Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film Barbie; a film in which the titular doll ventures from the familiarity of her world of Barbieland to sunny Los Angeles after experiencing strange phenomenon like irrepressible thoughts of death and cellulite, is a cinematic masterpiece that will no doubt be talked about in the decades to come, joining the ranks of films like George Lucas’ Star Wars and Robert Zemeckis’ Back To The Future.
Every single actor fits beautifully, the most notable performances being from Margot Robbie (Stereotypical Barbie), America Ferrra (Gloria), Ryan Gosling (Beach Ken) and Michael Cera (Allan); who all perfectly encapsulate the roles they were given, from Robbie’s bubbly Barbie to Ferrera’s insightful mother character, Gloria. The film’s cast is very diverse, being comprised of many actors of color (Issa Rae, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Ncuti Gatwa, Kinglsey Ben-Adir and Dua Lipa), trans actors (Hari Nef, a trans woman), and actors with diverse body types (Sharon Rooney).
I don’t think anything concerning the casting should’ve been changed to make the movie more successful, considering its cast is composed of mainstream actors (Robbie, Mckinnon, Cena, Cera and Gosling just to name a few). What really stands out to me about Barbie is that Gerwig had the opportunity to go the Riverdale route–making a children’s series dark and edgy in an attempt to appeal to an adult audience, but she didn’t, instead keeping Barbie fairly PG-13, and the film’s structure is a mix between your standard quest style story and a musical, a complete turnaround from her other works. I found the relationships between the women in Barbie; specifically the relationship between Gloria and her daughter Sasha, to be completely realistic, having gone through interactions like the ones shown in the film almost word for word. The film’s soundtrack, courtesy of artists like Dua Lipa, Charli XCX and Billie Elish also help enhance the movie, calling back to nostalgia for earlier Barbie films (Charli XCX’s song Speed Drive acting almost as an homage to 2010s animated Barbie films) and also evoking strong emotions in a viewer. Barbie set out to talk about feminism and the patriarchy, and I think it does that beautifully; it addresses the problems in this patriarchal society, all under the guise of brilliant marketing and a bubblegum pop soundtrack.
Despite my gushing about this film, I have to admit that this film has flaws. Despite being a film focused on feminism, Barbie is a pretty white film, when women of color have been at the forefront of the feminism and womens rights movement for decades. Also, I feel as though Ken; despite bringing the patriarchy to Barbieland and brainwashing the Barbies into subservience to the Kens–got off pretty easily. In fact, it’s Barbie who sort of apologizes to Ken, and the film ends with him being forgiven, despite what he’s done.
But despite the flaws of the Barbie movie, I love it.
The Drumbeat 