Everything We Know About Margot Robbie’s ‘Barbie’ Movie (2024)

FAQs

What was the Barbie movie about essay? ›

In the movie, one character named Sasha explains how Barbie represents everything wrong in today's culture and how it set back the feminist movement. She also details how Barbie promoted the ideas of women being objectified and sexualized by men, and how appearance is the only factor playing into a woman's worth.

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.

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.

Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.

Barbie / Film synopsis

Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll which Handler had purchased while in Europe.

Barbie is immediately affected by the way the men treat her and she even says that she feels unsafe, whereas Ken, for the first time, feels power and respect…just for the sake of being a man. The film also does a great job of highlighting the selfishness and egotistical behavior that patriarchy promotes.

What was the movie trying to say? There are many guesses. In the New York Times' “Opinion” section, Susan Faludi suggested Barbie contains subtle references to the rollback of abortion protections; others see a retelling of the story of Eve and the apple.

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 message is actually directed at women who used to play with Barbies (hence the prominence of America Ferrera's Gloria, who gets the main speech) when they were kids, and reassures them that they can still look back fondly on their childhood toys and be part of a new, better, more modern, more feminist-leaning era.

Starring Margot Robbie as the title character and Ryan Gosling as Ken, the film follows them on a journey of self-discovery through Barbieland and the real world following an existential crisis. It is also a commentary regarding patriarchy and the effects of feminism.

Why was the Barbie movie so impactful? ›

The Barbie movie was designed to shine light on how messed up the patriarchy is. The Barbie movie was not designed to belittle men or make them out to be the villain; the Barbie movie is about spreading awareness on how the patriarchy affects everyone, not just women.

The movie, “Barbie,” represents women empowerment, yet shows that men should also be empowered for the reason that we both have struggles in life. As a result, teaching us that we should all live equally and treat each other with fairness.

The Big Picture

Barbie explores the gendered social phenomenon of women being expected to give up childhood joys and sacrifice for others. The film shows that women don't have to surrender their imagination and can find empowerment and joy in childhood toys.

But the defining scene—the final scene—sees the doll exit BarbieLand to become a human in the real world and visits an office for what the viewer would presume is a job interview. “I'm here to see my gynaecologist,” Barbie excitedly exclaims. The film then cuts to black and the credits roll.

“Pregnant Barbie” is actually Margaret Hadley Sherwood, or Midge, as her friends call her. Midge was created to be a less glam, more relatable Barbie, per Buzzfeed News. The doll was launched in 1963 as Barbie's bestie. She had freckles and red hair, and she wore less makeup than Barbie did.

Ruth Handler's Inspiration Behind the Barbie Doll. Barbara, Handler's daughter, served as the muse for Barbie's creation after Handler observed her playing with paper dolls. Driven by a desire to inspire children to envision their future dreams, she sought to innovate beyond the common plastic baby dolls of the time.

"Barbie Doll" is a narrative poem written by American writer, novelist, and social activist Marge Piercy. It was published in 1971, during the time of second-wave feminism. It is often noted for its message of how a patriarchal society puts expectations and pressures on women, partly through gender role stereotyping.

The “Barbie” movie showed the world what people expect from women: pink, shoes, smiles and perfection. It also dug deeper and portrayed what men really want: someone subservient and doting that they can use as they please.

Stereotypical Barbie has to go and find who's playing with her so she can go back to who she was before. Barbie goes to the real world and realizes how hard it is being human. This showed that being human is hard and that no one is perfect, not even Barbie.