Barbie: Feminism and Contradiction

Twitter: / kayandskittles
Patreon: / kayandskittles
Linktree: linktr.ee/kaya...
At the beginning of the video I suggest others have already spoken at length about Barbenheimer as a phenomenon but I forgot to suggest videos doing that! So here's one:
Nightmare Masterclass, Barbenheimer Unmasked: The Ideological Paralysis of Modern Cinema
• Barbenheimer Unmasked:...

[@josefigueroa1097]

Also worth mentioning that Ken radicalizes after failing to get a job in the real world. Suggesting that the discomfort of alienated male workers is neutralized by idealistic power fantasy discourse instead of real systematic change.

[@SolarFlareAmerica]

THIS

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

That’s a very powerful and intelligent insight.

[@lauracerqueiramachado8979]

I wouldn’t say he actually tried though…

[@thembanitheone]

​@@lauracerqueiramachado8979 or that he was qualified at all for what he was aiming at.

[@lauracerqueiramachado8979]

@@thembanitheone I mean, he could have gone for a simpler job or tried to learn how to swim in order to get the life-guard job but he didn’t

[@sandman45]

Noam Chomsky said that "propaganda is something no one agrees with nor disagrees with" immediately i think of advertising, and the fact that people are saying the film is both woke and anti-woke kinda shows the whole movie is a well delivered commercial.

[@Carl_ATHF]

chomsky, the we-tald that said the USA controls israel LMAO Its the other way around. trump and bidens cabinets are filled with zionist jews.

[@s0rtaananym]

I feel like it needs to be pointed out that having many people that agree with and many people who disagree with something is not the same as having something which no one agrees or disagrees with.

[@someblackguy7371]

he was also apart of Epstein's list. like Steven Hawking and every ideological figure that exist. I think we need to end Parasocial connections.

[@pujeetjha8265]

William Kloepfer Jr of the tobacco institute said something similar in my opinion, explaining how they advertise cigarettes, "The use of advertising in controversial situations is not designed to convince...to get people with different viewpoints to say, I agree (or I believe). It is designed to "give pause"... to arrest the process of easy assumptions, to establish that there is another point of view. This is necessary preliminary stage to 'open debate with open minds' " propaganda is just advertising an ideology so I would say this fits. Also fuck the tobacco institute.

[@55pm]

So this movie is a propaganda?

[@jordanthompson5696]

It’s important to note, crucial even, in my opinion, that the scene where she tells the old lady she’s beautiful was almost cut out of the film and her wigs response was “if that scene isn’t in the movie then I don’t even know what it’s about”. This is a perfect encapsulation of the most compelling critiques of the film for me. It does not absolve the film of any critique knowing gerwigs personal preferences. It only goes to show the innately fraught relationship between art and capital. I feel all incoherence (what you call contradiction) in this film is probably a result of this. Having seen little women and lady bird I’m confident it’s not the inability for gerwig to write a thematically consistent story.

[@jordanthompson5696]

In other words, there is no way this movie could escape thematic incoherence. The forces behind its inception are at odds with one another. It is even more complicated than this. This conflicted state exist on macro corporate film level but also within each of us. We are tempted in both directions. In this way, we can view Barbie as a tragic testimonial. Even though it is unintentionally so, so too are our lives unintentionally incoherent. We are trapped in a battle between idealism and materialism every day that we work our shitty jobs or just generally isolate ourselves from each other and trees. It is no coincidence that the most beautiful parts of the film are revealing connection (to each other, or in the climactic conversation with the goddess figure/creator of Barbie, to nature via acceptance of death)

[@busylivingnotdying]

When the corporate media embraces youth and beauty, is that a desire and an emphasis THEY have created through shrewd marketing, or is it inherent in our instincts as humans to appreciate youthfulness and beauty?

[@jordanthompson5696]

@@busylivingnotdying I think that capitalism amplifies natural aspects of us to the point of corruption. Of decontextualization. Of addiction even. This is true of concrete stuff like food and sex but also true of more abstract things like beauty. That’s just my theory anyway.

[@busylivingnotdying]

@@jordanthompson5696 I think you are right. It is the constant push to increase sales in capitalism that skifts everything away from the natural and simple and makes it distorted. I wonder what kind of ecconomic system we can have that both feeds us ALL and keeps us NATURAL and HEALTHY in our relationship with each other at the same time ..

[@neilwiththereeldeel]

lady bird was very objectively incoherent...but this is a far more idiotic version of that...and it gives into the woke-tardic BS...on the other hand, Little Women was a beautifully made but obviously very sentimental and emotional film...she is clearly not an intellectual filmmaker of any kind...but the woke-tardic following of the movie describing how it's a "masterpiece" and "profound": THAT is the far left societal genocide of the last 50 years which causes a far right reaction...and honestly, makes the far right thing look good as a result 😂😂

[@otherperson]

Also important to add that the workers are seeking to abolish themselves as well, as a class. We seek the abolition of class society, not just the ruling class, and that means fundamentally changing the relationship of the workers to production, and therefore abolishing their class position.

[@musicdev]

yesssss I'm so glad I found this comment. This why the struggle for workers is completely different, unless we want to completely abolish the distinction between men and women (which I'm not necessarily opposed to, just some food for thought).

[@jaredmcdaris7370]

Appropriately enough, this exemplifies why this exact lens CAN (and should, I think) be applied to gender struggles. Destroying the owning class does not necessarily mean just killing them all. As you point out, it means eliminating both classes, so the class distinction becomes impossible. Likewise, gender abolition would render gender distinctions impossible (that’s fun to say… render gender). Most people, even liberals, understand that what it means to “be a woman” or “be a man” is something that is entirely socially constructed. That means it can be eliminated, entirely.

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

@@jaredmcdaris7370 I'm a gender abolitionist myself. This means society should not force individuals into specific gender roles and relationships. If people still want to take on specific gender roles or perform their gender a certain way because it makes them happy, they should be allowed to as well.

[@juliagoetia]

@@jaredmcdaris7370 But I don't want gender to be eliminated. I'm a trans woman, and I *like* being a woman. It's a part of who I am. I feel very uncomfortable with the notion that you want to take that away from me.

[@jaredmcdaris7370]

@@FrozEnbyWolf150 Yes, obviously, but in a world without gender class structures, those assumptions would not have the meanings they have now. Simply saying "everyone has the right to perform gender how they want" is fundamentally no different from choice feminism - it is the illusion of equality, a fake solution that exports responsibility onto the individual so no fundamental changes need be made. And in a world where the vast majority of people are still funneled into one of two binary distinctions from birth until they themselves speak up against it, even those choices are largely illusory. Gender abolition does not mean "Don't force people into previously-designated gender roles." That's just garden-variety left-liberalism. It's nothing, it's default, it's the absence of fascism. Gender abolition is exactly what it says on the tin: the abolition of gender structure. The fact that individuals will have the freedom to dress how they want, act how they want, be how they want, is a given - it is not what gender abolition fundamentally is.

[@alexthorntonfilms2148]

I completely missed the idea that Barbie rejected Barbie Land. I came out thinking that Barbie Land was the end goal and was so confused as to why so many people were praising it. I'll need to rewatch it now.

[@mo-sl4bj]

Barbieland is portrayed as a defective incomplete manifestation of liberal girlboss ideas. I think people were so prejudiced against this movie they were determined to dislike it or miss its main points... or something like that

[@alexthorntonfilms2148]

@@mo-sl4bj yeh that was just me being a dumbass. My apologies.

[@anaerobic]

I rewatched it several times and finally caught the line at the end where President Barbie says 'we don't want Barbie land to go back to the way it was' after the CEO states things can be normal again. This movie felt so topical and surface level until I started questioning why everything was happening. It's such a great study.

