So I’m seeing a lot of criticism here on substack in which people say that they won’t even see the movie “Barbie” because Barbie the doll is responsible for eating disorders. I’ve even had someone cancel her subscription to my substack, WITHOUT READING EITHER OF MY PIECES ON “BARBIE” (she admitted to this), because of the damage the doll has done to little girls’ sense of self-worth. And she included a nasty comment to @Substack as the reason she was “disabling” her subscription.
I can tell you—as someone who has written about the tyranny of beauty ideals since the 1980’s, including an influential book and many articles and encyclopedia pieces on eating disorders—that refusing to see the movie “Barbie” because of the doll Barbie is like refusing to see Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” because of the damage racial stereotyping has done to Black people. Not to mention the fact that most girls who develop eating disorders nowadays aren’t trying to look like Barbie—they’re emulating the bodies of models and movie stars. (And often, it’s about something else entirely than trying to look a certain way.)
When I was still teaching, among the things that distressed me the most was the decline of the ability to discern tone and context, to recognize when something is being ironically or satirically referenced (or even deconstructed entirely) rather than advocated just because certain words or images appear.
“Barbie” is hilarious, offbeat, disarming—and yes, it does have a lot of beautiful women in it—but it’s not an advertisement for skinny bodies any more than any other movie with slender, gorgeous women in it is an advertisement for skinny bodies. And It’s a subversive deconstruction of gender roles at a time when none other than the Supreme Court is trying to make women revert to them.
And if you’re boycotting it because of the dolls Mattel will sell, please do the same for every boy-centered movie that’s made toy companies millions from action-figures…and by the way, toy guns.
May I never grow up to be so ignorant or closedminded as the person you refer to!!
While my first reaction to "a Barbie movie" was ho-hum, it took about 5 minutes (of reading) to realize it's not actually "a Barbie movie", and have my curiosity piqued enough to read a lot more.
I still haven't seen the movie for myself, my movie theater-sitting days are behind me (a lot more regrettable in regard to symphony and live theater than movies which will eventually be available in the comfort of my living room) but I sure look forward to it - especially to seeing it with my millennial daughter who had zero interest in the Barbies I loved and grew up with - just as we've done with every version of Little Women and Pride and Prejudice.
(Not so much with Cinderella or Snow White, but yes with Mulan and Moana - and not unrelated, Jane The Virgin.)
I saw the movie and I loved it. It is everything you say Susan and more. I loved that I was in a theater full of girls and their mothers and WOMEN. I loved that those little girls could see all of the things you point out . I am of the first "Barbie" generation. When I was playing with her I wasn't thinking it was making a difference but it was. I hated baby dolls and Easy Bake ovens and kitchen sets. As long as I can remember I knew there was more and Barbie let me run wild with my imagination. For me she's not some sexist thing but represented freedom from housewifery. I have always thought that a gender that is the majority should in its quest for equality have enough room for all women...including those of us who love fashion and heels and lipstick.
As someone who’s made a career studying pink, I know I need to see this movie, and I will, soon. I will admit to being uneasy about the consumerist contrail it is generating. Unavoidable, of course; consumer culture is American culture and vice versa. Thanks for a thoughtful take on what is sure to launch a thousand dissertations.
Two books and too many articles about gendered clothing since the early 1980s. That’s why a few days ago I commented that I was embarrassed I didn’t already know you. We’ve been toiling in adjacent rows in the same vineyard for some time. But probably not attending the same conferences. That’s the academy for you.
I was born in 1954 to a mother who used the excuse of not yet knowing my gender to request green and yellow layette items. Growing up with her feminist influence, before that term hit the headlines, was both fortuitous and challenging, in a world of pink and blue.
I never get enough of your brilliant analyses, and this one, even though I haven't seen the movie yet, is off the charts! I haven't even seen it and I get it, thanks to you.
Ramona, thank you so much. You’ve been a support and an inspiration since I started here on substack. And you write a great couple of substacks too. If I don’t comment as much as I want to and should, please forgive me—like you, I’ve had a hard, grief-filled few years lately and it’s taken all my energy to get back in the swing with my own writing.
I totally understand, Susan, and I could say the same thing. I don't always comment, either, mainly because I'm wowed by what you've written and I don't think I can add any more. Just know I'm a huge fan.
As for the grieving, we're in that together, too. It's a hard slog, some days better than others. I'm thankful for those better days and try to make the most of them. But it never goes away. That's what love does.
Susan, you’ve sold me-- this movie sounds both smart and adorable, a tough combination to pull off.
