The Real Meaning of Barbie (And That Surprise Ending) | Feminism Series

[@thetake]

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[@suzygirl1843]

Issa Rae shouldn't have been cast as black Barbie, though. That's just not what black girls wanted. We wanted Normani, Ryan Destiny or Coco Jones, Aja Naomi King, who we think are on par with the stereotypical Barbies. White women also need to contend with their insecurities about black girls who meet the standards of Eurocentric beauty because even though they were on the same girl group, Camila Bello did not defend her group mate, Normani, from her racist fans.

[@Universal5-g5e]

8:09 You want real world to be matriarchal like barbie land? 🙄. Atleast you're being honest about Captain Marvel cuz I've seen feminists say it was a great movie, they just defend it cuz it's a female centric film. 11:23 Men are just awesome than women that's why most of male centric films are successful unlike female centric films, that's why more male centric films are made. 12:17 I've heard once a woke guy say that to think that pink is girl's color is a stereotype. Most girls like pink then how can you not think pink is girl's color? It's no stereotype it's archetype. Barbie movie was successful not because it had women but because it was entertaining and that's it.

[@suzygirl1843]

@@Universal5-g5e Dude, Barbie Land was at least peaceful. Real life world has mass shooters in First World countries. Why don't men like peaceful times? Jordan Peterson says good times create difficult men. Bad times create great men. MEN are the problem with violence and wars across the globe. Women wouldn't start wars, they'd just ignore the country they're in dispute with.

[@Universal5-g5e]

@@suzygirl1843 hey suzy, women would've also started wars if they were in roles of power bcuz they are as toxic as men. Women can't even ignore and leave when having dispute with husband, they'll argue until they win even if they're wrong. What jordan means by difficult men is lazy men and what he means by great men is strong hearted men. a strong hearted man don't feel sad if he got insulted because he've gone through worse but a lazy man will feel depressed if got insulted. barbieland was shown as peaceful because the director was a woman. I do agree that usually men are more violent than women because of testosterones and physical strength.

[@GoMulanGo]

I don’t think the film is saying “oh well nothing we can do” about real world patriarchy. I think they’re saying that Barbieland mirrors our world. So at the end when they ask Issa Rae’s Barbie if they can be on the Supreme Court and she says no but you can start smaller, it hurts a bit on purpose. The audience could think “cmon girl they just wanna be included!” but you can also say that for women in the real world. I think their overall point is that if people and especially men watching this film can empathize with the Kens in Barbieland, they shouldn’t have a hard time empathizing with women in the real world, and that change and equality in Barbieland is always going to mirror our world, so the longer it takes here the longer it’ll take there.

[@trinketmage8145]

But it doesn't mirror own world though. In our world the Supreme Court is as close to an equal 50/50 split that an odd number can be already.

[@christinec2625]

Also she stated how in Barbieland men will have as many rights as women do in the real world so that line is telling of the metaphorical mirror of Barbieland in comparison to the real world.

[@LoveNikiW]

I appreciate your perspective. I also think it shows that this issue cannot be perfectly solved with a pretty bow on top. The Mattel CEO only choosing to accept the idea once he knew it would make money is exactly how the real world handles many of our problems. If people think we are going to simply convince people who benefit from patriarchy and capitalism to give it all up for our benefit, they are living in their own Barbieland or Mojo Dojo Casa House. Uprooting a system that is so deeply woven into the fabric of our existence takes time and finesse. We have to embrace each small win on the way to our larger goal. And the reality is that many of us who are alive today will most likely not be alive to see the full evolution of our work. We will, however, have laid a new foundation for future generations to build upon so that someone somewhere will enjoy the fruits of our collective labor. So today, we further our agenda by playing into the system’s desire to make money. This, honestly, is as realistic of an ending as a movie can get. Had they made an ending that completely eradicated all traces of patriarchy and capitalism, some would have been upset that their solution would never work in the real world. Baby steps, my friend. 🩷

[@bibianaguadalupeislasherre9880]

I agree with you on that perspective, unfortunately there's also some women who support the patriarchy or think that women shouldn't have any rights at all.

[@trinketmage8145]

@@bibianaguadalupeislasherre9880 No there isn't.

[@kenster8270]

A friend of mine recently pointed out that Barbie's desire to become a real human is a sub-plot the movie shares with both Pinocchio, the Jungle Book, the Little Mermaid, and Luca alike. Which could be seen as a metaphore for the bitter-sweet but inevitable transition from child to adult.

[@seebothways9630]

Imagine being forced to live someone else's fantasy world then find a much better reality. Then to bring reality into the fantasy.

[@peaks_ahead7697]

😍😍

[@johnpjones182]

There's a 1977 movie called "Demon Seed" about a computer who wants to become human.

[@katherinemurcia9302]

Well if we think about this too, children wanting to grow up is largely them wanting to be "the maker of things, not the thing that is made", like barbie says when she is becoming human!

[@janettewong9900]

And transitioning from girlhood to womanhood, as well as the relationship between mothers and daughters (ie. creator and doll in this case) are major themes in Gerwig’s work

[@taylorgayhart9497]

One of my favorite details is the fact that Barbie doesn’t have a mirror in her vanity. There aren’t actually any mirrors or mirror finishes and Barbie land, so that means that none of the Barbies actually know what they look like. The Barbies don’t care that they’re beautiful, they just want to have a good day every day, it’s the people in the real world so focused on their looks. I think that’s just another nod to the theme of the societal pressures on women to be perfect and how they come from external sources. It reminds me of how my sister in law told me the other day that everyone telling her she will “bounce back” after giving birth has made her very self conscious about the weight she didn’t even realize she was gaining, but she also now feels this huge pressure to “bounce back” (aka heal from labor and suddenly lose a bunch of weight overnight while also being too tired to work out). That feeling of “this body that is birthing a human is only worthy if it gets skinny again” didn’t come naturally or from within, but was caused by fucked up ideals in our society!!!