[@whatever3161]

This is pretty much why I really enjoyed the Barbie not in spite of its contradictions but BECAUSE of it. On the the one hand, Barbie and Barbieland can never meaningfully go beyond the gender binary on a material level because it's literally the product of a corporate fantasy embedded in various institutions and power structures. So the most that can be done in that world is just change which side of the binary is in power and do small reforms that don't change the overall power structures. On the other hand, the movie really pushes the absurdity of this liberal feminist approach to its extreme and seems aware of that in its very narrative structure. So you get moments that hint at something more radical such as the rejection of Barbieland (a place where, due to its nature, there can never be any radical change that can abolish the gender binary and the institutions and power dynamics that come with it on a material level). Good video bestie!

[@deadman746]

I spent more than a half decade studying women's movements since the Gutenberg press. They have been chock full of contradictions, and the Barbie movie comes as close as I have ever seen to acknowledging them.

[@ImmersionEsque]

Woah you spent your teenage years reading about how women were mercifully given rights by men, so commendable

[@TheNewYear75]

this comment feels unnecessarily snippy!

[@deadman746]

​@@TheNewYear75 Your comment made me smile. I enjoy dramatic understatement and litotes. I am just a wee tad tetchy, and here's why. Back in the 1980s, when I was on the faculty at FSU, I saw a school production of Molière's _Dom Juan_ (which of course was billed as _Don Juan)._ It had what they called a _feminist countertext_ by the FSU Women's Studies department. They also handed out a reading guide at the play. I found it _intriguing_ and decided to spend the better part of a decade studying women's. movements back to the printing press to see if I could suss it out. I'm not trying to pull an _argumentum ad verecundiam_ here, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility that I encounter someone with a similar background for a discussion. Yeah, I know, KZbin, but as Nietzsche almost said, it is not when the waters of truth are filthy but when they are shallow that the wise refrain from diving right in. I hesitate to use the term _feminist,_ because it's a late 19th century term. But there have always been not two but *three* major political camps. One of these camps consists of direct patriarchs. I won't say much about them, because that's what everyone talks about, and much, perhaps too much, have been said. The names of the other two change every wave. When I was growing up, the camps were _women's liberationists_ and _feminists._ *They hated each others' stinking guts,* The women's liberationists (awkward term) were a lot more polite about it, and after a short period of some positive reform, *they lost.* Currently, the corresponding camps are intersectionalists and TERFS (and patriarchs). I'll use those terms, because the patterns have always been the same, and I do not know of a better way to explain something other than use common knowledge as a starting point. There is a thing Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman called _the arrangement,_ according to which people with ostensibly opposing ideologies find out that they really have a lot in common. Currently, the TERFS and right-wing patriarchs have far more in common than either has with intersectionalists. Back when I was growing up, this was personified rather clearly by Ed Meese and Andrea Dworkin. They are flip sides of the same coin. Only the intersectionalists and similar work to eliminate or at least ameliorate sexism, and similar people have always, always failed in the past. This is because even the intersectionalists are fooled into thinking that the forces that _de facto_ increase and entrench sexism are on *their side.* I estimate that we're now in the same position we were around 1984. All the rhetoric is depressingly familiar, and so is the prognosis. The only thing people with the capacity for hope have is the possibility that there are enough trans people to form a political bloc to complicate the issue and disrupt the pattern that happens every three decades or so and and thus allow for the possibility of getting rid of sexism this time. But it's extremely small beer, and so far it doesn't even seemed to have affected the speed of increasing reactionary decline at all. In fact, it's worse. Trumpism is more dangerous than Reaganism. I don't have a lot more time to live, and I can only sit idly by while the clusterfuck plays out again in pretty much exactly the same way. Nobody ever learns. So it depresses me, and I get frustrated. Also see other comments to my OP. There's only one now, but it is illustrative of rhe ignorant presumption that drives the same old depressing cycle. There will probably be more, and I leave it as an exercise to the reader how it contributes to the dynamic.

[@SoSodawgindahouse]

What contradictions ? Can you elaborate

[@Nanook128]

​@@ImmersionEsquepiss off chud. Rights are won through agitation and even violent conflict. Rights aren't handed out by benevolent overlords, they're given as concessions out of fear so those in power can hold on to whatever crumbling vestiges they have. Your era is ending.

[@IAmTheUltimateRuler]

mattel here kind of remind me of disney's whole "ooh, look how self-aware we are!" schtick. Not only do you get to sell people a product, you get to sell them the critiques of the product too. that's why the scene with the old woman stands out - it's the part of the film that feels most artistically-driven and least focus grouped I did enjoy it though - the production design is the best thing about it and I don't even mean that as a backhanded compliment

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

I found myself thinking as I was watching the movie, where would I fit in as a nonbinary person? Is there even a place for me in a setting like this? It reminded me of how the familiar childhood narrative of transfems is that they played with Barbie dolls. I never did this, and I highly doubt my mother would have bought them for me. Not because she deemed them "inappropriate for boys" but because they reinforced an unrealistic body image and other gendered stereotypes at the time. That said, I did watch both He-Man and She-Ra growing up, seeing them as part of the same franchise since they shared the same setting. It never occurred to me that one was "for boys" and the other "for girls." And you know what? I was right.

[@snrken]

the stereotype that trans women play with barbies as a girl is also like not the norm among trans women lol

[@whatever3161]

In the movie Allan serves as a non-binary allegory. The world of Barbieland is incredibly symbolic and binary with the Kens representing Manhood and the Barbies representing womanhood. Allan is the odd one out in Barbieland and it reflects in his role in the movie too since he doesn't benefit from the patriarchy like the Kens and wants it gone too. But Allan also doesn't win in the matriarchy of the Barbies. He's still a second class person there too since he's also not a Barbie. Allan will only be truly liberated in a society where the Ken/Barbie binary is abolished as such and egalitarianism exists

[@KayAndSkittles]

Absolutely. I had considered a specifically non-binary analysis but honestly the weird thing they were doing with Ken just got its hooks in me. There's a great video in that for sure though.

[@GlitzPixie]

facts facts facts

[@GlitzPixie]

the film hints at gender critique without really busting apart the idea of gender. Any real queer representation in the movie would've helped

[@darkfruit2412]

The film's ending is the main reason it really became something I was "thinking" about in a way I didn't expect to, after leaving the theater. Going in, I was fully expecting (and embracing) the story to be similar to the LEGO Movie in which the central fantasy (LEGO Universe) is a metaphor for something real (the father/son relationship). But when Barbie's ending arrived, with no obvious metaphor in sight, and Barbieland being all but confirmed as an actual alternate fantasy realm to leave and enter the "real world", I was kind of stunned. I remember recalling it as a weirdly surreal ending to a movie like this, and you put into words why that was very nicely.

[@BRboymoder]

14:55 thankyou for talking about this. this was one of the most destructive ideas embedded in me during my repression. people around me would touch on this idea quite alot, I was worried that people would react violently to me transitioning even if thought I had seen them behave pretty normally around a trans man. the conversation was always about "should (they) be allowed women's toilets?" its all pretty weird now because I've always been the least dominant person in my social circles.

[@iamjustkiwi]

So much of the anti trans BS from men is literally them being afraid or ashamed they MIGHT be attracted to someone who they see as a man despite not being one, hence why trans men have basically become ignored more or less because men arent turned on by them. Its really pathetic how big of a societal upheval has been caused by inscure guys inability to just stop thinking the world has to be catered to them. Best of luck on your journey!

