, some in ball gowns, some in tutus, others in pink-whatever-suited-their-fancy. Barb and I were decked out in pink and she even wore Barbie earrings that were given to her by a friend. On the way out the door, I asked two young women if they would take our picture. Turns out that one of them recognized my friend because she is friends with her youngest daughter and they just graduated high school together. What are the chances?
*Note the Birkenstocks, in my favorite color-purple.
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This Post is republished on Medium.