[@alexandrac591]

Your observation about mirrors is amazing.

[@andreasmeelie1889]

Very well said! :)

[@advocacynaccountablity]

Preaaaaaach!!!

[@trinaq]

I find it neat that Barbie and Sasha swap roles as the film progresses. Sasha starts off with straight hair and dark clothing, but gradually wears more glitzy colours, with her hair being more done up. Meanwhile, Barbie wears earthier, grounded colours the longer she stays in the real world, but dons a pair of pink Birkenstocks, to show that she hasn't forgotten her roots.

[@oooh19]

Some of us just have naturally straight hair and it doesn’t hold a curl really

[@taylorgayhart9497]

It’s really sad to me how many people are missing be overall theme of “you are Kenough”. So much about being a woman is feeling like you have to be perfect, and nowadays not just *look* perfect but *be* perfect, the perfect spouse, mom employee, even perfect victim. And people criticizing the movie saying “well Barbie is just the epitome of the patriarchal view of women” are again criticizing Barbie for not being a good enough political activist. The point is, if even BARBIE isn’t perfect, if even she can’t live up to these ideals of womanhood, maybe the ideals are the problem, and not the women, and not Barbie.

[@blackflagsnroses6013]

Sorry but Barbie’s a fascist 😝

[@bibianaguadalupeislasherre9880]

There are still people who think that Barbie is a bad influence for girls, that promotes unrealistic beauty standards and all that stuff.

[@williamcondon7729]

Looking like Barbie requires time and effort. People, men and women alike, respect focus and discipline. They will always prefer to be in the company of someone who chooses to do what is hard over what is easy. That’s not perfection, that’s just status and ambition.

[@chrisc4507]

Pathetic feminist whining

[@mccod035]

YESSSSSSSSSSS

[@chadfungus]

Ken also trying to impress someone who will never love him and found that he needs to find himself and value himself.

[@Strong-Feminine30]

But he was actually bared many roles by a system that actually exist. The speech about women in the real world such much what women suffer through might be internal

[@oooh19]

Many people normalize men being obsessed with women and then women are thought of negatively for not liking them back so that says a lot about society. Also Margot Robie was criticized for her appearance so what does that say about the rest of us women?

[@Strong-Feminine30]

@@oooh19 the fact men take of women with being told to while it's a woman's job take if men the fact men share with women but women don't share with men is why should be prioritized in resource like housing

[@liabe18]

Also the point of the "Oh that sounds dumb, but if it makes money" response from Martell is a meta reflection on how they dealt with gerwig throughout the process of making the movie.

[@rottensquid]

What struck me most about the film from a personal standpoint is how, though Ken is a satirical mirror of women's roles in men's lives under patriarchy, he also worked as a depiction of how men tie our self-esteem to women's approval, and how we lash out childishly when we don't get enough of it. It was such a compassionate exploration of all that, perhaps more compassionate than the subject deserves. But I suppose that's the point of compassion. Anyway, the notion that patriarchy is men's reaction to being friendzoned felt so legit, I can't get over it.

[@amandab3946]

And how men also tie their self esteem to the approval & validation from *other* men!

[@bluedotdinosaur]

Another little point being illustrated in the movie is how, despite the patriarchal bias in the real world, Ken finds out he cannot find a job anywhere. While played off for laughs due to Ken lacking literally any skills or even motivation to have them, read between the lines: when Ken asks the visibly successful man why patriarchy isn't working, that man whispers "oh it's working great". The point being made there is that Ken has inadvertently discovered another secret of patriarchy - it exists to keep most men down as well. Privileged and entrenched men use patriarchy to manipulate the majority of other men into competing with each other. They get them to tear one another down, and to also resent women for not cooperating in elevating men. Patriarchy is a pyramid scheme with a handful of true beneficiaries at the top. The movie pulls back on getting entirely into this as there is a lot on its plate but the point is definitely there. Particularly with how all the Kens end up in useless competition with one another (the desire to "beach off") that does nothing but distract them all. And make them realize they've been fools who are easily manipulated when they do nothing but fight amongst themselves. (The movie even makes a particular sharp point of this earlier when, in preparation for battle, a Ken innocently asks how they are supposed to tell who is on whose side! That Ken realized the arbitrary distinction made no sense and was impractical.)

[@basementmadetapes]

Patriarchy is about power and money and the relationship between the two, not about being friend-zoned. I would hate that such a trivialized reduction is your takeaway even as I think you’re right about men’s own validation being intimately tied to how women accept us

[@rottensquid]

@@basementmadetapes I see what you mean, but I think you underestimate the complex psychology that leads to the whole notion of the "friendzone." Ken's whole quest is for self-worth, and when he can't get it through Barbie's attention, he seeks it through the establishment of dominance via a patriarchal social order. At its essence, patriarchy uses our instinct to seek out self-worth through achieving masculine approval of those "above" us, whether it be fathers, kings, bosses, god, etc. "Being a man" is the same thing as "making dad proud." Serving in the military, being a winner at work, etc, are all treated as masculine virtues. And they come with the assumption that they earn female approval, which has an innate sexual component. So the friendzone is a denial of the sexual approval which men feel we earn by achieving manhood through the patriarchy. That's how patriarchy dehumanizes women, by enlisting female attraction as the rightful reward for succeeding in the patriarchal power hierarchy. So Ken starts off wanting Barbie's attention to feel a sense of identity. But after his sojourn into the real world, he returns to Barbie-Land with the idea that he's entitled to that attention, and that her withholding of it was morally wrong. I think this parallels the way we grow up in patriarchy, starting out wanting the attention of women for reasons we don't even understand, and then learning the patriarchal social structure, which teaches us, through pretty dodgy logic, that this yearning we have is actually for something that's rightfully owed us, and that denying it is a direct insult to our masculinity, and our worth in the patriarchal hierarchy. Essentially, patriarchy co-opts our sexuality into its power structure, using our desires to enlist us into participating in a social system that serves the ruling class over our own and our community's interests. You can see this play out in the way the Christian church insinuated itself into marriage. You can't even have socially approved sex without the permission of the religious hierarchy. That's patriarchy in a nutshell. So patriarchy frames women's disinterest in us as theft of our very balls. That's what the "friendzone" means. That's why it's such a pernicious, dangerous, dehumanizing concept.