[@posthistoricdino422]

i still majorly struggle with this, to the point that i've broken down crying when the only public bathroom i could find was a women's. what if people see me go in there? what if i go in there and i'm seen as a man? what if someone in there has had a traumatic experience with men and i trigger them? do i even deserve to have a place in women's spaces? do i even get to call myself a woman? this idea being so prevalent for so long, especially with today's extremely vocal pushback against greater trans visibility, doesn't just misrepresent me to outsiders, it gets into my own head and makes me hate myself for simply trying to live my life. doesn't help that i'm already extremely tall and had a male puberty, which would be damaging enough for my body image on its own if it weren't for the outside influences telling me to be ashamed of myself for it.

[@edisonlima4647]

The fact that Gretta Gerweig had to fight with male peoducers to keep that scene with the old lady in helps to prove your point.

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

One of the problems with American feminism and American notions of female empowerment is the failure to understand that,in other industrialized countries,there are things like paid maternity leave,government-subsidized family leave,a national nonprofit health care system and other policies that enable women to have children,nurture their families and yet still have thriving careers and economic independence.

[@patriciaramirez8067]

To be fair, I interpreted the scene where they are communicating their ideas not as idealism or the engaging in the free market of ideas but as fostering consciousness in the pursuit of collective action ( even if it was pretty surface level)

[@phor8567]

same

[@isabear478]

theirs only so much you can do in a movie

[@jonathanquigley1001]

Always a good day when a new Kay and Skittles video drops! ❤

[@patriciaramirez8067]

I can agree with you that the movie is limited by it being a Mattel product, which led to the conscious choice on the writer to focus on Ken as a antagonist rather than focus on the critique of Mattel or engage in feminist commentary that properly addresses the role of capitalism. They obviously couldn't focus on the shortcomings of Mattel so they needed Ken to be the antagonist which just wound up in a visual pitting man vs. woman binary that ultimately resulted in a matriarchy/patriarchy hurts men too that I agree with but is something (as you mentioned) that I can't help feel frustrated with in this case. While I acknowledge that men also struggle under patriarchy and aren't inherently bad , I can't help feel frustrated at this pattern in liberal media that stories that are about underrepresented and underserved groups (as leading roles in media) always have to go out of their way to center the development and redemption of members of the dominant group. Everyone went to go see the Barbie movie because it was a competently made movie about women (and 'feminism') aimed at women only for everyone to leave the movie talking about fucking Ken. Praising Ken. Praising Gosling's performance. I hope you don't interpret me as 'ani-man' as this is a sentiment I share even with ATLA, a story about the struggle against colonization only for the most praised part of the show to be about the development and redemption of members of the ruling class-- a fucking prince and a general. So much time and energy poured into writing about the redemption of a prince , former General Iroh MURDERED people in the name of the imperialism but got a nice peaceful ending with a tea shop and favorite character status meanwhile a character like Jet who was a victim and the only other character to take collective action against the imperial army got literally nothing. Villainized as a terrorist then brutally discarded with far less redemption (And he did far less than fucking Iroh, mind you). I also brought it up since you've talked about LoK before and I wonder if you'll ever touch that topic in the future. I'm tired, Grandpa.

[@fretienkamp6735]

The idea that Iroh committed brutal warcrimes is some fan's headcanon, all we know is that he was a reknowned general, lead Ba Sing Se's siege and lost his son there. Likewise, redemption is not about undergoing a similar level of suffering or groveling for people's forgiveness, to ask forgiveness is important if that applies, but Iroh's redemption is about being a good influence upon the world as opposed to a bad one, Zuko's redepmption also extends to his role in redeeming the fire nation going forward under his rule, establishing peace and balance. Jet deliberately attacked the innocent in order to take out fire nation soldiers as collateral, I don't think anyone would fondly remember someone shooting up a BLM rally because there's Klanmembers on the same city block. The fact that men are commonly viewed as the primary beneficiaries of patriarchy is the reason why extra effort is poured into "redeeming" them, for a lot of writers, it is the only way to get out of the simplistic "men vs women" dichotomy, yet it usually ends up in a much softer version of it still. Ken's "brainwashing" of the barby world into his personal frat house is emblematic of just how poorly understood and conceptualized the director's idea of patriarchy really is.

[@SolarFlareAmerica]

​@@fretienkamp6735Iroh being the son of the firelord and originally crown prince himself certainly doesn't help the perspective that he might've done war crimes, but is immediately bit in the azz as an analysis because he is portrayed as being honorable throughout, to the degree that it's his far more ruthless brother that gets the throne. Iroh is thematically punished for being more honorable than his brother, and his reaction is to become an even better person. As for jet, I can literally draw a 1to1 parallel to the situation of how Chiang Kai Shek ordered the yellow river dikes be blown to slow the invading Japanese. While it's hotly debated if this had much meaningful effect, it certainly DID NOT endear the peasant class of China to the Nationalists, and is one of the big rallying moments for the Communists that led to then becoming so popular and kicking them off the mainland. If Jet's plan had gone through, he would have being fvcking himself and resistance movements in general. While overall its not a 1to1 with real life in all regards, the perception would've been very similar.

[@SolarFlareAmerica]

Alot of white folks, myself included, liked Zuko's arc because we identified with it. We're the people of the most oppressive and dominant empire. That we can still find redemption despite the harm we've caused is a big, uplifting thing for us. Of course it won't be as easy as the show depicts it. Nothing will. I'm not sure there is an irl Aang who can successfully overthrow empire while emerging nearly flawless, personality-wise, and I doubt there will ever be. Gandhi, my personal approximation to Aang, certainly wasn't perfect. Still helped liberate his people to a greater degree of freedom.

[@merlin5662]

i both disagree on zuko and iroh. in the case of iroh (as people have pointed out) we don't know if he did commit war crimes or not, but it is heavily implied that iroh is an enlightened individual, he is called the dragon of the west bc he slayed the last dragons but in truth he didn't, he spend a lot of time understanding other nations and their cultures and strongly protested against the fire naions ruthlessness (i.e killing the moon spirits, liberation of the earth kingdom etc). despite this, he isn't redeemed bc he admit he did wrong, instead iroh sought to understand the world and the people that live in it and walked away with understanding his role in the world. he uses this experience to help guide zuko to become a better person which eventually helped overcome zuko's conflict. in regards to zuko, he is first and foremost, a victim of a terrible father and troubling sister. for about half his life he wasn't even recognized as the prince he was imposed high expectations of his role in the fire nation but was disappointing, forced into a agni kai at 10 years old and scarred for life. when we zuko for the first time, he is hunting the avatar as a way to redeem his failure in his father eyes, to be welcomed back into the fire nation. however, over time we see conflict arise within him which makes zuko contextualizes his redemption. despite the fact that he sided with azula and is welcomed back into the fire nation, he realises how out of place he is. he fought his way to be respected in the fire nation only to be feel so out of place. during the invasion zuko breaks the shackles of his father expectation. in both iroh and zuko cases, they aren't redeemed bc they decided to right wrongs, instead they are redeemed for having internalised conflict of their positions and status in life and understood what their role is to play and become better people for the people they care about (iroh) and represent a better future (zuko)

[@djadelaney]

An interesting thing that I think a lot of people ignore when they're criticizing Barbies for having the perfect figure or whatever, is that the dolls are made of plastic. They start off as hot plastic, like a liquid, which then gets poured into molds. Barbies are fashion dolls, and if you have too many body type deviations in fashion dolls, then you can't trade Barbie clothes back and forth with your friends. A problem friends have sometimes in real life, being unable to share clothes because they are different sizes. I guess I don't know about anybody else but I never looked at a Barbie and thought I was supposed to look like that, I looked at photoshopped magazine covers and thought I was supposed to look like that. All changing a Barbie's body does is make it harder for the fashion doll to find clothes, which is the only thing she is for.