I’d like to say a word or two about Anthony Lane. The quotes you use from his review remind me of his Kill Bill review. I’ve found him a reliable puncturer of lazy Hollywood habits, very good on the subject of Evelyn Waugh, and the guy who said this about Yoda: “break me a fucking give.”
So, I love him, and he’s one of my favorite critics. Except when his snobbery means he misses what’s good and valuable about something that’s too closely related to lowbrow pop culture for him, and this Barbie review is apparently one of those reviews. He was so dismissive of Kill Bill that I avoided it for years. Eventually it came on cable and I loved it.
An aside: a movie like that is entirely a matter of taste. I can absolutely understand someone disliking it, or even hating it. But it’s a well-made film, a well-made trashy film by an artist who loves trashy films.
When Lane isn’t convinced by the taste or the philosophy of the artist, his critical evaluation skills go away; he just goes into erudite dunking land. That’s a land I enjoy when I don’t like the artist either, but it can be a problem. (Evelyn Waugh had similar pros and cons.)
I initially stayed away from Barbie. Was it the hype? Was it all that pink? Was it the slightly cringy trailer? IDK, but when I finally saw it, I was very, very pleasantly surprised. I think this movie was not only very well thought out, but also brilliantly executed. Cinq sur cinq. It may just be the 'Little Women' of our time.
I loved this movie! It’s a savagely subversive movie dressed up in pink. Give women and girls credit for the ability to parse that this movie is actually parodying societal beauty standards. For proof of how strongly feminist Barbie and Greta Gerwig are - the reactions of the anti feminist bro’s. One of them set fire to a doll, ffs! Touched a lot of nerves. It’s because they realize that the movie absolutely nails toxic masculinity- they want to push you around and will sing that song to your face!
I laughed loudly several times, don’t deprive yourself of some good laughs. I’m going to the theater to see it again. That’s something I’ve only done once before . It’s FUN.
My biggest complaint: still setting the thermostat at “It’s a hundred degrees outside and I still need a sweater inside a movie theater” degrees.
Also, I’m thrilled that theaters are making money, Covid really hurt them financially, and that hoping that maybe this leads to more original movies for women.
Teri: I just took a break from writing and saw your comment which I loved so much that I had to see whether you’re a subscriber. And there you are, newly added to the list! So glad you’re here!
My oldest daughter recommended it. She’s 25 and went with her boyfriend. You’d love it mum, it’s so feminist and quite dark. It’s subversive she said. She’s right, I might love it, I love the directors other work, so why not? Well, it’s the doll, and Mattel. Im not loving the ubiquitous brand name and colour all over london. Even as a child I thought Barbie was unnaturally odd and preferred wholesome, round faced Sindy instead. She joined me in climbing up furniture and trees, swimming in the bath with sharks and jumping out of first floor windows, (her not me, I was daring, not stupid). My youngest daughter, who was unimpressed with any dolls, became very Ill with anorexia, persuaded by social media and other complex reasons that she wanted to be thinner, with longer legs and bigger breasts. Sound familiar? She was not persuaded directly by the doll, nevertheless, the influencers who did persuade her universally had that look. It’s pervasive, insidious, it starts young and if this film encourages the sale of many thousands more of the dolls, no amount of ironic, self aware adult films are going to undermine the fact that the way the doll looks is unattainable naturally for 99.99% of young girls.
Suze: Thank you for posting this. I get it. But I have thoughts, in general, about not seeing the movie for this reason. If they sound harsh, know they are not intended for you, because you took the time to read my post and respond, and I appreciate that. But I’m going to copy them here in a separate comment and hope you’ll continue with BordoLines!!
As we used to say in NYC so many years ago, what is with you? This is a doll whose shape helps spread eating disorders. Anorexia kills and makes women miserable; so too bulimia. I see the orignal doll no longer has a smile of joyful compliance on her face, but is hard unfeeling expression a moral substitute? Greta Gerwig showed herself willing to present a male adolescence in place of a female one sometime ago. She is bought and sold many times more. Her name for sale.
So I’m seeing a lot of criticism here on substack in which people say that they won’t even see the movie “Barbie” because Barbie the doll is responsible for eating disorders. I’ve even had someone cancel her subscription to my substack, WITHOUT READING EITHER OF MY PIECES ON “BARBIE” (she admitted to this), because of the damage the doll has done to little girls’ sense of self-worth. And she included a nasty comment to @Substack as the reason she was “disabling” her subscription.