[@basementmadetapes]

@@rottensquid this is a great answer, and I thank you for taking the time. I guess the friend zone has accumulated meaning that either I have missed or have never fully appreciated because to me, it was simply unrequited romantic interest. I like her, she doesn’t like me, but we hang. It didn’t have to mean my rights or role as a man had somehow been undermined. It was simply she don’t rock that way. But I understand your framing and why u frame it as such under the roof of patriarchy, even tho I can’t agree that my want for a relationship (and subsequent denial) is automatically complicit as a pernicious expectation of sex as a result of patriarchal valuations-BUT-perhaps that’s me holding to a much simpler and perhaps even archaic notion of the concept-or-perhaps I’m not even participating in said phenomena at all. Because as far as my anecdotal experience goes (which counts for jackshit, I know), this can happen the other way too. I mean we all need validation from without as much as we need it from within. And all of our validations, healthy or not, are not shaped outside of the systems we are in. So patriarchy takes its cut, capitalism takes its cut, democracy, racism, religion, class etc. But Ken was certainly disposable in Barbieland, and what a trip he will have when he realizes he’s just as disposable under patriarchy (unless he’s in that 1%, of course). So I fully agree and understand how patriarchy centres and prioritizes (and warps) masculine desire, and how that can’t help but dehumanize whoever is marginal to that scope. And yes, Ken’s response to being accessory was to indulge in the first validation he found and to deploy it (albeit without a real hot clue about it). And while ultimately his arc was about finding validation thru himself (Kenough). Kenough was a funny gag but it did trouble me in many ways mostly because for one, validation immediately became a brand and product on a character who was himself an accessory and product in a show which very much worked to redeem a brand and product which cannot help itself from invalidating more than it validates… This message is a bit drunk but I didn’t want to leave what u said without a response, and again thanks for clarifying your argument This criticism should not imply that I did not have a good time watching this movie, but I also cannot see a show like this which rightly criticizes patriarchy while also leaving out the greatest driver of patriarchy-money, capitalism-from the scope of the examination.

[@Thobela-h3x]

I don't hear people talk a lot about America Fereira's incredible role , acting and the humanity she portrayed in this film.

[@Erasureeraser]

A lot of people actually praised America for her scene stealing performance especially for her monologue

[@taylorgayhart9497]

Well that’s because you and I aren’t friends!!!!! I haven’t stopped talking about her and even have started saying “everyone needs a Gloria in their life!”

[@alienboy1322]

Fun fact: her monologue took two days to shoot.

[@Thobela-h3x]

@@taylorgayhart9497 Good to hear I'm not the only one talking about her A LOT ! Honestly I hear a lot of talk about the fashion, press tour, Ryan , Greta and of course Margot. Hope America gets nominated for lots of awards.

[@1rjona]

America is the true hero of the movie

[@auwanho]

A lot of people overlooked that the most important thing in the film, is that despite all the things wrong about human society and patriarchy in the real world, barbie still desperately wanted to be a human. The film is really honestly telling us, all these pains and tears also comes with joy and love, and they are the best part of the human experience too.

[@Pinkladyisv]

That’s what I took from it too. That despite the bad being a human is a worthwhile experience with good too.

[@ruthspanos2532]

It was also about making choices. She wanted to write her own story…not just enact the role given to her by a corporation or by society…or by a little girl.

[@Erasureeraser]

I don't understand how people can say this movie is anti-men when it gives us the one and only Allan! Come on people, give my man Allan some respect. I'm a man and no way in hell this movie is anti-men. Even the "I'm Just Ken" musical sequence is literally one of the most positive male representation I've ever seen. I absolutely love this movie, i'm definitely Kenough

[@taylorgayhart9497]

Especially considering the fact that so many of these criticisms rely on the fact that Will Ferrell’s character in the real world is an idiot, but yet the same people are fine with him being an idiot, and every single other movie he’s been in!!!

[@taylorgayhart9497]

Also the argument “the Kens are subservient accessories to their significant others” really ran straight into the point, and then kept on running… 🤦‍♀️

[@DavidRodriguez-ux5ye]

One thing I disliked about how they used allan is how they glorified him using violence but other than that he's perfect

[@chrisc4507]

You can't be that cringy wow

[@winterbutterfly8861]

Yes you are 😊

[@cutelatina00508]

Is also inherently misogynistic to think Barbie is a bad role model just because she's beautiful. Women like Margot Robbie CAN and should be role models. Their beauty is not their worth, is one of the many aspects of their humanity. I was a Barbie girl. I never saw her as "i wish i was that skinny" i saw it as "i can do anything! A president, a chef, a dancer, a doctor, and yes! A homemaker too" and that's feminism.

[@SewTubular]

It was Margot Robbie's production company "LuckyChap Entertainment" that made the Barbie movie happen. Without Margot there would be no Barbie movie, and without Greta and her partner's writing ability the story would be generic crap. These two women changed the world.