[@anaerobic]

I felt the same way growing up, the doll was plastic - I never thought I was supposed to look like that? I'm not plastic lmao. I loved my Barbie for her clothes, shoes, makeup and hair. I never thought I was supposed to look like a photograph, either. I was envious of real life girls whose hair I liked more than mine, whose clothes I liked better, who were more talented, etc.

[@parisknight1840]

Kid don't look at dolls and think they have to look like that, it's actually very scary that grown adults think that happens.

[@djadelaney]

@@anaerobic Photoshop definitely screwed with my expectations of bodies but dolls never did, it definitely makes more sense to be envious of people right in front of you though

[@SolarFlareAmerica]

It's not really about the dolls, it's that the dolls are a reflection of what the adults making them think the children should grow up wanting to be. It's a subtle thing. Though, there are people who have compared themselves to dolls and tried to look like them.

[@BeneathFullMoon]

tbh as a little girl, although I didn't think my body had to look like barbie's, I did think I would look prettier if I were blonde and blue-eyed since 90% of barbies I could find were blonde and blue-eyed. every kid will learn differently, and it has been proven children actually do insert themselves in and empathize with human-like dolls - they're not human to them, but they're representations of themselves during play. it's still important that there is diversity and variety for kids to know there are diverse ways to represent a person.

[@grmgt]

Well look at that, i didn't think i was going to get a new take on this movie but you probe yourself a great essayist once again. Not that i think it negates the other underlying problems of the movie BUT i really liked your interpretation of Barbie rejecting Barbieland to be human, with all it's contradictions, since many people tend to lean on the "matriarchal barbieland won" interpretation.

[@anarchohelenism]

Your summation of the scene between Barbie and the old woman is literally perfect. Great video as always, Kay.

[@KrislLeon]

Just listened to you on the deprogram and I can't believe I hadn't watched you before. Very glad I subbed.

[@Altaranalt]

I had so much fun watching this. As a guy I was afraid it was just going to be a movie about women blaming men for everything, but it was an incredible commentary on the world. I thought it was clever, funny and very well designed. Happy I watched it

[@patataeve]

You're one of the only three people making essay videos that I wholly trust. Thank you for another great video!

[@cesarwitha_t]

who else?????

[@Glamerth]

Yeah who else haha

[@nightfall3332]

who are the other two please?

[@goosewithagibus]

"Yeah... I Barbenheimered" is such a great line in the first ten seconds.

[@peanutbutter7682]

The Ken's learning or at least being told to believe in themselves at the end could be seen as them getting their own dreamhouses in a world made from beleof. At least if you are very chartable.

[@LenaFerrari]

I've watched a ton of this barbie movie analysis, but I'm pretty sure you are the first to bring a couple points for me to think about. Nice, thank you

[@nowhereman6019]

Contradictions, you say? *Dialectics Time* (Or Imminent Critique if you wanna be a nitpicker)

[@gorgenfol]

This baby can fit so many contradictions! *slaps capitalism*

[@austinobambino1360]

New Kay and Skittles video dropped OH SHIT 😳

[@ernie39]

Beautiful video, I love the acknowledgement of both the neoliberal/marketing aspects of the film as well as leftist ideas that can be interpreted from it! Thank you for using bell hooks' words on feminism as a part of your analysis, I really admire her work -- I was frequently thinking about her book The Will To Change as I watched the Barbie movie.

[@AtheistEve]

Ha. I’ve just watched the Barbie DVD. And then this shows up. I found the story patchy, fragmented. It nearly did one thing well. Like it had been written by three of four separate teams and then stitched together.

[@DrinkTheKoolAid62]

Congratulations for doing exactly what was expected of you - paying to see it

[@AtheistEve]

@@DrinkTheKoolAid62 Yeah, I didn’t do that though. A friend brought it over.

[@SoSodawgindahouse]

It the story was as bad as you’re making it seems it wouldn’t have been this popular, story was fine

[@Old_Harry7]

The thing I didn't like about this film is the fact that the movie doesn't try, not even once, to explain why society IRL is the way it is. Why is there a patriarchal system? How is capitalism responsible for class and therefore gender division? None of these issues are addressed, probably because they couldn't be addressed without really challenging our current economic system which is obviously no good for marketing.

[@destroyraiden]

no movie on earth wants to explain that cuz even a light dive into that gives major depression just like a light dive for black folks into racism makes people beyound depressed to find out they're in an abusive relationship that is stacked against them with the whole core beating heart of their country not something one can easily just look into and walk away unmarred.

[@hope-cat4894]

How is capitalism responsible for class structures if class systems have existed before capitalism?

[@Old_Harry7]

@@hope-cat4894 that's where materialism comes in, you see capitalistic like structures predate capitalism itself. Once basic necessities such as housing and food became negotiable elements there classes were born. You'd have a priest class which dictated laws aimed at preserving the hierarchy, a warrior class usually ranked as nobles which role was to secure resources through violence and then you had the labourers which would be subject of nobles who owned the land and even the land workers. Women didn't had the physical strength to fit into the warrior class, they didn't have resources to study nor the "inherent" authority to make it into the lawfairing roles and were even considered inferior as labourers, their role was limited to child birth, alliance chips and house keeping. This system was picked up and then expanded by capitalism, a woman isn't considered as valuable as men are in terms of productivity, in fact women are considered a nuisance when it comes to their basic needs as workers and most important of all the role women are still required by society to fit into is that still of children makers, the more children are thrown out the more people there are, the more people means even an harder time finding a job which paves the way to exploitation and so on and so forth.

[@hope-cat4894]

@Old_Harry7 So, in early human history, once permanent settlements, crops, and a steady supply of water could be made, trading and different trades of labor were created. With this new type of labor came different class structures. I understand that. What I'm not understanding is how these class structures will be gone if capitalism is removed? If these roles predate capitalism as we know it in human history when we were first becoming advanced civilizations, how can we truly break away from them? We now have women who are able to be educated or take on religious positions, which is good, but the female body still has limits when it comes to physical labor (including pregnancy) and light duty work has become heavily automated to where crafting isn't an easy viable option like in early history. There are still many manual labor jobs that women can't or don't want to take on because of the permanent damages it can cause to their bodies, too. It feels like some (not all) elements of class structures are self-creating even if we remove money from the equation unless I'm missing something. It just seems like instead of abolishing class, we're just opening the door into those classes (women allowed into labor or leadership roles, for example).

[@Old_Harry7]

@@hope-cat4894 when your needs are met by the State and you have to basically work just for personal fulfillment without having to face the blackmail "work or starve" then classes will be eradicated.

[@TheJadedJames]

Barbie was fun, but it came off as entirely harmless disposable liberal pop feminism to me, and that included Barbie telling an old woman that she was beautiful. To make something more substantial with this material (and I think one could) it would have to erase the serial numbers & not be an official Barbie movie. I always felt like I was laughing with the Mattel as I paid them money to watch them gently poke fun at themselves. The biggest sticking point for me was the third fact fantasy overthrow of patriarchy. The movie really stated unironically that understanding & articulating patriarchy robes it if its power. Patriarchy is defeated by … making men irrationally jealous of each other? It’s not an especially satisfying climax when you try to read it beyond broad comedy, which it is mostly effective as.