I can tell you—as someone who has written about the tyranny of beauty ideals since the 1980’s, including an influential book and many articles and encyclopedia pieces on eating disorders—that refusing to see the movie “Barbie” because of the doll Barbie is like refusing to see Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” because of the damage racial stereotyping has done to Black people. Not to mention the fact that most girls who develop eating disorders nowadays aren’t trying to look like Barbie—they’re emulating the bodies of models and movie stars. (And often, it’s about something else entirely than trying to look a certain way.)
When I was still teaching, among the things that distressed me the most was the decline of the ability to discern tone and context, to recognize when something is being ironically or satirically referenced (or even deconstructed entirely) rather than advocated just because certain words or images appear.
“Barbie” is hilarious, offbeat, disarming—and yes, it does have a lot of beautiful women in it—but it’s not an advertisement for skinny bodies any more than any other movie with slender, gorgeous women in it is an advertisement for skinny bodies. And It’s a subversive deconstruction of gender roles at a time when none other than the Supreme Court is trying to make women revert to them.
And if you’re boycotting it because of the dolls Mattel will sell, please do the same for every boy-centered movie that’s made toy companies millions from action-figures…and by the way, toy guns.
OMG & LOL!!! 😂
May I never grow up to be so ignorant or closedminded as the person you refer to!!
While my first reaction to "a Barbie movie" was ho-hum, it took about 5 minutes (of reading) to realize it's not actually "a Barbie movie", and have my curiosity piqued enough to read a lot more.
I still haven't seen the movie for myself, my movie theater-sitting days are behind me (a lot more regrettable in regard to symphony and live theater than movies which will eventually be available in the comfort of my living room) but I sure look forward to it - especially to seeing it with my millennial daughter who had zero interest in the Barbies I loved and grew up with - just as we've done with every version of Little Women and Pride and Prejudice.
(Not so much with Cinderella or Snow White, but yes with Mulan and Moana - and not unrelated, Jane The Virgin.)
I saw the movie and I loved it. It is everything you say Susan and more. I loved that I was in a theater full of girls and their mothers and WOMEN. I loved that those little girls could see all of the things you point out . I am of the first "Barbie" generation. When I was playing with her I wasn't thinking it was making a difference but it was. I hated baby dolls and Easy Bake ovens and kitchen sets. As long as I can remember I knew there was more and Barbie let me run wild with my imagination. For me she's not some sexist thing but represented freedom from housewifery. I have always thought that a gender that is the majority should in its quest for equality have enough room for all women...including those of us who love fashion and heels and lipstick.
Didn’t you just love that beginning take-off on “2001”? The movie had me at that.
As someone who’s made a career studying pink, I know I need to see this movie, and I will, soon. I will admit to being uneasy about the consumerist contrail it is generating. Unavoidable, of course; consumer culture is American culture and vice versa. Thanks for a thoughtful take on what is sure to launch a thousand dissertations.
Career studying pink? Please explain, I’m so intrigued!
Two books and too many articles about gendered clothing since the early 1980s. That’s why a few days ago I commented that I was embarrassed I didn’t already know you. We’ve been toiling in adjacent rows in the same vineyard for some time. But probably not attending the same conferences. That’s the academy for you.
https://www.jbpaoletti.com/books.html
Jo your work looks interesting!
I was born in 1954 to a mother who used the excuse of not yet knowing my gender to request green and yellow layette items. Growing up with her feminist influence, before that term hit the headlines, was both fortuitous and challenging, in a world of pink and blue.
Well, yay Substack! Clearly we need to get better acquainted.
Wow, you are so right. Same vineyard. And if you’ve been writing since the early 1980’s, we can’t be that far apart in age either.
High school class of 1967; last ones to not be able to wear pants to school.
1964 for me.
I never get enough of your brilliant analyses, and this one, even though I haven't seen the movie yet, is off the charts! I haven't even seen it and I get it, thanks to you.
Exceptional! Can't wait for the next one!
Ramona, thank you so much. You’ve been a support and an inspiration since I started here on substack. And you write a great couple of substacks too. If I don’t comment as much as I want to and should, please forgive me—like you, I’ve had a hard, grief-filled few years lately and it’s taken all my energy to get back in the swing with my own writing.
I totally understand, Susan, and I could say the same thing. I don't always comment, either, mainly because I'm wowed by what you've written and I don't think I can add any more. Just know I'm a huge fan.
As for the grieving, we're in that together, too. It's a hard slog, some days better than others. I'm thankful for those better days and try to make the most of them. But it never goes away. That's what love does.
Susan, you’ve sold me-- this movie sounds both smart and adorable, a tough combination to pull off.