[@ndlad]

I never understood why people hate on Barbie and the beauty standards she sets, because even as a child I was kinda aware that it's a piece of plastic... and even though I wanted to look like some models and actresses (an it was in the early 2000s, when they were pretty much all anorexic), but I mean at least they were real people

[@maverickbull1909]

Well it certainly isn’t men complaining about it. It’s women. Women are so whacked in the head that they are taking beauty standards from plastic dolls and making themselves feel horrible that they can’t achieve the body and look of an inanimate object.

[@clau_sing_]

To me the deeper meaning in Barbie was the portrayal of what it means to be a human being and feel emotions, to look around you and see other people trying to live their life as best they can, to let go of the idea of being perfect and accepting the flawed nature of us as humans

[@cutelatina00508]

I loved the so real message on the movie PATRIARCHY harms both men and women. Men suffer from it too! Men are not the bad guys, they're the victims on a different way. As a feminist, i would love for men to be as happy and healthy as they can be and not be limited bt stupid standards.

[@tiffanypersaud3518]

❤Exactly. A very biased system benefits no one.

[@elvismora9194]

Who told you men are not happy?

[@FireJach]

The goal of Kens was to find a woman, love, be finally appreciated. Men have been building the world and often the world and women dont even respect men. Look, more men are dying earlier than women because of depression. The point is to acknowledge men emotions and support men. Idk what standards you are mentioning, I dont see myself as a victim. We are in the times where men can finally feel sad but still anger is seen as something wrong while women are not. Thats not patriarchy

[@CPTDoom]

The fact this film takes the Bechdel test and blows it to smithereens is just one of the many ways it's brilliant. I think the very reason so many right wing men had a problem with it was that it was for or about them. In fact, the ultimate Ken in the movie is Gloria's husband (played by America Fererra's real live husband) who doesn't have a name; he's just "El esposo de Gloria" in the credits.

[@andieallison6792]

The Bechdel Test isn't a great test to begin with lol

[@PokhrajRoy.]

8:48 SPOILERS: Gloria pitching the idea for ‘Ordinary Barbie’ finally getting accepted because it’s profitable was brilliantly executed 😂

[@fulltrottlee]

There was an “average” Barbie before it made a lot of money but it was horrible and backfired because it was just an “I'm not like other girls” type thing. I think that's what they were referencing.

[@samfilmkid]

I really like the moment near the end where the daughter tells her mother that she loves the dark weird parts of her that she never shows. I think that sums up the movie's real message right there.

[@musicamaxima]

What a strange phenomenon. I thought the film was much better than it had a right to be given the subject matter, but folks on every end of the spectrum are reading too much into it. The film’s feminism is pretty anodyne and the relationship with Mattel is exactly what we’ve seen for a long time now with companies “making fun of themselves” in their products in order to absolve themselves of their transgressions in the public eye. It’s classic neoliberal recuperation. Barbie was fun-pretty solid performances throughout-slightly off balance act structure. What’s amazing is that, in having the manosphere right haemorrhage blood out of disdain for such an, again, anodyne message around feminism, the film has blown up into a cultural touchstone. Extraordinary times.

[@SewTubular]

Greta and Margot had to fly Mattel executives to the set where they were filming because the Mattel execes were freaking out over the Barbie script. They had to walk them through 100 scenes in the movie to finally get approval from Mattel. So Mattel was not happy about making fun of themselves until they were led by the nose through the actual movie scenes.

[@winterbutterfly8861]

The Barbies getting back Barbieland away from the Ken's so easily (mainly because they had the power for so long and it was inherent to them at this point) represents how is so easy for men to take away power from the hands of women in the real world. In a way Ken's are supposed to represent female oppression in our society.

[@chanmochit7476]

The ending confused me. I do understand Barbie going to the real world as a metaphors of little girls growing up into the real world. However, I don't understand why Barbie would want to become human. She gained human feelings of frustration and death because of Gloria. Gloria was empowered with the experience of empowering the other Barbies and overthrew the Patriarchy. But why did Barbie want to be a depressed human? Her psyche became more human. If this is why she transformed into a human in the end I would understand. But it was framed as her choice to be human, which isn't bad. I just didn't understand how she got to that choice

[@alexbennet4195]

I think she wanted to be human because she became self-aware enough to realise that nothing in Barbieland really happens or matters or really exists. Whereas in the real world she can actually, like, meaningfully create

[@seebothways9630]

They didn't over throw just like in the real world men have power turn on each other for our favor.. tge kens overthrow feminisn inna day . And gave it up . Much what we as go through is international. The speech reflects that most just aren't cut out for the responsibility and accountability of leadership but then Ken officially bared from Power . Ken has much better hero's journey

[@wwaxwork]

When she also sat on a bench and saw beauty and love and tenderness. That's when she decided, it just took her the rest of the movie to realise that. She saw all the things that make us human and understood that for life to have meaning it has to have an end, when she saw the old woman and said she was beautiful. The fact that you think she only saw sad things makes me sad for you, she saw that life is bittersweet, it is both good and bad and that's OK. Not all tears are sad tears she was confused, happy, overwhelmed and yes sad she wasn't as good as the other Barbies. Oh and she got that choice because she made the choice.