[@guccipucci3941]

A new Kay & Skittles moving image production? Ah yes, tonight we feast 🧐

[@colonelweird]

Fascinating analysis, but I have to admit, I couldn't help feeling the positive things you praise in Barbie were meant to be signals to the critical viewer that yes, the filmmakers realize the idealism of Barbieland doesn't actually work. In other words they were very meta, but didn't do much to seriously question the impact of the whole film. By the way, it would interesting to compare the feminism of Barbie with the self-aware, ironic, absurdist, hilarious queer feminism of Bottoms. That's a movie where girl power defeats the patriarchy, but the movie's themes are a lot more complex and ambiguous than that.

[@steampunkerella]

great video! warped "plastic love" at the end there was very fitting

[@pedroito9083]

just watched the movie so I could apreciate another kay and skittles banger

[@hartsneed2701]

One of the things that I think is really important is that when the Barbies where in charge, the Kens were still oppressed and needed rights, but they weren’t harmed. “The Kens weren’t oppressed in Barbieland. When Barbies we’re running Barbieland, all the Kens got to decide how to dress, be, play, and beach. But when Ken made it a ‘Kendom’, all the Barbies were stripped from their roles and clothes - dressed up as maids and made to serve men. There is a difference between a world built with women on top, and a world built on top of women. That is the difference between feminism and patriarchy.” - Farida D. I mostly agree with this quote aside from the fact that the Kens weren’t oppressed. They were, but not to the same degree that women under patriarchy were / are. I think that’s very profound and an incredibly important thing to focus on when talking about this movie.

[@Home-o2v4h]

Lol...because women on top is fictional concept and noone has actually seen it happening. That is why it is ASSUMED that men will not be harmed. It is also based on the premise that women are “angels” which is again a patriarchal label given to women

[@MarxyMarxAndTheFunkyBunch]

They did it. They put it into words.

[@amyold199]

i feel like being ok with "nobody should occupy the social position of 'bourgeois'" but feeling horrified by "nobody should occupy the social position of 'man'" is something that deserves some self-examination rather than being positioned as the axiomatically reasonable reaction

[@GlitzPixie]

can you explain more? The horror is positioned as axiomatically reasonable?

[@juliaprohaska9295]

men should be allowed to exist though?

[@GlitzPixie]

@@juliaprohaska9295 the position of man as it represents a privileged / limited class role shouldn't exist. It's the idea that instead of trying to reach "equality" by "elevating" women by having them embody all the negative and oppressive traits of manhood in our current system of gender roles, like girlboss CEOs who dominate and exploit others, we should instead critique and break down the positions that exist to give men an unfair platform for domination or unhealthy behavior

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

You make a good point.

[@CJojo_13_]

This released 5 seconds ago. I agree with all 21 minutes and 13 seconds of this video.

[@jossaha]

lol yeah - I shared to fb with all the usual gushing I reserve for K&S, and only then settled in to enjoy the video. That level of trust is a wonderful thing.

[@mariahelizabeth_ent]

I think you hit it right on the head! Greta even said that if that scene were to be removed, she would not know what the movie was about. Don’t be scared. And you don’t have to qualify it when you say the actress they chose is bigger than the plus size Barbie that Mattel made

[@DanniBiersack]

The real world unfortunately reminds you of your place in society - It's my mother teaching me how to walk safely in the dark, a harsh reality check about what it means for me to be in the body I'm in. Or it's male classmates treating me like I'm being unfair for rejecting a boy I had no interest in. It's male classmates groping me and other girls in the halls. It's even harmless things like a guy being surprised I have certain interests because I'm a woman. It's my mother making mean comments about a random woman's body or makeup. It's my dad saying tattoos don't look attractive on women. It's a reminder that there are certain expectations placed upon you and a reminder that there will be pushback if you choose to transgress them. A reminder that, to some people, you're not really a full person. It's not a nice feeling tbh and that's kind of what the Barbie movie felt like when she started noticing imperfections up to patriarchy being installed in Barbieland, this feeling of safety and innocence being forcibly taken away from you and it feels like there's nothing you can do it about it. Made me want to lie face first in the grass and rot til the end of time also

[@kkounal974]

​@emptyshogun6194Why are you making them oppositional in your head, is it really that hard for a celebration of one to not be an implicit ridicule for the other? Do they really have to be opposites?

[@TheSparrowLooksUp]

Finally caught the Covid this week, feel like total ass, and really needed me sum Skittles. How'd you know?

[@AmberAmber]

😢

[@iamjustkiwi]

I hope you're able to get the rest you need and recover well. Congrats on making it this long without getting it though, its not easy!

[@BradyRamaker]

I think the biggest take away is that the Gerwig and Shipp knew that the confines of corporate owned media cannot offer true liberatory solutions. There is a human element in there, shackled by the restrictions capital places upon it for the profit motive. The film essentially lampoons the entire discourse around itself, which is owned & produced by a corporate studio, acting as a commercial for a corporate product line. There is no escaping that fact, and the film knows it. It is fully about its own limitations. In this way, it's not cynical, but simply pragmatic. The ultimate message I felt after watching it is, "We truly apologize, but you will not find what you are looking for here" to everyone wanting the film to make a difference. The marketplace is not a place for ideas, it's a place for commodities. Barbie as a piece of art says that the only thing you can hope for within this paradigm is a little bit of individual agency, and once the credits finish, this remains a commercial product. You cannot shop your way out of this. The feminism 101 speech was preaching to the choir, all the ladies nodding along to its simple truths, but I hope some of them took home the more challenging idea, the subversive idea, resting below that.

[@dustind4694]

She seemed to know where she was going. That one who walked away from Barbieland. Cheers. :)

[@CRushDMV]

7:56 i audibly said "OOOOOHHHH SHIT"

[@CRushDMV]

lowkey might be cause im drunk lmao

[@andro_king]

K&S videos are always a great watch. Keep it up!

[@catfancier270]

I'm a woman and not from a conservative background and I had real issues with the movie. First, matriarchy would be just as wrong as patriarchy. Second, I hate the conflating of being in love with codependence. Filmmakers did this with the sisters in Frozen 2 also which disgusts me. Third, Beach Ken wanted to experience romantic love but didn't get to, which isn't addressed. I heard there were originally plans for Beach Ken to wind up with Weird Barbie at the end which could have been really cute.

[@macy1066]

Great analysis. At 18:50 when you talk about Greta Gerwig maybe wanting her cake and eating it too. I think she has to do it that way or else the movie does not get made. And I think she did a great job of walking that tightrope.

[@GlitzPixie]

Agreed the movie is very impressive for what it is

[@rebelprincess1164]

Okay, but where’s the 14 hour long think-piece on Allan?

[@Nyota7766]

Let's goooooo we got a new kay and skittles upload.

[@southern_archeologist]

BELL HOOKS MENTIONED 🎉🍾🥂🎉🎆🎇🎇🎆🎆🙌🙌🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@EuphoricPentagram]

It’s seems very early feminism, like there’s no intersectionality Like in this case the end was fem rule Not a kinda of equal rule where everyone is a part of an equal government One where the Barbie’s and kens get houses and lives their happy with

[@XieronDraxin]

Your section about how women also hold up the patriarchy really got to me. As a woman myself, I obviously grew up with certain expectations around my appearance. The biggest one for me being makeup. I never liked makeup. Never liked how it felt on my skin, how I would break out after wearing it, and I never got "good" at it either. Even today at the age of 30, the most I feel comfortable doing is a tinted moisturizer, some eyeliner, and some lipstick for special occasions. Other than that, I never wear makeup. No man in my life has ever commented on this. Not my father, not my male friends, not my husband. However, every single woman I've ever gotten close to has. My mother, my sister, female friends, all have commented on the fact that I don't wear makeup. When I was younger, it was constantly impressed upon me the importance of learning how to use it. I was told I wouldn't be able to get a job without it (I know that this is partially true which I why I do wear it to job interviews and then don't once I have the job.), that no man would ever want me (My husband and I have been together for 11 years now, longer than my mother who refuses to be seen in public without makeup ever has been), and that I just simply needed to because it would be embarrassing if I didn't as an adult. I am not saying that women shouldn't wear makeup or that it is evil. I know many women love makeup and use it for creative expression of themselves. But I think a LOT of women need to sit down and really think about whether they like the way makeup makes them feel bc it is self-expression or because it is the relief of knowing that you won't be criticized for not doing so or not hiding "unseemly" flaws or bc you have simply been trained to hate your natural face. I'm willing to bet that for most, its the latter. The point is that it should be a choice. A neutral choice without social consequences either way.

