This summer was the summer of Barbenheimer. A strange competition between two highly anticipated movies with entirely different plots: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. One is based on the adventures of Barbie dolls in the real world, and the other on the origin of nuclear weapons. In the end, the ultimate winner of the fight for the movie of the summer was Barbie, which grossed over $155 (£120) million during its opening weekend alone —almost doubling Oppenheimer’s opening box office total of $93.7 (£72) million. So why did Barbie win?
A major selling point for both rival films were the promise of all-star casts, which was also a hugely influential factor in Barbie’s victory. Greta Gerwig was able to bring together an incredibly iconic cast, featuring the likes of Margot Robbie as the movie’s focal point and Ryan Gosling as her counterpart. Both were perfect choices for the roles of Stereotypical Barbie and Beach Ken, embodying the characteristics of the two famous blondes and looking amazing whilst doing so. It is easy to tell that Ryan Gosling was perfect for the role of Ken from the film’s bloopers, and he seemingly has the most fun with his comedic lines and melodramatic musical number I’m Just Ken.
Gerwig cleverly uses Barbie to explore gender concepts and the process of girlhood and motherhood. Barbie’s adventure begins with her childlike naïvety as indicated through the style of dialogue, as if children are playing with and voicing the conversations between the dolls. She quickly loses this innocence as she navigates through “the human world”, encountering patriarchy, objectification, and catcalling that forces her to rapidly mature in this strange environment. The references made to patriarchy and the Kens’ take-over of Barbie Land present the diff erence between the male and female experience in society, a perfect example being Ken’s focus on horses compared to Barbie’s continuous struggle with her newly found human emotions.
[Barbie] quickly loses this innocence as she nagivates through “the human world”, encountering patriarchy, objectification, and catcalling that forces her to rapidly mature in this strange environment.”
To top the movie off, Billie Eilish’s song What Was I Made For? drives home the message of growing up as a woman, accompanied by a montage of moments between young girls and their mothers that really made me appreciate my own mum. This was followed by Barbie’s realisation that she can’t return to her original life, as she is no longer blinded by her naïvety. Did I cry during this scene? Yes. I cried during most of the film in all honesty.
To summarise, the Barbie movie is a perfect reflection of what it’s like to grow up as a girl in today’s society and the pressures women face as a collective, uniting them through the universal experience of men who want to mansplain The Godfather and serenade us via an acoustic guitar.