Barbie: An Analysis of the Movie BY ISABELLA CARLOW

Honestly, when I walked out of the theaters after the movie, I was surprised, but also happy with Barbie. It was everything I expected it to be, and more. There was chaos, a lot of pink, and singing and dancing, obviously. There were so many wonderful moments in the film, and I know many people thought the same. Gretta Gerwig did an amazing job of creating Barbie Land and honoring the doll, while also discussing many other issues that many, if not everyone, could relate to. If you haven’t seen the movie already, I definitely think you should- you’re missing out if you don’t.

BY ISABELLA CARLOW

“Barbie” has been a very big topic of discussion in the world since the live action movie came out at the end of July. It seems like everywhere you look she’s there- just seeing bright pink makes me think of her. I mean, even our homecoming dance theme was Barbie. I think the reason why the movie really resonated with people is because, obviously, it’s Barbie. A movie about such a well known toy  would obviously do well, when done right (which Greta did) . However, there’s many parts to the whole appeal of the movie- from the dance numbers to the deeper meanings of the film, there’s something for everyone in “Barbie”. 

A key part in why the movie has been so successful is the detailed process behind it and all the little features put into scenes that made it as great as it was. Margot Robbie and her production company were talking to Warner Bros. and Mattel about funding for the movie in 2018. From the beginning she knew she wanted Gretta Gerwig to write Barbie, so when the movie actually became a project, Robbie asked her to write the script for it. She wanted her specifically because she felt only Gretta could truly encase all the feelings associated with Barbie while also honoring the doll’s legacy, which was the main point of the film. Something I especially liked about how Gretta Gerwig produced Barbie was that it showed both sides of the feelings people have about Barbie. Some people saw her as a symbol of women empowerment and the idea that women could be anything they wanted to be, while others viewed her as the embodiment of ‘The perfect woman’ and didn’t like her for pushing unrealistic beauty standards. There are so, so many parts to this movie, and that makes it really interesting to dissect and think about- and I think that was the directors goal when making the movie. 

When it comes to the actual making of the movie, there were many parts that Gerwig put together to really give it a Barbie feel. For example, she was influenced by older films when producing the movie, and used sound stages (area of a movie studio made for recording mainly dialogue) and painted sets in many scenes. The painted sets made it feel like you really were in Barbie Land, or as Gerwig describes it, added ‘authentic artificiality’ to Barbie. There was also a variety of 3-d and 2-d elements used in the movie, representing the elements in the actual Barbie toys and, again, adding that slightly artificial Barbie aesthetic. Another detail of the movie was that the sets were smaller than human size, making the actors look oversized in the houses but small in the overall set. Of course, a movie about Barbie has to include a lot of pink- and they did just that, to the extreme. Even ‘natural’ elements, like the sand on the beach, was pink, and even the seemingly white shade of paint used on set was actually a very light pink. So much of the shade was needed that Rosco’s entire supply of the color was used for the movie. 

I think something that everyone could enjoy when watching the movie was the dance numbers and the music. The dancing at the beginning of the movie at Barbie’s party with “Dance The Night Away” by Dua Lipa playing in the background was iconic. Especially considering how the meaning of the song accurately describes how Barbie feels later on in the movie. And although silly, “I’m Just Ken” is a pretty good song, I have to admit. Watching that scene in theaters was really fun- I thoroughly enjoyed the entire movie but that part was definitely one of my favorites. Other songs included in the movie, like “What Was I Made For” by Billie Eilish and “Closer to Fine” by Indigo Girls, which plays as Barbie travels to the real world, fit into the movie well too. They describe things like self discovery and exploring difficult emotions as Barbie’s journey leads her to question where she belongs in the world, or rather, which world she belongs in.  

On the surface, it appears to be a fun, silly movie about Barbie Land with singing and dancing thrown in once in a while. When you look deeper though, it’s much more than that. The film depicts the struggles of being a woman, a mom, and literally just being a person. When the Kens take over Barbie Land and reverse how things are supposed to be, it makes the Barbies feel bad- which starts to make them think that neither extreme (the patriarchy or the matriarchy) is the answer. The whole concept of Barbie Land, a perfect utopia where girls night is every night, and men are just accessories, shows how what seems to be a perfect world isn’t so perfect. If it was everything Barbie once thought it was, she would’ve stayed there and not have gone to the real world, right? That’s another part of the movie; Barbie had the choice of either staying in her perfect world,  or going to the real world. At the end of the movie, Ruth showed her the harsh reality of being human, and gave her the choice of staying or leaving. And knowing what she knew, she still chose to be human. Through this choice, she’s saying that even with the ups and downs, the human experience is worth living.

Honestly, when I walked out of the theaters after the movie, I was surprised, but also happy with Barbie. It was everything I expected it to be, and more. There was chaos, a lot of pink, and singing and dancing, obviously. There were so many wonderful moments in the film, and I know many people thought the same. Gretta Gerwig did an amazing job of creating Barbie Land and honoring the doll, while also discussing many other issues that many, if not everyone, could relate to. If you haven’t seen the movie already, I definitely think you should- you’re missing out if you don’t.