[@chanmochit7476]

@@alexbennet4195 I like your interpretation. She couldn't go back to being her old self , feels more human than stereotypical barbie, so she decides to try something new

[@chanmochit7476]

@@wwaxwork @wwaxwork I feel like she was mostly stressed in the real world. Yes she did see love and tenderness and that scene telling the old woman she's beautiful is really sweet. She was also arrested, was told by a little girl she's hated, discovered the real world is a patriarchy, the management of the company that created her wanted to put her in a box. Ken was enjoying the real world more than she was. When she finds Gloria and realised she's the cause, she decided to take her back to see Barbieland and was really happy about it. Then discovers the Kens overthrew the Matriarchs due to the influential ideas from the real world. Ken made her understand what it felt like to be the systematically oppressed one and felt depressed. But it got better when Gloria empowered the Barbies by calling out the Patriarchy. In the end everyone's happy again but Barbie felt lacking after all the emotional and social changes that happened. I didn't see her connecting with the real world in a positive way. But she did learn alot. Maybe she didn't feel like she belong in Barbieland anymore. She realised she became more human than Barbie. If she couldn't go back to her old life , maybe try something new. I thought becoming human would be a permanent change as a symbolism to growing up. This is Barbie though, so who knows how magic works. I just realised. Maybe it's meant for the audience to interpret why she chose to be human

[@jimbobbby]

In fairness, mattells ultimate reaction is a perfect example of how corporations integrate radical movements and dilute them for capital gains. Should always be viewed with deep suspicion.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

Anyone who says this movie hates men or is anti-men have COMPLETELY missed the point.

[@SewTubular]

@@matterasmachine The same goes for women. The Barbie matriarchy is seriously flawed when it comes to the Kens, and I blame Mattel for this. Mattel never gave a crap about the Kens.

[@sparkymularkey6970]

Honestly, this movie just makes me love men even MORE.

[@Erasureeraser]

Allan is literally so likeable in the movie yet people still called the movie anti men? I literally felt represented by him for some reason 😂

[@barrysnelson4404]

No we haven't. Women don't decide what counts as man hating. We do. And this is insidious destruction of everything male.

[@elplebeuchiha1996]

The movie is a Roschach test. What you see speaks more about you than anything else.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Given the barrage of news coverage about future projects, we’re dreading that Mattel will take the wrong lessons from its success. Edit: Mentioned at 10:08

[@VidWatcher01]

They've all ready got a Hot wheels movie coming out & I hope beyond hope it does turn out like the Transformers franchise

[@gggallin8279]

That would imply Mattel was ever willing to learn the right message. Even though Greta Gerwigs has made a feminist movie that is very cynical towards the whole Barbie Image, it’s pretty obvious that a multi billion dollar company like Matell only sees the profit in a movie starring Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie, that has been pretty much hyped and memed to death the second something got leaked

[@taylorgayhart9497]

I think the point of the ending not fixing the patriarchy in the real world is that it’s grounding point the movie, it’s what stops it from being pure fantasy. Also, the CEO agreeing to “ordinary Barbie” only because it will make money isn’t the movie’s message (I’m actually kind of concerned that you’re making these video essays and you’re confusing the difference between the message of a movie and a line by a character but I digress) but the movie being self-aware and critical of the fact that corporations are only convinced to do the right thing when it’s profitable.

[@seebothways9630]

Barbies as real can live fantasy world Ken's and our son boys force in our fantasy world can escape to reality

[@VidWatcher01]

Barbie was a good film. I had to see it a second time to see it for the message & take in Greta Gerwig's direction. The 1st time I saw it I was going on for the Barbenheimer phenomenon & after hearing all the haters (manosphere/alpha, Beer chugging "Muricans", Ben Shapiro & all the trad wife/pick mes) dog the hell out of it I went to see it again just see it for the message that was driving them to brink of busting out the pitch forks & torches. I'm glad I saw it that 2nd time.

[@FriendlyBatDoom]

I liked the film but most of the women around me didn't. Just because they didn't like it these women became pick-mes????? I've known many women who said that this film was terrible and didn't recommend it to my mother and older sister. They aren't pick-me’s.

[@junjunjamore7735]

​@@FriendlyBatDoomthey're not talking about the women you know.

[@VidWatcher01]

@@junjunjamore7735 I always cracks up at the people that get overly defensive when the phrase pick me is uttered. I'm talking about the women that were pick mes already but the guy twisted my words. There a difference between not liking the movie & dogging it just to dogging it they want to appease the insecure who bashed it because in Barbieland women were the ones in power & they called out the toxicity of the patriarchy in the real world. As funny who now men are getting more triggered than the women when ever someone is being called pick me while calling other men simps for respecting & wanting to treat women as equals but if these same women they get offended for were to do something they don't like they would dog them out in a heartbeat. The Take did a video on pick mes & made the very point that pick mes have no more value than the women these dudes dog

[@FireJach]

The directing is horrible if you see 1000 interpretations of the story 😂😂😂 Greta fucked it up. You think your pov is right but there are people who see it differently and there are also people with another pov. Who is right? 😂 The movie is just a good comedy + the iconic song because the rest is shallow

[@videobirdshow]

Can we talk about the fact that the Bratz dolls think Barbie is just an “unrealistic” anti feminist bimbo type, while Mattel, led by Buddy The Elf, know that Barbie is promoting the whole “you can be anything” stuff? I thought that was pretty cool

[@tdsollog]

Honestly, Gloria’s journey was one of my favorite parts of the movie.

[@jacquelinealbin7712]

Literally nobody wants a Lena Dunham Polly Pocket movie.

[@idkjkshdjkhdk]

The part with Barbie just having some kind of flashback of different girls and women, I genuinely cried because it made those girls and women as just normal people.

