'Barbie' has created a cultural shift, but is it Kenough?

Be it because of Gloria’s iconic monologue which unfortunately is the reality for many women out there or because of Ken’s song that made him feel more secure with his identity, the end result was the same. You left the theater feeling you could relate to some part of Barbie and feeling empowered. It’s not just a “feminist movie” as many pigeonholed it under this umbrella term, for it’s created a distinct cultural shift in ways more than one, unlike films before. Regardless of the fierce battle between Oppenheimer and Barbie, it’s clear that Barbie’s won the race when it comes to social messaging. The question is, to what degree has it brought about change and whether that change will remain effective.

Which one did you watch first?

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  Barbie
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  Oppenheimer

5 months ago, when everyone wasn’t raving about Barbie, it’d be considered concerning or ridiculous if an adult (or anyone) avidly talked about Barbie dolls mid-conversation. Then, out of the blue(or pink rather) we saw individuals of all ages lining up for tickets to Barbie, eagerly discussing the idea of being ‘kenough’, and every popular brand using the barbie poster format for its marketing. It was pink everywhere, and the core of the conversation was still about a franchise that makes dolls. This wasn’t an overnight happening, for a crucial part of creating the hype was the movie’s marketing. The marketing that Mattel spent $100m on, was worth every dollar. In fact it was clear before the movies even premiered, that Barbie was leading the Barbenheimer race. The Barbie posters became a template for various Instagram posts, the movie had collaborations with luxury brands from GAP to Fossil, and the screen shimmers with sparkles when you google “Barbie” or anything related to it(Go on, try it!). Of course, having Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the leads helped significantly with hyping up the film. One of the reasons the movie made the social impact it did can be attributed to the robust and successful marketing campaign that preceded its release.

A Study in Pink?

The first change its marketing brought about was how easily the movie got people of all genders to show up in bright pink outfits to the theaters. A color we generally perceive as too ‘flashy’ or ‘girly’, was now being flaunted by most viewers. This is part of a bigger problem the movie highlighted rather subtly, regarding society’s inherent idea that ‘being too feminine’ is something women should avoid. We see this with the culture of most teen girls preferring to be labeled as a tomboy or being ‘not like other girls’, women in high positions at the workplace having to wear suits or pick the workplace over any other priorities and be more masculine in order to blend in with a majorly male peer group. The way the world works, actively requires women to be less feminine in the way they dress up or behave in order to succeed. This might seem like a far reaching claim; but every successful woman, in some way, has had to conform to standards set for the typical 'accomplished' male employee. This has sowed the seeds of internalized misogyny among women by teaching them that being too girly isn’t socially acceptable and you will never be respected for embracing that feminine part of yourself. Any woman who tries to do so, is not taken seriously, seen as weak or dramatic. This perpetuates a vicious cycle where women have had to confine to the same sexist norms to achieve their goals, except ‘it’s hidden better’ as a privileged, white male employee told Ken.

Where other movies go wrong(and where Barbie didn't)

While being more masculine is what men had to do for success, women had to be less feminine. Barbie addresses both of these issues, which is what many movies with 'strong' female leads failed to do previously. The “strong female character” trope is unpopular for the very reason that it has poorly written leads without any intricacies or flaws in their personality that the average viewer can relate to. It led to the creation of wooden characters who are so invulnerable that they’re seen as inhuman, stoic characters that we can’t empathize with easily. This applies to the live action Mulan, Charlie’s Angels(2019), Rey from Star Wars, parts of the She-Hulk series, etc. Captain Marvel is disliked as the movie was perceived as too political and Captain Marvel was set up as the perfect character without any vulnerabilities which made her unrelatable.

That’s where Barbie was different, for it didn’t try to make characters who were either super powerful or super girly. It had realistic characters who embraced their femininity, those who were strong yet possessed their own vulnerabilities. Barbie coming to the real world and crying for the first time as she was distraught due to the negative changes she saw, made it easier to empathize with her. She symbolizes perfection, but then the movie highlights the various flaws that she too possessed - be it her relationship with Ken, or how she felt she lacked the purpose that the other Barbies had. The movie shows how in an ideal Barbie world, women could be successful and empowered; not in spite of their femininity, but rather because of it.

