Friday 25-08-2023 - 10:30

It’s here! It’s time! My first official SU blog post as your FAS President! And it seems only fitting that I talk about the new Barbie film! If you know, you know and if you don’t know then get to know. I recently watched the new Barbie film, expecting a fun-loving kid’s film – doll comes to life in the real world, Toy Story kind of vibe. Me and my friends were inspired to wear pink and had memorised the lyrics to Ryan Gosling’s “I’m just ken”, hoping to mumble as loudly as we could in the cinema with everyone else. But we left stunned at how moving “Barbie” really is.

 

I’m a girl who loves movies and all things pink – so if I get a chance to combine the two, I’m going to jump at it. It just so happens that this perfectly pink movie also has layers that deserve to be explored and a message that deserves to be delivered. We see discussion of self-love, sisterhood, equality, stereotyping, and feminism charged throughout this film.

 

Whether you hate or love the idea of Barbie, I really do recommend going to watch it for yourself. It is important to remember that Barbie is an IDEA. It is often misconstrued, Barbie being seen as the perfect female figure; for hair, body image, and her constant ability to walk around in 3.5-inch heels. However, in the film we see the origin story reconstructed to Barbies creator Ruth Handler creating Barbie, inspired by her daughter Barbara, when she saw her play with paper dolls. Most dolls available then were plastic baby dolls, and Ruth wished to create a doll that would inspire children to "dream dreams of the future.”

 

We see Stereotypical Barbie have an existential crisis, and she is meant to be perfect, followed by Gloria’s (America Ferrara) monologue on the hardships women face daily. Barbie being stereotypically perfect and still not feeling like she is good enough, was hard to watch. Leading to Gloria highlighting how “It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow, we’re always doing it wrong.” And in all honesty, I couldn’t have related more. It was the truth. It hit in such a way, that when I heard it, I couldn’t unhear it. This was a key point for everyone watching, we really felt the emotion, and felt connected the words we were hearing. I was stunned at how silent the boys were, and for myself I had a moment of relief. There is no woman I know, in my life, that wouldn’t relate with the speech in this film.

 

Girl’s all over the world are forgetting the power that being a barbie holds. “Barbie The Movie”, in its own incredible, way reinforces the message between the sisterhood that connects us. To be a barbie, means that you can be an astronaut, or a doctor, or the possibilities stretched to a race car driver or president. “Your only limit is your imagination” could not be taken more literally. Unfortunately, today, to be a barbie is thought to mean that you have the perfect body type, with perfect hair, the perfect boyfriend, giving rise to depression, body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Leaving us to feel constricted and stuck. These are the walls we are trying to break down. To break the vicious cycle that girls are trapped in.

 

I was reminded about how important it is to love yourself and be one with who you are. Barbie reinforced how important it is to be true to what you believe in. In the upcoming academic year as we draw close to September, I wish to remind you all to stay true to yourselves. It is not about doing what is expected of you, it is about being your own kind of Barbie and your own kind of Ken.

 

If you want the ultimate feminist film, then watch “Hidden Figures” or “The Suffragette.” But if you want a film that reminds you that you are not alone, a film that reiterates the message that keeps us together, for women – if you want a hug, and a pure reminder of how strong and amazing you are. Then watch Barbie.