[@JosieDrake1995]

What hits my like a bag of bricks is that Barbie is about what it means to be human, but from a woman’s perspective. Humanity is often viewed through a masculine lens in media so to see a movie depict the beauty of being human through a woman’s experiences really just hit home for me. I cry every time I watch Barbie

[@KittySnicker]

I just wish the movie was less on-the-nose. Gloria’s speech came out of nowhere when we knew hardly anything about her character. Every writer knows that you should show, not tell. It did too much telling. I also had trouble as a woman and a Feminist with the notion that a matriarchy would be better than a patriarchy, which is what the movie appeared to suggest.

[@advocacynaccountablity]

I disagree. It didn't suggest that matriarchy would be better, per se - it suggested we look at a society where current societal roles were reversed.

[@FireJach]

Reversed but also not reversed 😂 the movie lost its narrative

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I’m not into the AD Tours videos but I LOVED THE DREAMHOUSE TOUR VIDEO!

[@erikafriberg]

13:47 "...is no small feat" *Shows Barbie showing her flat feet* I see what you did there!

[@lisafinlayson336]

Better to be made for love than to be made for power, money and greed. Never underestimate the power of love.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Gloria and Sasha were a great duo. I loved their verbal jousting!

[@oooh19]

The daughter was so disrespectful for no reason and her mom was so kind and understanding though. Most moms wouldn’t put up with that.

[@Hallows4]

Honestly, I see Captain Marvel less as “tacking on“ and more as a step in natural progression. In retrospect, the MCU definitely started out lacking diversity, but overtime it has made several steps in the right direction. Especially leading up to and post-Endgame, they started featuring more diverse types characters and variations in stories. Obviously, not all attempts have stuck the landing, but that’s true of any long-running franchise, and it’s important to recognize the ongoing/long running nature of the conversation.

[@ca-ke9493]

Perhaps, but it's a very shallow representation.

[@SewTubular]

The problem with Captain Marvel and Rae Palatine from Star Wars is that they are "Mary Sues" that instantly developed incredible power and skill without ever having to train or work for them. In other words they came off as FAKE. Both of these film franchises need to be rebooted if they are to survive. ( think of the old Superman movie with Christopher Reeve, where you see him land on the Kent's farm as a baby, and then spend the next 20 years learning right from wrong and what real morality is )

[@anthonyalles1833]

@@SewTubular Captain Marvel was a really crappy film, but this comment is way off the mark: "The problem with Captain Marvel ...developed incredible power and skill without ever having to train or work for them" . Did you miss the part where she was a highly skilled fighter pilot, who is then introduced on that alien planet in a _training_ session?

[@karendaniel620]

Okay, but hear me out. Allen needs a story.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I had a great time watching the movie. It is very much a queer movie as much as Barbie has been a Queer icon and safe space for so many of us.

[@amandab3946]

The gynaecologist appt at the end brought it down to a 9/10 for me. I was hoping for an ending like: Barbie moves in with Gloria (possibly like the women in Dead To Me), hands Sasha her lunch for school, kiss on the cheek from Gloria while they walk hand in hand up the stairs to Mattel HQ to shake things up.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

@@amandab3946 That’s a good ending!

[@Logitah]

The Barbie exhibition in The Finnish National Museum had tons and tons of queer visitors,myself included, so I can safely say that this film is very important to us! ❤

[@catyael3]

I agree with what you said in the video. But the film and you, dident say that the tools that were used by the men who created the mechanisms of patriarchy are mainly physical and economic violence and institutional violence. Women were not simply created into the world powerless. And the way in which Ken and his clones took over Barbieland by brainwashing and not a violent takeover and stripping off the power from the women in the film was a choice. I belive the relatively ''simple'' message that most of us also knew in 2012 about the fact that women are required to fulfill 10 roles at once and the demands are so imposible... the movie had to say women are human beings and are entitled to all the rights like men do. It was probably more important than harshly criticizing the structure of the society in which we live in.

[@hinkhall5291]

Can’t wait to finally see this on Netflix!😃 Whenever it comes out.

[@LovedByYou]

I think Barbie is a wonderful example of what happens when you right stories FOR women, about WOMEN, written in the POV of a WOMAN. THE females of the world came together and celebrated THAT

[@Siansonea]

*Factual error in this video:* At 6:20 You state that it took until the 80s to incorporate dolls of color in the line. WRONG. 1980 was the advent of *Black Barbie,* in other words, the first time _Barbie herself_ was offered in a Black version. That was also the year that *Hispanic Barbie* was offered, as well as *Italian Barbie* and *Parisian Barbie.* In the first few years of the 80s, *Oriental Barbie,* *Eskimo Barbie,* and several other dolls depicting non-white ethnicities were introduced. The 80s was a time of expansion of Barbie as a character. *BUT, it was NOT the first time Black characters were included in the Barbie line.* In 1967, *Francie* (Barbie's cousin who embodied the youthful Mod aesthetic) was offered in a Black version. This doll was not well-received, because it was essentially a regular Francie doll with dark skin, but otherwise identical to the white version. The doll didn't have its own identity. In 1968, Mattel introduced *Christie,* the first Black character with her own name and identity. In 1969, *Julia* was added, and in 1970, *Brad* joined the lineup. Christie stayed around for a long time, but Julia and Brad were discontinued in the early 70s. In 1975, *Cara* was introduced, as well as her boyfriend *Curtis,* and in markets outside of the USA, a child-sized character named *Carla* was offered. And all of this was BEFORE 1980, when Black Barbie joined the roster. Research. It's a thing. 🤨

[@princesssparkle529]

Woah they really got this wrong? Why does everyone think that?? From the comments this video sounds like not even a good analysis anyway I guess I won't waste my time

[@Siansonea]

@@princesssparkle529 the problem is, people hear the phrase "1980 was when Mattel introduced Black Barbie"-which is a true statement-and think that means that 1980 was the first time ever that Mattel created a Black _doll_ for the line. They don't dig deep enough. Even though all of this information is out there to find.