It was anti-patriarchy, without being anti-men

It’s not just Barbie encouraging everyone to embrace different aspects of themselves, but also Ken being the epitome of how every male love interest doesn’t need to be ‘macho’ all the time. Toxic masculinity was a narrative that appealed to him and he made mistakes which severely hurt the Barbie World, but the movie tries to show him that being kind, toned-down and allowing oneself to feel those various emotions(even if negative) are acceptable too. Uniquely, the movie isn’t trying to put down one gender to empower women more which is what we seemed to miss out in the previous times. Patriarchy is a huge problem, but villainizing men and alienating an entire demographic wouldn’t create sustainable social change. The film managed to frame its message in an appealing way, that it's okay to be the Barbie or the Ken in this situation. In the end it wanted to move to a more equal society, wanted everyone to be able to communicate, and process feelings in an emotionally healthy way.

A Focus on Female Friendships

The other important impact the movie has is how it’s highlighted the importance of female friendships and how cardinal these are to a woman’s life and success. It’s an emotional support network that sadly many women don’t have access to. Only 12% of young married women can visit relatives by themselves while 36% have no close friends. The core of the Barbie world was women spending time with their girlfriends and sustaining these friendships alongside their careers. It’s these friendships that create a support structure and even economic opportunities in some cases.

Alongside this, Gloria’s monologue certainly highlighted the paradoxical ideals that a woman is expected to meet in everything that she does. The set-up of these standards points out to the huge mental pressure that a woman is under as she feels judged no matter how she looks, how she sits or how she leads. These ideals have manifested in a way that fostered a culture of “women have to hate other women” in order for one to succeed, or made individual women feel so insecure and feel they simply aren’t good enough. This is reason enough as to why these female friendships can thus make a world of a difference to each woman out there. Speaking of relationships, there was a refreshing shift in tone as Barbie wasn’t defined singularly by her relationship with Ken and was much more than that. In fact it seemed more important to Ken than her, which isn’t healthy either as the film ultimately concludes, creating a counterforce to the idea that a relationship is a must for one’s own validation.

Discourse even amongst those who disagree

When the Kens preached patriarchy in the film, it caused havoc and chaos in the previously perfect Barbie world. But that dire situation sparked much needed discourse about the bottled-up feelings of the Kens. Similarly, I’m not going to pretend the Barbie movie is perfect and the light that’ll end all our problems. But it certainly is a step forward, for even though many contest the values of the film; it’s led to widespread conversation around topics which previously remained in the shadows, especially in countries like India. Seeing this movie has made many people question beliefs ingrained in them by society or by those around them, and because some don’t agree with Barbie’s ideas there has been discussion about things like female friendships, fragile masculinity, etc. The impact on the newer generations cannot be understated, for little girls and boys now get to ask their parents the questions about the differences between the Barbie World and reality. They become curious and instead of making topics of gender equality something somber, we can ensure it becomes a normalized topic for discourse that’s not viewed as taboo.

"Humans have only one ending, ideas live forever."(or do they?)

Not all of the audience agreed with Barbie’s values, as was clear from the backlash that the movie received which included several comments about how the movie was too pink, etc. but one must concede it created awareness amongst very different demographics. It carries the brand name ‘Barbie’ which almost everyone grew up with(directly or indirectly), and Barbie complimenting the old woman on the bench or Mattel(Ruth Handler) herself being an old woman meant that the movie has uniquely helped draw the attention of kids and adults alike to the issues highlighted in the film. It’s spurred useful and much-needed debate on a range of topics, helped women feel more secure with their own femininity and its message is here to stay. It’s society’s course of action after this which will determine if this change is kenough or not.

Images via @impact