I loved Barbie and I loved the fact that Greta Gerwig – as co-screenwriter and director – tried and succeeded at injecting general feminist theory into a mainstream studio film about Barbie dolls. The Barbies are not quoting Simone de Beauvoir or Andrea Dworkin, but it definitely felt like Gerwig found a way to make feminism easily accessible for girls and women. Whenever I think of the feminism of Barbie, I’m reminded of Marc Maron’s excellent comments on the film, which he made last summer:
“I saw Barbie and I thought it was a f–king masterpiece. And like, I don’t throw that word around lightly, but, Jesus Christ. It’s like it does a fairly amazing thing to create a sort of broad-based entertainment product that applies to the entire spectrum. I think primarily of women. And then just seep it in progressive politics and basic feminism in a way that’s funny, informative and well-executed in a context that is completely engaging is f–king monumental. [The movie is] intentionally, thoroughly explaining feminist ideas in a way that’s funny.”
Maron also mocked the men who cried about Barbie being “woke,” calling those dudes “insecure babies.” Anyway, I agreed with Maron – Barbie is a feminist film and it’s a film which explains mainstream feminism in an easily digestible way for a mainstream audience. The fact that Barbie was the most successful film of 2023 is just icing on the feminist cake.
Well, America Ferrera was questioned about her character’s wonderful “feminist speech” in Barbie by the NYT (via Variety). She was asked if she thought the speech was an oversimplification of feminism and this was America’s response:
“We can know things and still need to hear them out loud. It can still be a cathartic. There are a lot of people who need Feminism 101, whole generations of girls who are just coming up now and who don’t have words for the culture that they’re being raised in. Also, boys and men who may have never spent any time thinking about feminist theory. If you are well-versed in feminism, then it might seem like an oversimplification, but there are entire countries that banned this film for a reason.”
“To say that something that is maybe foundational, or, in some people’s view, basic feminism isn’t needed is an oversimplification. Assuming that everybody is on the same level of knowing and understanding the experience of womanhood is an oversimplification.”
What an excellent answer, and she’s absolutely right. There are little girls who went to see Barbie with their moms, and now those girls know the word “patriarchy” and they can talk to their moms or aunts or friends about patriarchy and feminism. While the ideas within Barbie were not “revolutionary,” the film absolutely helped give a feminist framework for young girls and maybe some boys too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.
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- America Ferrera attends ‘ Barbie ‘ – European Premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square in London, UK. Monday 12th July 2023. -,Image: 788876874, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NORESTRICTIONS, Model Release: no, Pictured: ‘ Barbie ‘ – European Premiere, Credit line: James Warren / Bang Showbiz / Avalon
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- Sydney, AUSTRALIA – Australian pink carpet premiere of the Barbie movie in Sydney. Pictured: Greta Gerwig, Issa Rae, Margot Robbie, America Ferrera BACKGRID USA 30 JUNE 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Marc Skinner / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Pink carpet for ‘Barbie’ at Toreo Parque Central. Featuring: Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, Ryan Gosling Where: Mexico City, Mexico When: 06 Jul 2023 Credit: EyePix/INSTARimages **Please contact your Local office representative for all commercial uses: World rights fees**
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- European premiere of ‘Barbie’ at Cineworld Leicester Square in London. Featuring: America Ferrera Where: London, United Kingdom When: 12 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Photocall for ‘Barbie’ after the premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square in London. Featuring: America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig Where: London, United Kingdom When: 12 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I really enjoyed watching Barbie. Going to the film with my dad and seeing everyone dressed up. I did feel it was at times overly didactic. But America’s answer puts that into perspective and makes sense. Very good answer. Would love to see her get a supporting actor nod.
You can’t be serious….a supporting nod for her? All the talent this year and you think SHE should get a Oscar supporting actress nod…
I liked Barbie but it is BIZARRE how people are treating this movie like the best thing ever and pretty standard performances as worthy of an oscar…it’s sad too, there’s so many great supporting performances by actresses this year…but many have Barbie blinders on…. Disappointing but not surprising….
I watched it for the first time a few weeks ago and was deeply disappointed. Not because it was shallow feminism (it was) but because Barbie was a secondary character to Ken in her own movie. 🙄
I’m not sure I agree with you. Many movies have a villain. Barbie was fighting her the physical embodiment of the patriarchy: Ken. I thought it was pretty clever.
Ken had an entire character arc. he had multiple musical numbers. He got to be funny and emotional. Barbie….walks around and then becomes human for some random reason.
And don’t tell me I didn’t “get it” or something.