[@arnepianocanada]

Every reviewer and even the production team - all seem to miss the strong arc for MEN the makes this a film for the two genders.

[@hmm...8144]

True. The only one who seemed to have grasped this about the movie is Kidology.

[@jeremybstudentpilot5315]

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

[@menrlynrou3007]

Can you talk about the rise of “the magical black girl” trope

[@khmbm5]

No wonder Margot snatch the project quickly from Anne Hathaway - Margot needs some theraphy at that due to her box office bombs piling up and then Greta happily wrote her a love letter thru this film. And that those dialogue came out truly heartfelt from Margot's mouth , urgh self healing.

[@rafinha7081]

I feel sa sad for the people that didnt take the film as it is or just dont enjoy it. It honestly one fo the best films i ever saw in my life.

[@user-kb8qw7dy4t]

It's not that deep. I'm a cis man, and even I understood the message that Barbie is just a doll, but a real woman can choose her own life. To dumb it down: You don't have to be like Barbie because Barbie can be like you. P.S. Mattel, if you want to use that slogan, I'm willing to negotiate a price.

[@FireJach]

There is no such thing like cis 😂 Just because someone is trans, doesnt mean 99% of humanity needs that word before the sex. You are just a man

[@galaxiandancer]

Great video as usual but also this comment section is just the best,so interesting to read!

[@JordiVanderwaal]

While I'm glad they used practical effects and sets for the Barbie movie (because they looked so colourful and great), let's not forget that people hated the one Marvel movie that did the same thing. The public and the critics are sometimes more basic than they give themselves credit for, and will rate higher things that they "expect", rather than things that are good.

[@amandab3946]

Remind me of the Marvel movie you’re referring to?

[@nataliagonzalez6046]

Barbie: healing women by releasing the idea of perfection due to perfection (Barbie) realizing she could have been human all along and perfect the way she is. We all see ourselves in Barbie thus we are all Barbie and now the new perfect is just being human ❤️

[@oooh19]

I want Gloria to be my mom but I’m only a few years younger than her lol

[@jemmarosenthal]

Right on time :) Just watched it today

[@mariyatakeuchi9009]

In the end we are all Kenough

[@Strong-Feminine30]

The women in the real world had power then the Ken's in Barbie Land

[@faithzani6442]

No I think the point is being overlooked, women are overlooked in the real world,just an accessory

[@keybladechosn1]

Um they had Black Barbie's in the 60s not the 80s.

[@sydneycloud5930]

Technically they didn’t actually have a black barbie until the 70s or 80s. In the 60s they had a black version of Francie and then Barbie’s friend Christie

[@sydneycloud5930]

But your still kinda right

[@chynnabenning4870]

I was just getting ready to type that. 💖

[@laetitiakey4241]

First 🥰 Love you The Take!!!

[@fulltrottlee]

She was crazy because id stay in Barbie Land 😭 how will she survive in this climate with basically no identity or files or like... Anything

[@SewTubular]

And live the SAME thing EVERY day for the rest of your life. ( suicide rate would be huge after 100 years )

[@fulltrottlee]

@@SewTubular i do that here anyway because i cant afford new experiences anyway so… yea i’d still rather live in barbieland

[@timjfads]

I really enjoyed the movie.

[@seebothways9630]

Imagine being forced to live someone else's fantasy world. Tgen discovering reality

[@Strong-Feminine30]

The Barbies should have stayed in Barbie land then Ken's should escape to reality

[@oooh19]

Sad that’s where the women get respect and happy lives in Barbie land and not in the real world only the kens did

[@Strong-Feminine30]

@@oooh19 women had opportunities in the real world then kens barbie land . Patriarchy is just a conspiracy story women ourselves to explain our short comings. The speech makes seems lot stuff women suffer through have more internal causes and how are treated in fantasy world. Shows the dangers of conspiracy story. We believe ourselves oppressed and what inflict the oppression we imagined

[@Tanner_LaFond]

It's funny to hear this video say at 10:58 "not just surface level strong female characters tagged onto a story for brownie points" in reference to Captain Marvel, when previous videos from The Take have derided that kind of talk as sexist.

[@andrewjpalla]

I didn't feel like this movie connected to me personally. But that's ok and good. If someone else felt seen and represented by this movie then its done its job.

[@EMuro-wu7uy]

I love how much of this movie reflects a very real problem of being a woman.

[@advocacynaccountablity]

Or better phrased, how women are treated.

[@znubionek]

what problem, lol. they live on easy mode.

[@izzywoods794]

Thank yall for writing this one. I love this movie until the third act. It felt like the actual message of the film was a dry large pill i couldnt swallow. It hinted at almost “the answer to life” type of moral while the whole film was about feminism. But also Barbie wanting to live in the real world for me, was out of left field. Like why tf would you choose that?! This video put a lot of the movie in perspective for me. And while this doesnt make the movie any better for me (you shouldnt need an essay to digest a film), i can think of it a lot more fondly❤

[@advocacynaccountablity]

I saw the ending as a natural reaction to a thinking "Barbie" - she had already gone through a range of emotions and felt the depth of being human. She couldn't go back to the shallowness of the plastic existence, but wanted the full experience of humanness, including the ability to dream and change.

[@celloafterdark4173]

A great perspective! I would really prefer that you faze out the word "female" when you mean "woman" or "women". It can be challenging at first, but it is more inclusive of trans women than the word "female"

[@kitsura]

You are missing half the film by cutting out all the Ken parts, which happen to be the more humorous and moving bits. This is like someone reviewing Star Wars but talking about Princess Leia only and cutting out all the Luke Skywalker bits.

