Integritus Prime

I had resolved not to watch Barbie, the movie. I acknowledge it was due to my irritation at what Barbie represents to me: patriarchal expectations that women need to look perfect. My father, and a close friend convinced me that the movie would be worth watching due to exactly these sorts of themes. Spoiler alerts start next.

I was struck by how “in-your-face” the patriarchal commentary was in the movie. It was like watching a pink, toy version of the Matrix, actually. Barbie starts to have strange symptoms, signaling reality. The most interesting symptom to me, is that her feet become flat and touch the ground instead of remaining in high-heel shaped angles. Another symptom is sadness.

So, Barbie must go to the real world to understand and put a stop to these symptoms, because they are initiated by someone who is playing with a stereotypical Barbie doll, which our Barbie (the protagonist) represents. (Oh, and there’s a silly thing in the movie where all the Barbies and Kens call each other Barbie and Ken – the comedy fits awkwardly with the heavy patriarchal themes).

The mingling of “real world” and Barbie world is stark: Barbie’s reality is a matriarchal world in which she calls the shots in her life, and a black Madame President (yeah!) runs society. We find Ken to be emasculated, a true accessory often discarded by Barbie. When Ken hides in the Barbie-mobile and the two find themselves in the real world, Ken is quick to see that this is a place where men run the show. He brings back a quite unattractive macho vibe back to Barbie world and takes over.

What ensues is an exaggerated illustration of patriarchal stereotypes, and while it’s not the greatest portrayal due to the crossed wired between comedy, satire, and general wonkiness, there are some themes that were important to note:

1. The toxic patriarchy expects women to be perfect and women feel they cannot live up to this. Women often feel they are not good enough.
2. Men are expected to be macho, and never cry or show other emotions. This causes them to suppress their feelings.
3. No one who is playing to these stereotypes is being their true self, which requires introspection. Ken embarks on a journey to discover himself towards the end of the film.
4. Sometimes, even though we are deeply mired in toxic patriarchal traits, we cannot see it. This was exemplified by the all-male board of Mattel.

All in all, this film was worth watching if only to applaud director Greta Gerwig for attempting to take on the patriarchy in such a direct, if slightly genre-muddled way.