Barbie: A Brief History
From the doll's origins and the thematic, evolving messages over time, Barbie has gone through many significant shifts. Barbie started by promoting women's careers and autonomy in the 1960s, and eventually evolved to include new body types and dolls of diverse occupations and identities today. While Barbie faced criticism in the 1970s for perpetuating gender stereotypes, the doll also portrayed independent women before feminism was widely accepted. Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, came across the book "Sex and the Single Girl" by Helen Gurley Brown, which made the case for women's financial and sexual autonomy. This book inspired Handler to design Barbie as a doll with a self-supporting career and financial independence. Yet, proponents of the doll note that the "sexy body, no husband and a self-supporting job — sent a proto-feminist message to little girls" (Lord). Although the historical relevance of Barbie is vital to the character discussed today, the importance lies in the understanding that Barbie's tumultuous history is a part of conflicting critiques of Greta Gerwig's Barbie.
Barbie: A Review
On the surface, it’s precisely what you’d expect it to be: unapologetically Barbie, which is just serious topics presented humorously. The brevity of Barbie's messaging is woven subtly at the beginning of the movie and becomes abundantly clear as the film progresses. The characters are fun and charismatic, the setting well thought through, and so incredibly lighthearted—the general vibe of the movie is reminiscent of feel-good shows and films like Legally Blond. The plot (in my personal opinion) is a bit predictable, the largest surprise being Ryan Gosling's "patriarchal Ken" version. But, Margot Robbie does an incredible job of alleviating the stereotypical "pink" naive "blonde bimbo archetypal" protagonist, so it’s not entirely an issue. The most jarring scene in the single-teared scene of Barbie facing reality underscores a deeply thematic feminist critique of society. To condense the movie to say "Barbie is based on a doll with big boobies" would only perpetrate the misogynistic commentary Barbie tries to combat (Lang).
On a conflicting thought, I found a bit too many conflicting themes in Barbie that lacked commitment from the plot perspective. Rather than committing to just self-identity and growth, “down with the patriarchy," breaking down stereotypes, or themes of self-acceptance/ love, Gerwig attempts to do all of them. The choice of thematic elements individually was serious and deep in its own right. But, in the process of attempting to seriously consider more than one thematic element on a large level, the film itself, I believe to compromise on depth. As a person who prefers a more thought-out thematic storyline, I found it a bit odd to grapple with either fully understanding the thematic elements or sympathizing with the idea that Barbie is simply an idea of the past. Since each thematic element isn’t specifically tied to a character and is more of a critique of societal expectations in one way or another, it’s difficult to understand the nuances of character development [there are certain points where it’s difficult to explain why a character made a choice other than just to further the plot line]. Overall, it can be argued (in a sense) that they went a bit too heavy on the “deep” topics, hoping that the general setting and vibe would justify the movie being lighthearted. However, the actual "theme" of Barbie is something difficult to singularly find.
The movie's irony lies in the portrayal of "Barbies" treating "Kens" similarly to how men treat women in the real world, with Barbie symbolizing the patriarchy. In Barbieland, Barbies hold all positions of power, while "Kens" are relegated to accessory roles and are only valued for their appearance. The film's second act explores toxic masculinity, shedding light on how the constant need to prove dominance harms both men and society. The movie concludes with Barbie aspiring for a more egalitarian society while acknowledging that there is still work to be done, paralleling real-world challenges. The ending aspect of realism is a refreshing change, and the adherence to reality makes the movie significantly more impactful as a critique of structural dominance.
In the end, had the writers picked two thematic elements, would it have been a better movie? Sure, but in the end, “beauty in everyone” is an understanding of structural inequality. It’ll make you laugh, chuckle, reflect, and smile just because it’s Barbie.
Oppenheimer: A Review
Christopher Nolan is a genius. That's it. That's the review. I’m kidding (I’m not). Directorial choice in a lot of films makes no visible difference, and that’s because half the directors in Hollywood either have a plot that requires significantly less direction or none at all. They lack passion, and only a few films have truly been differentiated because of phenomenal direction (for example, The Bear). Nolan is so different, it’s masterful to watch anything he puts out—Inception, Dunkirk, Hans Zimmer. Not only did he direct my favorite movie of all time, but Tenet was the most intriguing film across the board with his approach to intertwining time with black-and-white dualities. He's a genius, and Oppenheimer was amazing in the implementation of sound in certain scenes, the specific film lens used to incorporate the feeling of a scene, black and white choices, and the way the narration changes when it’s reporters in the scene. Subtle things like that made yet another biopic [because Hollywood right now lacks immense creativity] entirely new. Oppenheimer's documentaries and countless books exist—ones I've watched, yet not once did I feel time crawling by or the telltale signs of boredom in Nolan's Oppenheimer. Nolan spun an overused and heavily debated plot into something enrapturing. Biopics heavily rely on the actors, the directors, and the creative touches more than plot development (considering that it’s quite literally somewhat of a true story). Had it been any other director, I would’ve been reviewing a potentially lackluster film. The acting was fantastic, and I think the casting directors did something pivotal to the success of the film. The length of the film is mildly discouraging, but when asked what scenes I think should’ve been cut (including Florence Pugh's explicit scenes), I wouldn’t have an answer. I liked it a lot; through almost every scene, you could understand the brevity of their creation in a way words can usually only attempt to convey. I simply can’t comment on the plot, considering it is true, but I can comment on the execution of such a plot; I loved it. Is it Nolan's best film? It could be, but is it up there? Absolutely.
"Barbenheimer"
"Barbenheimer," the shorthand phrase initially used to describe a double feature for the two movies, has turned into slang for two phenomena with opposite vibes. Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice Pro noted that “‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ were both destined for probable success on their own terms, but capturing the social media zeitgeist has escalated the phenomenon into what feels like will be one of the biggest moviegoing weekends since 2019. Even those who don’t regularly patron cinemas are aware of ‘Barbenheimer.’ You can’t easily buy that kind of promotion, if at all" (Darcy).
This term, representative of both dualistic movies, seems to mark them as a momentous event both in 2023 and in history.
Citations
Darcy, Oliver. “barbenheimer” Is Set to Meme Its Way to an ’Unprecedented ... - CNN, www.cnn.com/2023/07/20/media/barbie-oppenheimer-barbenheimer-reliable-sources/index.html. Accessed 20 Jan. 2024.
Lang, Cady. “Jo Koy’s Worst Golden Globes Joke Was about Barbie.” Time, Time, 8 Jan. 2024, time.com/6553085/jo-koy-golden-globes-barbie-joke/.
Lord, M.G. “Opinion: Yes, Barbie Is a Feminist - Just Don’t Ask Her Creators.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2023, www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-07-16/barbie-movie-feminism-doll-greta-gerwig-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-mattel.