[@Strong-Feminine30]

A lot stuff women struggle through might actually be internal. The speech is about being a leader . But the kens official bared from power . As part official system that actually exist

[@MS-sr6mj]

Bot

[@seebothways9630]

Lot the problems lot women suffer through might be internal. The speech is more about leadership. And Ken's were actually bared from power a system that actually exist

[@MS-sr6mj]

Bot

[@merrillsunderland8662]

…is Barbie the 21st century version of the Velveteen Rabbit?

[@venicec3310]

Good movie the message was definitely beaten your over head lol couldve used a little more subtly

[@taylorgayhart9497]

And there are people commenting that it went too easy on it and the movie was “too afraid to offend men” lol can’t please everyone

[@venicec3310]

@@taylorgayhart9497 no way really? There was like a whole 5 minute monologue of her complaining about the patriachy lol

[@cleolassen6486]

I only clicked on this vid because I thought you were going to discuss the actual ending - Barbie walks into (a clinic?) and announces she’s here to talk about her vagina. That would have been interesting….

[@barryballinger6023]

I think almost everyone is missing the point of this movie , and even though they made it explicit, Gerwig counted on that.

[@GloryDaze73]

Enlighten us, please.

[@leon.el.guerra]

I want the old narrator back porfa thank you

[@amandab3946]

I don’t care about being a ‘part of the people who make meaning’, or fully feel the scope of suffering and joy from being human. I’d snatch up the chance to live forever in BarbieLand no hesitation. Sorry Barbie but I’m different!

[@RandomSkyeRoses]

Me too

[@DaughterOfWater9278]

Me too!!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Pink Birkenstocks. That’s it. That’s the comment.

[@missmustache4207]

They really didnt talk about the surprise ending

[@SoccerNutTV]

The message of the movie: Women are leaving in a Dreamworld.

[@Warriorintraining57]

I really liked the movie...the ending, not so much. Been playing and collecting Barbies for 53 years

[@PeterZeeke]

Wait… what’s the meaning of the ending?

[@SewTubular]

That a female doll slowly wished to become a human, and by the end of the movie she got her wish.

[@PeterZeeke]

@@SewTubular thats just what happened... that not the meaning

[@silentalliance3269]

So funny how barbie is a feminist icon doll made of plastic and they had to make a movie in order to reverse that very ideal that Barbie was telling all girls “that they could do anything and be anything they wanted to be”! But All barber you did was really cause the misery! And this movie was made so that they can be told AGAIN “that they can do anything they want to do & be anything they want TO be!” and also not be held up to the impossible standards of the imagination of the makers of the Barbie…… seems like tying a knot just so you can untie it again!!? ……. pointless but $2 billion richer 😅 This next Barbie is going to have a lot more tteeth to it and it’s going to be extremely divisive I’m sure.

[@lanitaswifey]

greta thunberg did such a great movie directing this movie 😞🙏

[@advocacynaccountablity]

*Gerwig

[@DanaJaneWriter]

Will you make another 10 analysis of Barbie movie? )

[@thelistenerwhodoesnotliste7068]

So we're still not addressing the casual transmisogyny, huh.

[@cristinasantana6602]

Hehe no small “feet” 😂😂

[@gordoncallanan3421]

Tell me all the things about Barbie a child could easily grasp by watching the movie :DD

[@dhuseinovic]

It actually is very surface level, very American only. Gloria's monologue is very basic, and very tired. But good for the beginners. Fun film to watch. Lots of nice replicas.

[@SewTubular]

Given that it's a 2 hour movie that has to appeal to the entire world, you can't expect much more.

[@brownell.landrum]

You're missing the real ending. As you suggest, the antagonist in this movie is the patriarchy and because of the success of Barbie it will be what destroys the patriarchy forcing Warner Brothers to negotiate with the writers and actors so they can get a sequel that they desperately crave. I call it the Paradox of the Patriarchy.

[@mccod035]

This movie is the most picked apart movie ever! I mean why? Also its a toy Mattel could improve but good god its a doll. I mean take a lesson from the movie. We could take this energy that tears women content on some of the male dominated movies that have come out. Oppenheimer is on a Destroyer of Worlds and is very scary but whatever Barbie is the problem of society.

[@dikydankedude]

That thumbnail screams r/deaddontinsideopen

[@shantewili8315]

I'm sorry, please go back to the, "Young mend primarily buy movie tickets" - WHAT? Is that seriously the reason for male dominated films??? I feel like an industrial sized slight bulb just went off above my head

[@tegamingother]

ironically it also celebrated guy hood too lmao

[@Psychology_Guy]

The movie isn't just about being a woman.....think!

[@whybegin1285]

There’s no true meaning to take away, I think you missed the point if you do. It’s a nihilistic comedy, really funny one tho, and selfaware of how hopeless of a a state it’s own existence as a mainstream entertainment is

[@FireJach]

If Barbie promotes unrealistic standards, how the fuck iconic men like Sly or Arnold arent seen this way? Let me show you why. Because men arent crybabies and always want to improve and be better. Maybe that's why women are sided irl 😆

[@zacharysheetz3701]

Profitable = good idea What are you talking about?

[@izzigo7647]

SUBLIME!

[@jessmith7324]

Didnt the film just say that patriarchy was an "made up" to describe a deeper issue?

[@advocacynaccountablity]

Nope. The inference was that patriarchy is a human construct ("made up"), as the human race progressed over time, suggesting that humans can actually change the state of society to be one of equity.

[@jengorman2246]

Really had to throw a dig at Captain Marvel? Man every time I try and give you guys a chance you get petty and remind me why I stopped watching these vids. There are a *lot* of 'just make them female* movies out there you didn't have to drag Captain Marvel into this.