Barbie (2023) - Letterboxd Review

To what degree are you able to have an opinion on something which isn't aimed at you? 

First and foremost I enjoyed Barbie; I thought it was entertaining from start to finish, consistently funny and had a perfect set production. Wes Anderson could learn a lesson from Barbie in managing to both create a visually striking semi-cartoonish vibrant world AND have an entertaining plot. It was probably the most I've laughed at a film in the cinema since 'The Disaster Artist' in 2017 (maybe 'Long Shot' in 2019). I also agree with the central message of Barbie to such an extent that I didn't bother raising my minor quibbles in the discussion during the walk-home (they weren't strong enough to outweigh my overall consensus with the film, which for my own safety, I will keep reinforcing). I've saved critiques for here, where nobody can instil fear by glaring with tired exasperation as I, a man, meekly offer my perspective in a state of significant stress and panic.

With my personal safety in mind, I will re-iterate my general agreement with the moral of Barbie, however... in a similar way to Don't Look Up, I question how productive it is to oversimplify messages a bit too much. It's almost two years since watching Don't Look Up so my memory isn't ideal for analysis, but I do recall that it's 2021 release came at the perfect time to satirise and critically deconstruct conspiratorial thinking. Instead it took the easy route, lazily creating a divide of what was essentially Trump fans vs Non-Trump fans, when in reality there are a variety of complex factors which result in various people across a range of societal and political spectrums leaning towards conspiratorial thinking (and not all for amoral reasons or because they are stupid). Because 'Don't Look Up' failed to address such multitudes, any conspiracy theorist who is not a stereotypical Trump supporter would at best have simply ignored film, or at worst become further emboldened in whatever beliefs they hold, as they (fairly to be honest) feel like they are being grossly misrepresented.

Barbie does a better job at dealing with sexism than Don't Look Up does at dealing with the information crisis. As you know, I agree with it. Have I mentioned that? Not all men! It's annoying when you worry that other people think you might be on 'that team'. But remember, I'm not. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this.

I guess what my criticisms of Barbie ultimately come down to, is that in spite of doing almost everything right and succeeding in it's primary goal of uniting women, public reaction to the film demonstrates that it somewhat failed to successfully convey a fundamental message - To draw attention to patriarchy, presumably in such a way that it serves as an eye opener and therefore changes some minds. Unfortunately the online user/public reviews provide relatively strong evidence that Barbie has not managed to achieve this, which is a shame as I feel it was close.

It's cause isn't helped by the foundations on which the entire premise is built; the contrasting 'Barbie Land' - a world in which women entirely dominate in all aspects of life vs 'The Real World' - an opposing reality in which men entirely dominate in all aspects of life. As much as it is undeniably true that the real world is male-dominated, men don't completely dominate in every aspect of life. As an anxious, fearful, loser man myself, I should know. Not all men! I understand this film isn't necessarily a comment on me (not in every way at least), but of men / the world in general. It is simply an easy mainstream movie trying to make a point clear by slightly oversimplifying so that it appeals to and is understood by a broader audience. But if the public response shows a clear backlash from angry men who have misinterpreted the film as being anti-men, then maybe broad-sweeping pigeon-holing only serves to exaggerate the animosity in the war of the sexes. Perhaps it oversimplified slightly too much. Maybe audiences / angry men can be granted a bit more credit in what they are able to understand. 

(Just to be clear again, I am aware that the film's moral conclusion is that neither men nor women should dominate society)

People may argue that these types of men wouldn't listen anyway, but if that's the case, what is the point in showcasing patriarchy? If at least part of its goal isn't to change some minds, the alternative would be to preach to the choir, which isn't particularly ambitious. Obstinate angry men are the exact sort of people who need their eyes opening and I think by underestimating their ability to understand anything other than a black and white message, Barbie may have shot itself in the foot. 

A particular scene which springs to mind involves Gloria, a woman from the real world, breaking down all the contradictory challenges women face on a daily basis. Whilst these experiences are undoubtedly true, I couldn't help identifying with many of these things myself. They are largely the reasons I find myself in therapy. Again, I understand that the film isn't saying that only women experience these things, but when it's premised on such a basic dichotomy of 'woman world' vs 'man world', it can't help but seem like it's message is equally as basic, with everything falling into either the man or the woman category, even though it isn't the intention.

Patriarchy is of course real, but society is complex and nuanced. My issue with Barbie isn't that it is critical of men, it is that the film's fundamental over-simplification means that people won't change whatever opinion they already had going into it, evidenced by the public response. I'm no film writer so I'm nowhere near able to come up with the perfect solution, but a crappy one off the top of my head... I dunno, maybe add a few half-decent (or at least well meaning) men to serve as a minority in the real world. Maybe some bloke criticises Ken for advocating patriarchy. I don't know. But something. It would, at the very least, add an extra dimension to better reflect the real world.

It's frustratingly close to being almost perfect really, other than the occasional base level humour around "beaching off" and "gynaecology". But it's failure to change minds is quite a major issue and is particularly frustrating given how close I feel it was to achieving something with significant real-world impact. Still, it was good! 

(Mansplaining over)

7.5/10

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