Barbie (2023) and its societal impact
By: analia o’connor
Barbie, the highest-grossing movie of 2023, shocked audiences by diving into the complex expectations that society places on women. It highlighted the realities women face every day and worked to evolve the "Barbie image" into a new, more modern reflection of the aspirations and emotions of the young women she represents.
The creators of Barbie, Ruth and Elliot Handler, started a toy business in 1945 in their home garage in California. After much success, they shifted and began to create dolls: "With the success of selling dollhouse furniture, the company's focus quickly turned towards the production of toys" (Dettmering et al., 2020, p. 2). The doll was inspired by the Handler's daughter, Barbara, and quickly became a fan favorite due to television marketing. After noticing her daughter's interest in paper dolls, Ruth Handler realized that creating a three-dimensional doll with an adult body could help young girls "ease their feelings about themselves and their breasts" (Tulinski, 2017, p. 7).
Ruth Handler believed the doll could positively impact young girls, despite receiving criticism from men. She wanted to create a doll that could dream big and have aspirations. The doll's purpose was to expose girls to growing up and puberty and inspire them to accomplish anything they wanted—both important aspects of the girl world.
The Barbie movie was created to rebrand the doll company into a feminist film that shows what being a woman in today's society looks like. "The movie went through many rewrites before it was released to the public. The difficulty of turning a hyper-feminine woman, like Barbie, into a feminist icon led to multiple failed attempts, resulting in the movie's hiatus" (Shepard, 2024, p. 39).
Mattel wanted to ensure that they included modern-day problems that all women face while being mindful of the controversy, ensuring that they portrayed the subject appropriately. This movie had a theme that could take a political stance, which is what made Warner Bros. Pictures wary of publishing it.
The movie was created to allow women from every place to come together and relate to the hardships of being female in today's world. It responds to many social issues that women have been forced to live with, such as the Roe v. Wade decision and the Women's Rights Movement.
The Barbie movie sheds light on the intersectionality of gender that many women experience. This concept refers to how multiple aspects of oppression collide to create unique experiences (Combes, 2019). One of the characters introduced in the movie is Weird Barbie: "…a disfigured version of the doll who is said to have experienced a 'tough life' of abuse at the hands of her previous owner… Weird Barbie is labeled a social outcast and is a source of comic relief, raising questions about how society views people who have unique appearances or disabilities" (La Porte, 2023, p. 3).
This is relevant because girls who grow up without financial stability, in imperfect households, or who lack access to education may face significant setbacks. Weird Barbie can be seen as a metaphor for those women who do not fit society's beauty and success standards and find themselves marginalized. In the Barbie movie, Weird Barbie is isolated, living on a hill away from society. This symbolizes women who face intersectionality, feeling distanced and misunderstood by society.
The article on girlhood studies states, "Gender norms and inequalities carry very real implications for children, and these emerge in different forms and are shaped by their complex intersectional locations (i.e., their gendered, classed, and racialized positions within particular cultural and historical contexts)" (SAGE, 2020). This demonstrates how intersectionality is deeply rooted in society and, unfortunately, appears as a default. Weird Barbie and intersectionality go hand in hand because her character represents all the women who don't fit the societal mold. This scene opens Barbie's eyes and develops her as a character, from someone who was sheltered in a perfect world to a woman who sees firsthand all the oppression that females face.
The Barbie movie also portrays the struggles that girls face in a patriarchal world. The modern world has a bias toward men holding power positions, often viewing women as unfit for such roles. When Barbie enters the real world, she is confronted with the harsh reality of how women are treated in a society where men traditionally hold power. The first thing Barbie experiences in the real world is catcalling. Barbie immediately feels disrespected and confused by a world where this behavior is normalized, in contrast to her safe, feminist world in Barbie Land. She notices the shift of power and how people in the real world don't respect women as they do back home. This is shown when Barbie reflects that "men dominate both business and domestic sectors in real life, holding positions of power as CEOs or directors... This reversal critiques power dynamics and highlights the potential for a more equal balance between men and women" (Myisha et al., 2023, p. 75).
This is Barbie's first experience with gender inequality and the sad reality of being objectified. She shows how women are rarely put into positions of power and are undervalued. Barbie also realizes that toxic masculinity not only affects women but also affects society. Because of the lack of power positions that women hold, society is put at a disadvantage. Barbie feels extreme sadness for all the women who have to manage these feelings daily. It is a heartbreaking scene for her because she realizes there is little to no power or control over the situation. She is saddened by the reality of a world that shows no respect or regard for women, whereas in Barbie Land, women are seen as powerful.