I really disliked the politic around Ken and the Barbies needing to be “deprogrammed” after immediately buying into the patriarchy. And don’t get me started on Ken’s male entitlement that Barbie should love him because he loves her.
The irony of so many loving Barbie and lauding Greta Gerwig as being pro-women and a feminist considering what she and Noah Baumbach did to a 9 month pregnant Jennifer Jason Leigh…absolutely evil. Two heinous people who are gonna rack up awards this season….and look at everyone championing him & her. If it happened to any of you, you’d feel different…but people continue to celebrate them and this ‘masterpiece’
I enjoyed it immensely. I watched it on Christmas with my mom. I loved that they made it super accessible. I can also see why the extreme right was so upset. They really need to chill.
I liked the movie and really loved the message, but I didn’t like how obvious it was. I felt like it treated the audience like it was stupid and needed everything explained to them.
No shortage of dum-dums in the US who do need everything explained to them.
FYI, it’s spelled dumb-dumbs.
Right because it’s just the US that are ‘dum-dums’ or is that how you spell dumb in your language.
This movie was so simplistic it made my brain hurt… no accounting for mainstream tastes…
Hey, I’m an American too. But I just don’t overestimate my fellow American’s intelligence given the direction this country has gone in during the past forty to fifty years. So, if the movie was simplistic, I think that was fine because a more sophisticated discussion on feminism would have gone over a lot of viewers’ heads.
The success of the movie is further proof third wave feminism has failed younger generations.
As a 3rd wave feminist, it wasn’t us that failed. It was the younger generation saying things like ‘feminists are man haters’ or ‘we don’t need feminism because things are fine as they are’. To paraphrase Dorothy Parker, we can only lead the horses to water. We can’t make ‘em think.
My 67 mom didn’t like it. She didn’t hate it. I said “was it too modern?” She said yes. I believe she has some ingrained misogyny in her. Maybe it’s the generation? She doesn’t like female entertainers as much, it’s weird and makes me kind of bummed out. How can someone who raised a feminist not be such a feminist? She is a liberal (pro choice) and very independent. I don’t get some half in half out women.
My mum just turned 68 and I was curious to see if she’d even be interested in it but she went to see it at the cinema with a friend and loved it.
We watched it again at Christmas with her and my in-laws and I was surprised that MIL (70’s, very traditional) found it interesting – I was expecting a more negative reaction. FIL had no idea what was going on and just seemed confused but that’s his general vibe most of the time unless he’s telling stories from 40+ years ago.
I kind of understand, not that I agree with your mom.
There have been generations of social (and political, economic) pushback on women’s rights and feminism with women who are feminists being painted as not being real women or anti-women, or undesirable or labeled with slurs for questioning enforced “traditional” gender roles. So some women feared, or were conditioned, pressured to not be adamant or oh no “too strident !” about openly advocating for feminist ideals and change. They might be living independent, do all the things they want lives, they just felt at risk (often justifiably so) if they were too loud or public about it. So seeing, hearing someone else say things plainly makes them uncomfortable.
All that isn’t even a thing of the past. That type of pushback, attempts at marginalization, silencing of women who speak plainly, speak up at inequality and advocate for women’s rights and their own autonomy or even simply their right to exist in the public space is happening all over the place, today.
I agree North of Boston! That was my take, too. I’m an outspoken feminist and have studied feminist theory. The film is a masterpiece because it attempts to explain a complicated topic to a mass market of viewers, including maga types, dude bros, trad wife enthusiasts and, most importantly, girls who’ve grown up in the last couple of generations who need a straightforward example of how women and men are equal (the definition of feminism) and should be treated as such. The fact that it keeps it uncomplicated (the story is played by dolls) is a stroke of genius. Adding all of the pink Barbie sparkle just adds another layer of appeal, to me at least.
I really love her answer and she’s absolutely right. The main criticism of the film being too “simple” has always bothered me. Because it comes from a place of ASSUMING everyone is starting at the same place of understanding.
Her character in Barbie reminds me of women who pretend to be politically astute but who will vote for a Donald Trump or some other chaos agent to destroy the world. Such women crave destruction because their own lives are so shifty and they aren’t willing to make life work. They arent brave enough to face their own mistakes but they’ll vote to take away others people’s rights. Her character destroyed Barbie’s world then shrugged her shoulders and said, that’s life.
I appreciate that analysis because my reaction to the film was “eh, this could’ve been an email.” But that’s my perspective of feeling like after decades as a feminist how are we still at such a basic level of understanding? But yeah obviously the current state of things suggest Barbie is a much needed injection into our cultural narrative.