Barbie: Layered Masterpiece or Feminist Rhetoric?

 Barbie, Barbie, Barbie. What more can I say? Barbie is probably the most famous doll in the world. Barbie was introduced to the world on March 09, 1959, and has been one of the most popular feminine franchises since then. As time went on, Barbie would get direct to video films, TV shows, and even video games. Why am I talking about Barbie? Well, it just so happens that last July, a live action movie of the Barbie franchise was made, which was released on the same day as Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. But maybe I'll save that for another day. 

At first glance, this film just looks like a self aware parody meant to sell more Barbie dolls. However, a closer examination reveals a lot more layers than that, and for the most part, well...it isn't good. The nicest way I can describe Barbie is that it's a feminist film, and feminists are in love with it. In fact, some if not all of them love this film more than their boyfriends, and have broken up with them if their boyfriends don't understand or agree with the feminist message. that's what I heard from Midnight's Edge. But of course, no one is going to believe me if I just say I heard this from someone else. So you know what I did? I watched the movie. 

So basically, the plot centers around a stereotypical Barbie doll in Barbieland, and Barbieland is a matriarchy where Barbies rule and Kens are treated as lesser. Stereotypical Barbie has been suffering from depression and thoughts of death and her feet suddenly become flat all because her owner that plays with her is suffering. So she and Ken go to the real world to locate her owner and try to cheer her owner up. But while they're gone, all the other Kens take over Barbieland and decide to create a patriarchy. And guess what. The Kens are the bad guys. 

Throughout the film, we see that patriarchy is seen as a bad thing, and that feminism reigns supreme. It also attacks the ideas of motherhood and traditional marriage. During the beginning of the film, a pregnant Barbie is called the weird Barbie that was discontinued. This film teaches that women should never desire to get married and have children and just be whoever they want to be. The outcome of no marriage and no children? Humanity eventually goes extinct. Another thing to note is that in the real world, women are treated like garbage, the opposite of Barbieland. In one short scene, a group of men sexually assault Barbie and when she punches back in self defense, she is the one that gets arrested by the cops. This is unrealistic because as far as I know, that doesn't happen in real life ever. So, this director must have some real hangups with men and think that women are victims of unfair treatment. 

This is a film that is filled with not just toxic masculinity but also toxic femininity. And this film is so layered that at first it's hard to notice until you fully analyze it. Despite how feminist this film is which is considered to be woke by conservative moviegoers, the film was a huge success at the box office, making 1.5 billion dollars. Most films that are considered woke are big box office flops, but not this one for some reason. 

Overall, I'd say that from a conservative and Christian perspective, this is not a good film. I also don't think little girls should be watching it. It's rated PG-13 for a reason among other things. So if you are thinking of watching this film out of curiosity, use caution and discernment and remember that this is a feminist film. Don't expect a Christian worldview out of this one. I don't recommend you watch this film, but it's all up to you. God bless.