[@ippanpedrozo1162]

as most guys say, they prefer more natural faces with less makeup. lots of expectations of how women present in society is in response to, and in competition with, other women, not men. most of the Kardashian's fans are women, when the Kardashians push out a new trendy "look" to their impressionable fans, it's women influencing women to think "this is what successful women look like" and then end up getting dangerous cosmetic surgeries and when they don't get the attention they want from men, they blame men's "unrealistic standards" when it was half self inflicted, half inflicted by the women they idealize and idolize. yes there are patriarchal societal expectations of women, but lots of women need to take some kind of accountability for who they prop up as idols, which end up also harming women. feminism and anti capitalism must be opposed to multi millionaire conservative celebrity women, like Taylor Swift or Oprah or Margot Robbie. remember feminists, liberal millionaires are the rich oppressive conservatives that didn't care about the on going Democrat genocide.

[@ippanpedrozo1162]

it's also extremely funny to me that there are so called "fat activists" that rebuke the idea of conventional physical beauty standards, but like and promote literally every single other oppressive beauty standard, like fashion and makeup. the idea of body liberation rings hollow when the body positive feminist activist also likes trendy makeup, fashion, and listening to millionaire conservatives like t Swift

[@kingkelz215]

barb wake up new kay & skittles just dropped

[@goosewithagibus]

I have so many mixed thoughts on this movie. I'll need to make my own video sometime, because it's such an interesting intersection in our culture between a bunch of different currents and ideas.

[@danielvictor3262]

Thank you for another beautiful review. You're absolutely one of my most favorite content-creators in KZbin.

[@SPDYellow]

One inherent contradiction that didn’t come up in the movie is the origin of Barbie herself. Barbie was based on a doll sold in German sex shops name Bild Lili, a character from a bawdy comic strip who is described as an actress in between shows or a hooker in between tricks. Ruth Handler saw this doll and apparently thought this would be a perfect toy for little girls. So a doll meant to be a sex toy gets refashioned into the all-American girl, frequently used as a role model for children. That’s why I think the film works so well, how it delves into the contradictions inherent in the character. Because yes, Barbie has reinforced artificial notions regarding femininity and beauty standards, but the central message of Barbie, even from the early days, was that Barbie could do anything, as could the girls who played with her, which is a pretty feminist message. Barbie had a female president before the era of Geraldine Ferraro, never mind Hillary Clinton.

[@uiio7644]

I watched this before the movie itself (late to the party) and perhaps went into it already expecting certain things. I don’t agree that the director tried to make a “significant statement”, I think at most it is an admission of guilt for participating in the making of this product that furthered some individualistic aspects of liberal feminism among the women who watched it. But I do agree that it was indeed that deep. The movie was very self aware about several things, even the ones it avoided - race discussion for one. I’m not sure but I don’t remember stereotypical Barbie being described as white except for the one self aware scene where the daughter calls her a white savior). The point that the movie makes is, like you explain, that Barbie becomes a human, leaves the fantasy of liberal feminism behind - she “unbecomes” barbie. The first scene of the movie has little girls playing with baby dolls - a tool of the patriarchy to condition them into the family roles of mother and home wife imposed by capitalist values, which they destroy after they realize there is *something* else embodied by the Barbie doll: an idea of womanhood independent from the one imposed by patriarchy and capitalist values. The director couldn’t replicate this scene with a Barbie doll, because she’s working for the company that profits off it, but she did offer a reminder of what the previous generation did with their own imposed concept of womanhood. She also doesn’t show an alternative path or what to do next after unbecoming barbie, except just ? being human i guess. But all things considered it was good enough. I think the movie also accidentally paints the portrait of privilege within an oppressed class, since the mother and daughter who are US-latinas have to show Barbie the ropes around her oppression (and in real life they would also have to educate her on the nuances of racism that intersect with feminism). White people hold the most significant power within any marginalized community, so despite it all they can’t be left behind. The scene where the mother and daughter decide to leave barbieland, the failed fantasy of liberal feminism that fell under its own weight, and then come back to help kinda felt like that. And in more broad terms, it’s the same relationship between usamericans (or the imperial core in general) and the global south. Sometimes watching the feminist movement in the US from the outside feels like watching barbieland collapsing. Not that the director intended any of this, of course..

[@richardvlasek2445]

the fact that shoeonhead managed to keep herself relevant after gamergate after gleefully associating with literal e-fashies by just crying and sniveling hard enough for people to "forgive her" when nothing about her personality or political views has changed is amazing to me

[@GuilhermeBF]

I was just watching the Corbin coup video

[@geniusface2640]

thanks for this analysis. I left the Barbie movie with the feeling that Gerwig was trying to do something clever & even subversive with what is ostensibly a Mattel commercial, & I think you helped me grasp it

[@ruplayinggame3080]

Ok, this is probably my favorite take on the Barbie movie so far :D

[@rillrill1312]

wake up bb new kay n skittles just dropped

[@o_nazim]

I loved your breakdown and interpretation here. This pretty much sums up the movie as a whole.

[@SteveOnlin]

YOOOOO new vid from Kay and Skittles, was waiting for months

[@elliegardner1810]

In the end Ken just wanted to hang out with Barbie and she just ghosted him

[@postmodernmarxist101]

I don't comment, but this is one of the best channels out there in terms of social criticism. So, I hope I help with the algorithm

[@Amantducafe]

Although i appreciate the social deconstruction and analysis on both men and women, their sexuality, gender role and the institutions built around them, There is also a very real element aside from that social approach which is the biological that wasn't mentioned once. I know it is a very delicate topic but it is one that shouldn't be ignored out of fear from stirring controversial reactions. We are after all prisoners not only of history and institutions but also prisoners of our own biological reality since, after all, there is a neuroendocrine basis of social behaviour that requires understanding of physiological processes that arn't taught in social sciences.

[@lararys7765]

Finally, someone who fucking understands the Barbie movie 💖

[@nebuler1]

Not sure what the hell you did there, but your conclusion hit surprisingly hard.

[@beatrixrs]

Arrived here now, and very thoughtful analysis!!!

[@dopamine5170]

damn i didnt even get this in my sub box, great video!!

[@IAmTheUltimateRuler]

One thing I was pleasantly surprised by in the portrayal of patriarchy was how it's brought about for a reason, a deliberate decision by the Kens to empower themselves at the expense of the Barbies. It isn't a virus that accidentally infects them, the same way that actual patriarchy isn't an ancient roll of the dice that women happened to lose, but something that's been constructed and reconstructed throughout history (eg, the importance of unpaid reproductive labour for capitalism to function). And while I assume most men aren't consciously Deciding To Do Patriarchy, it still exists to serve their interests. The Kens might not be actually be that happy in their own regime, but patriarchy is more concerned with men's power than their wellbeing.

[@pedrosampaio7349]

'tis a good day, when there is Kay

[@username_creates6991]

I think the contradictions are suppose to be there. It’s a genius interpretation of reality.

