Barbie (2023)

 Barbie (2023)

Watching The Movie:

Colorful and clever little movie. Story is engaging enough for at least one viewing but I'm not particularly sure who would ever want to see this story told more than once despite the casting, writing, and performances all being pretty spot on for tone the filmmaker is working towards. It's a good story told well, just not one I particularly never need to see again (outside of occasionally watching "I'm Just Ken" on YouTube.

Screening the Film: 

As a film, Barbie (2023) is a masters class in nearly all of the following areas: gender studies, marketing decision making and product mix, corporate structures and decision making, historical context of both the early 20th and 21st centuries. Family dynamics; particularly between mother and daughter. Masculine vs Feminine energies; particularly in leadership and decision making positions. Cultural norms and social expectations (i.e. "Weird Barbie" and the entire plot device being that anything other an absolutely perfectly homogenized world is a problem that must be solved.) Sense of value, identity and self-worth and societal impacts on same (I see you Allan). Interpersonal relationships, their cause and effect and their role in society. Male privilege and the patriarchy  If you're really pushing for something unique and interesting, you could pull the thread at either animal husbandry and idolatry or mans hubris and subtle racism (i.e. Blonde haired, blue eye Ken vs Ken of Asian descent).

Best Dialogue:

Sasha: Men hate women and women hate women. It's the one thing we can all agree on.

The Bottom Line:

Barbie (2023) immediately resonates with me to a couple of other toy based movies, The Lego Movie (2014) and Transformers:The Movie (1986); both of which I rated very highly, and in the case of Transformers at least, is a masterpiece. I can see how through a certain set of eyes, there are people who feel that way about Barbie; those eyes just aren't mine.

The cultural impact, both positive and negative that toys have in humanities existence probably doesn't get enough exploration, but Barbie does so in away that simple, feeble minded men feel like they are being attacked despite if you REALLY focus on the impact that Ken basically red-pilling Barbieland had on all the Barbie's besides stereotypical Barbie, was it society that was doomed, or just SB's sense of self-worth?

If you look at it a certain way, this film is incredibly complex and layered. SB and Ken are neither protagonist/antagonist, they are both two anti-heroes who are on opposite sides of realizing that life, by definition will never be perfect; the closest we can come is to living our truths and owning our trauma.

It's a masterpiece of a film, but it's rewatch value hurts it as a movie. We'll be generous for it's cultural impact as part of Barbenheimber and go:

3.5 out of 5

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