The Barbie movie is an influential modern film that directly relates to girlhood studies. Girlhood studies is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the experiences, hardships, and everyday lives of modern girls (Helgren, 2020). The Barbie movie illustrates the realities of being a woman in today's society and delves into the pressures of being the "ideal" feminine woman. A key moment in the film occurs when Barbie is sitting at a bus station, crying, and sees an older woman. Barbie tells her, "… You are beautiful" (Gerwig, 2023, 1:17:00).
This moment is significant because it challenges conventional beauty standards. It shows that beauty doesn't have to be about appearance but can also be about the wisdom that comes with age. Beauty can also reflect a person's essence and character. Barbie is challenging traditional beauty standards by highlighting the elegance and beauty of aging. She offers an empowering moment that reveals how beauty is often superficial and can mean various things, subverting traditional standards.
The Barbie movie belongs in a digital exhibit on girls' culture because it has been a significant representation of the girl world for the past six decades. This artifact shows that, as time has passed, both the doll and the woman have evolved. Throughout history, women have grown: "Second-wave feminism worked hard to change cultural norms that had even adult women referred to as girls… The rebranding of the term girl was central to the movement's practice of rescripting and renaming traditional female identities, not just girl but a defiant Grrrl identity that roars back at the dominant culture" (Gonick, 2020, p. 853).
The Barbie movie encapsulates how girlhood has shifted from a trivialized stereotype to one representing empowerment and resilience. This movie is a direct example of how women have fought against traditional stereotypes of who women should be and have subverted them into something beautiful. When Barbie was created, she followed the path of traditional gender roles: "It is clear to see that during the 1950s and early 1960s, Barbie was predominantly put in the context of taking care of the home" (Dettmering et al., 2020, p. 3).
At that time, Mattel represented Barbie as being in charge of domestic responsibilities because that was the societal expectation and reality of women. However, Mattel quickly evolved Barbie as society and the expectations of women changed. Over time, Barbie became a more ambiguous, boss-like figure.
With this in mind, Barbie has evolved as women have changed. This directly correlates to the Riot Grrrl Movement and its rebranding. Both challenge the expectations of what girls should be and redefine them into an empowerment movement. The Barbie movie was created to show that women are much more than what society traditionally portrays them to be. Women are smart, determined, strong, beautiful, and, most importantly, capable of changing the world for the better. The Barbie movie belongs in a digital exhibit on girls' culture because it is a powerful example of how girlhood has evolved.
The history and politics of Barbie are crucial when analyzing The Barbie Movie. One important scene in the movie is when Barbie realizes her feet aren't perfectly pointed, and instead, they are flat. Barbie says, "I'm so embarrassed. Barbie doesn't get embarrassed. I know. Barbie, I don't even have context for this, but my feet… my heels are on the ground. I'm no longer on tiptoes. That's okay. Let me see. [all gasp] [screams] Flat feet! [retches]" (Barbie (2023) | Transcript 2023).
In Barbie Land, every woman has perfectly pointed feet, symbolizing the perfect, fragile woman. Barbie has a realization moment when she notices her feet aren't pointed but are flat. At the start of the movie, being externally flawless is emphasized in Barbie Land. This is something so emphasized that every day is perfect in Barbie Land. Understanding the history of this is crucial to understanding the effect these dolls have on young girls.
Barbie was shocked when her feet weren't pointed because society expects women to be perfect in every way. In the Barbie movie, a prominent theme is to show that women don't have to be perfect and that they are an empowering, important group of people. Understanding this evolution of Barbie helps society understand that women are breaking free from the stereotypes of flawlessness and fragility. Women are powerful beings who have flaws and should be accepted in every form that they come in.
The Barbie movie is a powerful representation of all the challenges women face today. The movie emphasizes the intersectionality that women face and the immense pressure put on women to fit the ideal standard. All in all, the Barbie movie focuses on being one's authentic self while also fighting for gender equality.
References
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This source includes the line-by-line translation of the Barbie movie. This is a good way for analysts to be able to go back and see exactly what each actor said.
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This article introduces the concept of intersectionality. It also provides examples of intersectionality from the real world. Many of these examples relate to how women are put at a disadvantage because of the stereotypes presented about them.
Dettmering, S., Grimani, I., Reinauer, A., & Schonstrom, J. (2014). Am I a Barbie Girl? [Review of Am I a Barbie Girl?]. Mattel's Fight for Barbie's Reputation, 02-2015(First Edition), 1–10. Google Scholar.
Gerwig, G. (Director). (2023, July 21). Barbie. Warner Bros. Pictures.
Helgren, J. (2020). Girlhood. In T. Cook (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood Studies (pp. 841–845). SAGE Publications.
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