As a woman that grew up with Barbie, I was very excited for this movie. I was curious to see how they would evolve the "stereotypical Barbie" into something more. But the messaging in this movie was so heavy handed that it completely lost the plot. I consider myself a proponent of gender equality, and this ain't the way to get it.
Barbieland flips the script on the patriarchy of the real world, giving women the power and leaving the Kens as attractive accessories. Once Ken gets a glimpse of the real world he brings the patriarchy to Barbieland and the Barbies are "brainwashed" (this happens suddenly and without much explanation). The Kens are bumbling fools with zero understanding of governance, and Barbieland falls into disarray.
The movie's solution to this is for the Barbies to give a lot of Ted talks on the patriarchy, fool the Kens into war with each other, and rule once again. But isn't the point if gender equality... equality?
The feminist messaging could have been so much more effective if it was laid on so THICK. More humor and nuance please. The story gets lost, the real world characters don't add much, and not much changes in the end.
What was enjoyable was the acting, the sets and of course the nostalgia.
Barbieland flips the script on the patriarchy of the real world, giving women the power and leaving the Kens as attractive accessories. Once Ken gets a glimpse of the real world he brings the patriarchy to Barbieland and the Barbies are "brainwashed" (this happens suddenly and without much explanation). The Kens are bumbling fools with zero understanding of governance, and Barbieland falls into disarray.
The movie's solution to this is for the Barbies to give a lot of Ted talks on the patriarchy, fool the Kens into war with each other, and rule once again. But isn't the point if gender equality... equality?
The feminist messaging could have been so much more effective if it was laid on so THICK. More humor and nuance please. The story gets lost, the real world characters don't add much, and not much changes in the end.
What was enjoyable was the acting, the sets and of course the nostalgia.