I’d like to say a word or two about Anthony Lane. The quotes you use from his review remind me of his Kill Bill review. I’ve found him a reliable puncturer of lazy Hollywood habits, very good on the subject of Evelyn Waugh, and the guy who said this about Yoda: “break me a fucking give.”
So, I love him, and he’s one of my favorite critics. Except when his snobbery means he misses what’s good and valuable about something that’s too closely related to lowbrow pop culture for him, and this Barbie review is apparently one of those reviews. He was so dismissive of Kill Bill that I avoided it for years. Eventually it came on cable and I loved it.
An aside: a movie like that is entirely a matter of taste. I can absolutely understand someone disliking it, or even hating it. But it’s a well-made film, a well-made trashy film by an artist who loves trashy films.
When Lane isn’t convinced by the taste or the philosophy of the artist, his critical evaluation skills go away; he just goes into erudite dunking land. That’s a land I enjoy when I don’t like the artist either, but it can be a problem. (Evelyn Waugh had similar pros and cons.)
I’m eager to hear what you think of it. If you don’t like it, I’m sure it will be for better, more interesting reasons than Anthony Lane.
I initially stayed away from Barbie. Was it the hype? Was it all that pink? Was it the slightly cringy trailer? IDK, but when I finally saw it, I was very, very pleasantly surprised. I think this movie was not only very well thought out, but also brilliantly executed. Cinq sur cinq. It may just be the 'Little Women' of our time.
I agree!
I loved this movie! It’s a savagely subversive movie dressed up in pink. Give women and girls credit for the ability to parse that this movie is actually parodying societal beauty standards. For proof of how strongly feminist Barbie and Greta Gerwig are - the reactions of the anti feminist bro’s. One of them set fire to a doll, ffs! Touched a lot of nerves. It’s because they realize that the movie absolutely nails toxic masculinity- they want to push you around and will sing that song to your face!
I laughed loudly several times, don’t deprive yourself of some good laughs. I’m going to the theater to see it again. That’s something I’ve only done once before . It’s FUN.
My biggest complaint: still setting the thermostat at “It’s a hundred degrees outside and I still need a sweater inside a movie theater” degrees.
Also, I’m thrilled that theaters are making money, Covid really hurt them financially, and that hoping that maybe this leads to more original movies for women.
Teri: I just took a break from writing and saw your comment which I loved so much that I had to see whether you’re a subscriber. And there you are, newly added to the list! So glad you’re here!
Got a new word for all of the bro’s reviewing the movie: 😆kensplainers!
Can’t wait to see this film. I really identified with all those contradictions. 😰
I think you’ll love it!
I absolutely loved the beginning. I actually chocked up. On one level it's a doll but the point was made.
My oldest daughter recommended it. She’s 25 and went with her boyfriend. You’d love it mum, it’s so feminist and quite dark. It’s subversive she said. She’s right, I might love it, I love the directors other work, so why not? Well, it’s the doll, and Mattel. Im not loving the ubiquitous brand name and colour all over london. Even as a child I thought Barbie was unnaturally odd and preferred wholesome, round faced Sindy instead. She joined me in climbing up furniture and trees, swimming in the bath with sharks and jumping out of first floor windows, (her not me, I was daring, not stupid). My youngest daughter, who was unimpressed with any dolls, became very Ill with anorexia, persuaded by social media and other complex reasons that she wanted to be thinner, with longer legs and bigger breasts. Sound familiar? She was not persuaded directly by the doll, nevertheless, the influencers who did persuade her universally had that look. It’s pervasive, insidious, it starts young and if this film encourages the sale of many thousands more of the dolls, no amount of ironic, self aware adult films are going to undermine the fact that the way the doll looks is unattainable naturally for 99.99% of young girls.
Suze: Thank you for posting this. I get it. But I have thoughts, in general, about not seeing the movie for this reason. If they sound harsh, know they are not intended for you, because you took the time to read my post and respond, and I appreciate that. But I’m going to copy them here in a separate comment and hope you’ll continue with BordoLines!!
As we used to say in NYC so many years ago, what is with you? This is a doll whose shape helps spread eating disorders. Anorexia kills and makes women miserable; so too bulimia. I see the orignal doll no longer has a smile of joyful compliance on her face, but is hard unfeeling expression a moral substitute? Greta Gerwig showed herself willing to present a male adolescence in place of a female one sometime ago. She is bought and sold many times more. Her name for sale.
Have you seen the movie, Ellen?
I admit no. My older daughter showed me the trailer and it appalled me.