[@MB-pd8gt]

mr kay mr skittles if you ever get around to playing blood borne please consider making a video about it I think you’ll find the text very rich! Thank you for all your work ❤

[@IncandescentFlame]

Yup, you've eloquently summarized my own contentions with this movie. I honestly wish that Gerwig could have been more direct about the points you've made, but I suspect being more blatantly against idealism wouldn't exactly fly over the corporate approvers' heads.

[@panrandom2127]

My goth eyes hurt waching soooo much pink colooor

[@Anonymous-gw1vd]

This was poetic.

[@marksalmoneussorcerersupreme]

Yeah I think the character journey was pretty awesome. While at the same time didn't really buy into the movies corporate feminism. I think its made pretty clear that while under a patriarchy that is democratic women definitely proven that "not all women are good" After all it was a woman who succeeded in advancing Neo Liberal capitalism, another who wrote the book on "fuck you got mine" and another woman that succeeded in performing reactive abuse and tarnished the reputation of a great actor. And there's also Jada picket Smith. And its Cisgender Women who are leading voices in anti-trans bigotry. it goes without saying that Women are awesome and all but they are as undeniably human for better or worse and that needs to be considered when talking about these things.

[@8bitkron1k38]

SONG AT THE BEGINNING PLEASE.

[@KayAndSkittles]

That's a slowed down Barbie Girl fading into a part of the final instalment of Everywhere at the End of Time which I would not recommend anyone listen to if they want to be okay.

[@8bitkron1k38]

​@@KayAndSkittles You make a KZbin video with the song and I'll watch it 1,000 times.

[@8bitkron1k38]

​@@KayAndSkittlesAbout to make 0:32-0:42 the most replayed part of the video.

[@CyphersBasement]

I abhor pretty much all manner of woke nonsense, but I thought of this movie as a good contender for "Film of the Year". I had no intentions of seeing the movie until I saw how confused people were, and I knew, because of how this movie was causing for people to swirl around it, like a draining tub, and because of how curious the movie was in the first place, that I would buy a ticket and see it ASAP, to the point that it was the VERY first thing I did after getting off work that day. Before it was even out, I was hearing a bunch of warnings about how it was going to be woke, how the people behind the film are saying and doing X, Y, and Z; I had felt the movie was something I could just ignore, like most films. With everyone so confused about the film, I saw it, thinking to myself "If this could be like a feminism boss fight for me, I can tell others about it, then, my thoughts." I put everything I had heard out of my head when watching it, with only just an understanding that it'll be very pink and potentially annoying. I came out of the theater ASTOUNDED at how insane the movie actually is, how much it's like a cartoon, and how much potential there is for people to get it UNBELIEVABLY wrong. Then I checked out a bit of Ben Shapiro's review and laughed for a while. THEN, I saw The Critical Drinker had put out a video on it. I knew that he understood writing from his conversations, and that he has published books. I knew that Drinker would get into the details of the film he's talking about, and I was actually looking forward to seeing what he had to say. NOPE! NOTHING! NOT EVEN A COMMENT ON THE SET DESIGN! I was FLOORED by his review, how he said that there is NOTHING good about the movie, which damn near broke my jaw after it hit the floor. Seeing Barbie and then seeing his review REALLY destroyed everything about him that I had respected, and the change in my impression of him was so instantaneous, it actually pissed me off that he would DARE say a thing about a movie that makes him out to look like a little boy that was only just reading talking points off of paper. Imagine complaining that Social Justice Warriors are destroying everything you love, ONLY to argue like a Social Justice Warrior when talking about Barbie, saying THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A POSITIVE MESSAGE FOR MEN IN THERE AND I DID NOT SEE OR HEAR ONE AND THAT MEANS BARBIE HATES MEN AND IS BAD, like, DUDE, it's a BARBIE. MOVIE. If you couldn't tell, I really could keep going. The Barbie film is my favorite movie of last year, and it's due in great part, not just because the movie is surprisingly witty and incredibly well-written, but because it shatters the illusion that critics on KZbin have put forth about themselves. These film critics on KZbin are ONLY capable of saying the obvious thing, which is why they all got the Barbie movie wrong. They're all surface-level thinkers, through and through, and that will likely never change.

[@heatherhaven1268]

First video I’ve seen from this channel and WOW

[@FindingMyself90]

1:20 this could have been a Twilight zone episode or special

[@patriciaramirez8067]

Not on topic but since you do media analysis if you watch anime I would like to hear your thoughts of Death Note or Code Geass or something (from a more leftist perspective)

[@KayAndSkittles]

Will strongly consider a Death Note video in the future. I think I shy away from anime analysis a lot more because I simply do not know that much about Japanese culture and feel a bit unequipped.

[@RadicalReviewer]

Let's gooo!!

[@Zombiezay]

I enjoyed this more than the movie itself

[@patriciaramirez8067]

While I acknowledge that men also struggle under patriarchy and aren't inherently bad , I can't help feel frustrated at this pattern in liberal media that stories that are about underrepresented marginalized groups (as leading roles in media) always have to go out of their way to center the development and redemption of members of the dominant group. Everyone went to go see the Barbie movie because it was a competently made movie about women (and 'feminism') aimed at women only for everyone to leave the movie talking about fucking Ken. Feeling bad for Ken. In the BARBIE MOVIE Ken gets his OWN fucking solo song and musical dance number (that everybody loves) for HIS problems that no other female character gets, including BARBIE. What about Weird Barbie and the other barbies ostracized from Barbie Land? Thats left out of the discussion. Even the human female characters get less character development despite being representatives of the target audience. Let's Praise Ken. Praise Gosling's performance. Hell, even Praise Allen. Who was barely even relevant to the plot 😒 I hope you don't interpret me as 'anti-man' as this is a similar sentiment I share even with ATLA, a story about the struggle against colonization only for the most praised part of the show to be about the individual 'spiritual'/ moral redemption of members of the colonizer ruling class-- the fucking prince and a general of the imperial army. So much time and energy was invested into writing about the redeeming of Prince Zuko its the first thing that comes up when you google ATLA. Former General Iroh MURDERED people in the pursuit of the imperialism but got a nice peaceful ending with a tea shop and favorite character status meanwhile a character like Jet ( a victim of colonization) who was the only other character to take collective action against the imperial army (before even Team Avatar) got literally nothing. The writers were far much less generous in redeeming a CHILD living under and fighting against oppression than they were to the ACTUAL grown ass mass murdering colonizer responsible for their suffering (Jet did far less than fucking Iroh, mind you). I digressed a bit towards the end there but I hope you get my point. I also brought it up since you've talked about LoK before and I wonder if you'll ever touch that topic in the future. I'm tired of this, Grandpa.😫

[@patriciaramirez8067]

I also want to clarify that I believe problem I mentioned in the movie stems from the choice to portray Ken as an antagonist to Barbie ( binary man vs woman) as a result of it being a Mattel product and not being able to properly critique the company

[@arvmeister9302]

I agree! While I agree with a general statement that men arn't essentially evil, and face hardship, that being so central to feminism rather than more direct struggle for improved conditions for the materially oppressed group is a shame! It's always a shame when marginalised groups' material struggles are vaguely co-opted by the group they're critiquing! This of course doesn't apply to transwomen, that's a whole other thing, but very specifically cis men. Yes, of course there are hardships in a male role but to so oftenly focus on that as opposed to the more material struggle of women's position is a bit tiring in liberal media!

[@KayAndSkittles]

Totally get it. I didn't fully appreciate, until I started writing this video, just how much this movie is about Ken rather than Barbie. I can certainly see why that'd be frustrating.

