Barbie, one of the most talked-about movies this year, is a fantasy comedy-drama directed by Greta Gerwig. Starring actors such as Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and America Ferrera, the movie’s dazzling cast is not the only reason why it has been such a hot topic. Ever since the movie was announced, people have been wondering just how this movie would live up to the hype.

Plot

In Barbieland, Barbies and Kens live in harmony. While all the Barbies hold fantastic jobs, such as doctor, president, and physicist, all the Kens’ jobs, in Kens’ own words, are “beach”. Our main character, stereotypical Barbie, lives her perfect life in Barbieland every day. They sing, they dance, they party, they have fun, and everything is perfect.

That is, until something weird happens one day. Every morning, when she wakes up, Barbie’s feet form the perfect angle for her to fit in her heels. However, one day, her feet defy their role, and stick to the ground. This horrifies her because it has never happened before. Another thing that horrifies her is that she starts to have sudden thoughts about death, which also has never happened before.

To figure out what’s going on with her, main character Barbie goes to visit “weird Barbie.” From weird Barbie, she learns her “malfunctioning” has something to do with her connection to her owner in the real world. So, stereotypical Barbie decides to travel to the real world, with Ken alongside her.

Little does she know, by entering the real world, she is about to encounter something called “the patriarchy.” Through the film, we see how Barbie and Ken react to the patriarchy, and how it affects society in Barbieland.

Analysis

One major theme of the Barbie movie is the theme of patriarchy—a social system where positions of dominance, power, and privilege are primarily held by men. While not everyone, especially men, are always aware of this, all societies in the world display some adherence to the patriarchy. But interestingly, Barbie touches on how patriarchy hurts everyone—not just women, but men as well.

The patriarchy obviously harms women (and you’d be blind if you can’t see it), but fewer people notice its effects on men. The movie explores gender dynamics, showing us how societal expectations and pressures shape everyone’s behavior.

Barbie also highlights male fragility. Stereotypically, men are supposed to be “strong” and adhere to the rules of patriarchy. This in turn propagates the patriarchy, making sure it stays in place since it benefits men and men only. Contrary to popular belief, Barbie shows that boys and men are actually often led to think that there is a certain way for them to act. For instance, men aren’t supposed to cry, they are always required to assert their dominance, and they shouldn’t be too emotional. In simpler words, they might not want to behave as they do, but it’s how they were taught to behave.

The film also highlights the irony of men fearing that “feminism” essentially means that women should have more rights than men. Obviously, that’s not what feminism is. Feminism asks for equality between all genders. From Barbieland, we can see that all women want is a society where everyone is equal, yet what men want is often a society with a heavy power imbalance in their favor.

Barbie is such a meaningful movie not just because of its portrayal of gender inequality and how the patriarchy functions; the movie also calls for people to reimagine feminism. While women’s struggles are the focus of feminism, we shouldn’t ignore male struggles along the way. It’ll take empathy from everyone to curb the power of the patriarchy.

Barbie also helps women understand it’s okay to feel the way we do. Often, society is programmed to make women feel bad about ourselves; somehow, we are never skinny enough, never pretty enough, never smart enough yet never dumb enough. The film tells us that it’s okay; we’re okay.

Verdict

The Barbie movie is so powerful because the message it conveys can reach women from all around the world. Perhaps some people who are immersed in Western media may be familiar with the idea portrayed in the film, but for my mom, my aunt, and my friends from traditional Taiwanese schools, this isn’t a message they normally engage with.

During the film, there was a monologue on the impossible standards women are held to in our society. Though I have seen and received similar messages before, when I asked my mom, she said no one’s ever said this to her before, and that she suddenly felt so seen. The power of this movie extends beyond people who already are familiar with the topic—it reaches the hearts of all women, making them feel seen, feel heard, and feel understood.