[@Welchs-Fruit-Snacks]

I feel like you've missed a lot of things in the movie. I get your frustration but can you really blame people for liking Ken (Who's played by ryan hecking gossling!) when he's a far better character than barbie? (Despite getting less screen time.) She's just whiny and weird. "Have you ever thought about death? :D" (?) Barbie is viewed as everything wrong with feminism and social media. She's a girl boss while still needing help from everyone and claiming she can do it all by herself. She's literally a tiktoker just without a n-word scandal. Not only is she annoying, but the way the film tries to portray men as the villains just makes her look even worse. When you have to make every other character look bad in order to make the lead look good, The character isn't good. 💀💀 (Also... She wants to help children all around the world forever... Yet wants to be human so that someday she can grow old... And... die...? This movie is so dumb LOL.) Ken is just as dumb Barbie, but it's funny because he's not supposed to be anything. Like he said, He's JUST Ken. Nothing else. He doesn't try to be this "I'm better than you" asshat. (Not saying that girlbosses are "Know-it-alls", Just that that's how social media views them.) He's just ken. Meaning, He's just a normal everyday man. And a lot of people can relate to that. What really makes his character stand out is his love for Barbie yet he himself doesn't know why he does. It was meant to poke fun at how "weak" men are when they're in love but only made him a more relatable and an even goofier character. He's like a child that's trying to battle with an emotion that he doesn't fully understand. (It makes even more sense when you remember that the characters are all basically made-up by a child's imagination.) His solo was meant to make him look even more like a fool. Just like the "Kenough" T-shirts, His solo was meant to make him look like a fool for wanting Barbie and for being directionless. It was another attempt at making men look stupid because that's what feminism is nowadays, Just painting men as useless, evil and dumb. In what way is he a antagonist? What, By annoying Barbie every now and then with his puppy love for her?? Him finally deciding to stop chasing her and focus on himself?? Him (And all the other kens,) deciding that he doesn't want to be treated as a side piece and for wanting the same rights as the barbies??? I really don't see how Ken was a antagonist like everyone says. It's weird because Ken didn't do anything that can be considered "evil". (And would any of this be viewed as evil if the genders were swapped???) If anything, Barbies the villain. Didn't the Barbies keep the kens from getting any roles of power??? And in the end she didn't even apologize, she basically said "I'm sorry for not 🦆ing you." (Also the same she treated him was not okay at all.) Let's be fr, Even if the movie didn't add Ken's redemption arc, Ken would still be just as popular as he is now. Barbie is a mess while Ken's a mess but wayyyy more likable. Another thing that puts Ken in a better light than Barbie, (And probably one of the main reasons-) Is how the feminist fans reacted. They were so hateful and attacked men while playing the victim. The backlash from fans liking Ken more than Barbie was meant to make people view Ken as a villain but it only made Barbie look evil due to her also being a "Feminist". (I forgot to mention this, The humans were never going to get any "character development" Because they're supposed to be annoying and stupid. They're meant to portray our world and show how horrible the real world is.)

[@Welchs-Fruit-Snacks]

Even AI is trying to portray Ken as a monster! I googled "What does Ken represent in Barbie?", And THIS is what I got: "In the Barbie movie, Ken represents many things, including: Patriarchy: Ken is a prototypical patriarchal man whose identity and worth are tied to his sexuality and ability to dominate women. Male fragility: Ken's feelings of emasculation manifest in aggressive behavior, which is a satirical critique of modern men's discomfort with ceding power to women. Stereotypical masculinity: Ken's costume and actions in the movie satirize traditional masculine ideals, especially those tied to war and combat. The reality of how men view their partners: Ken's obsession with Barbie and role as her arm candy can represent how men view their partners. Everybody else: Ken represents everyone else, while Barbie represents the beneficiaries of patriarchy. " Disgusting.

[@Multi1]

I think Barbie is a masterpiece political film, even if I don't perfectly agree with it. Change can only occure through two means, balanced at varying levels.

[@marcusclark1339]

say it bluntly its a very flawed movie with heavy handed messaging the entire structure of it requires in universe lies of Mattel's board, the "creator" of barbie and ignoring dolls before barbie to push a heavy handed message on male bad while ignoring its obvious issue of matriarchy issues and continuing them after as a final dig to guys "it'll change when the real world does" cause its not about right or wrong but power and spite

[@jeremybstudentpilot5315]

A movie no one brings up that shares some similarities with “Barbie” minus the heavy handed feminism is “Life Size” with Tyra Banks.

[@RonTheAnarchist]

EVERYBODY SHUTUP, IT'S A NEW KAY AND SKITTLES VIDEO.

[@michimatsch5862]

What was the marketing strategy around those two movies? I don't follow movies and no essayist I know said anything about it. Anyone able to point me towards a video or an article?

[@SpoopySquid]

It was less a marketing strategy and more an Internet meme that the film studios then co-opted. It was just a joke about both movies releasing on the same day

[@AuthorityCat]

I cant in good faith separate class warfare from sexism like you do near the end of this video. What exactly is the goal of feminism? Sexual abuse is taken very seriously now. Women's health is getting to where it should be. So what's left? I'd argue it's always been rooted in capitalism, the want to gain as much social power as the men, which boils down to having money. But all those men who have actual power aren't first and foremost men, they're aristocracy. Their lineage is rich, going back to times of real sexism where the idea of reparations didn't exist. Any sexist ideas in media are put there by the ruling class, who has always been the ruling class. They have nothing in common with any man you've ever met, but their ideas effect us. I actually don't see any distinction between these two things. I don't see how a billionaire like Taylor Swift is fundamentally different than a billionaire like Elon Musk, they're all born rich before their gender is known. If capitalism itself is the source of all the problems with masculinity, then target that. Tell the men in your life it's ok that ends aren't meeting and that they'll never be a billionaire. Share the financial burden. Male suicide rates have been high since the dawn of the industrial revolution. It's capitalism, it's always been capitalism.

[@AuthorityCat]

TLDR the Patriarchy is Capitalism. Leave men alone. All the men I know are suffering.

[@someblackguy7371]

@@AuthorityCat the people in the gyms seem really happy tbh

[@alex6027]

Honestly quite a nice/touching note to end it on. I quite enjoyed this video

[@marshallnewman6405]

I've really been wanting to watch the movie especially cause when I heard Ken has an obsession with horses, I was curious if there is any chance its a reference to the houyhnhnms from Gulliver's Travels. But I gotta watch it first

[@sebalehm]

I do understand that this movie has a clear target audience but I'd wish they would have thought their messages through a little bit. Firstly, the famous big rant about the hard life of a woman can - and should - be nullified with two sentences. "Yeah, you have to find ballance in everything in life to thrive. Time to grow up". Secondly, while obviously and jokingly overplayed, the film nonetheless promotes the idea of patriarchy being a mere social construct to oppress women. How feasible is the idea that somehow in ancient times all men met and agreed on this system? Because - surprise - nearly every society has patriarchal structures - at least all big and therefore successful societies. One might think there is more to it than a simple idea that stuck. And if oppression was the goal al along, why would men ever allow ANY power or controll for women? Thirdly, once again chance was missed to bring the genders closer together. They showed the struggles women have in everyday life. Instead of blaming men, why not show some of the daily struggles men face and why not further promote for a way to life side by side instead of in opposing teams? Lastly, while maybe unconsciously hinted at, the movie could have pointed out that many of the standards women have to adhere to are either created and upheld by women themselves or are universal like the importance of bodily beauty.

[@ungulatemanalpha]

barbie's a matrix movie, and arguably better than the one the wachowski sisters ended up making most recently.

[@AminTheClub]

Have you watched Andor?? Wonder what ur take would be on it

[@user-ss3wb8he7h]

Good video but the fake vhs filter is driving me crazy