Should you watch the Barbie movie? What I loved and hated about it, as a female pop culture fan

Growing up, I didn’t really play with Barbie. When I was five, I had an irrational fear of human-like dolls and associated Barbie with horror stories (creepy doll staring at you in the dark, anyone?). As a tween, I became aware that toy maker Mattel's most popular doll perpetuated unrealistic beauty standards for women. 

So when news of a Barbie movie surfaced, I wasn't interested at first – until the world exploded with all things pink aka Barbiecore. That, and the fact that Oscar-nominated director Greta Gerwig said the movie would be a “cultural reset” of what society understands of Barbie, the doll that’s been around for decades. 

A cultural icon around the world, Barbie was created in the 1950s as a toy for little girls. She started as a slim Caucasian with blonde hair but has evolved over the decades. Now, according to the Mattel website, there are almost 200 different Barbie dolls, with nine body types, 35 skin tones and 94 hairstyles.

Hollywood’s thirst for adaptations and remakes (think Mulan, The Little Mermaid, or not one, not two, but three Pinocchio movies in 2022) can get tiring, but the Barbie movie seemed original, unique, and bursting with femininity. It was hard not to be intrigued. 

For an unspoiled experience, I deliberately avoided finding out too much about the movie. I watched one trailer before seeing it in the cinema. On the night I watched it, my friends and I dressed up in Barbiecore, in solidarity with the doll.

(Spoilers ahead! You have been warned.)

THE SELF-AWARE JOKES ON WOMEN’S STRUGGLES WERE TIRESOME

Barbie starts off colourful and fun in Barbieland. A utopia where women – all named Barbie – rule all areas of life, from the Supreme Court to areas like medicine and literature. We are introduced to Barbieland through Stereotypical Barbie, played by Margot Robbie.

The colours and fun take a turn when Stereotypical Barbie starts becoming not-very-stereotypical. She wakes up with bad breath, is unable to walk in heels, has messy hair, and sees cellulite on her thighs – a true nightmare, and totally un-Barbie. 

This sets her on an adventure into the Real World, which becomes the start of a slew of jokes about the general experience of being a woman.

The film uses Hollywood’s current fascination with satire to shed light on the various issues women face in, well, the real world: Sexual harassment, male-dominated boardrooms (chaired by Will Ferrell’s himbo director), female empowerment, and the omnipresence of the patriarchy (led by Ryan Gosling’s Ken). 

The movie contained too many repeated references to women’s issues. As a result, the truly significant problems – such as women’s struggles with the patriarchy, misogyny, and the forms of oppression females face – were reduced to flat, one-dimensional jokes. 

I love a good comedic take on women’s issues, and I love highlighting gaps in gender justice with humour, but these were presented in an uninspiring, overused way in the Barbie movie.

The constant barrage of jokes about women’s struggles left me fatigued. And I was left to chuckle nervously. I kept thinking “I got that reference”, but without fully appreciating its implications.

RECOGNISING YOUR WORTH BEYOND OTHERS’ OPINIONS  

Looking past the irritating references and passable plot, I have to say that what the Barbie movie did deliver was a lovely and timeless take on valuing yourself. 

As she journeyed through Real World, Barbie learned to accept herself with all her flaws and finally put her interests before what others demanded of her.

I also resonated with Barbie when she discovers the pains and joys that come with being a human woman. 

During her adventure, Barbie comes to realise the many ideals imposed on her as a Barbie doll. The roles she once embraced, like being in love with Ken, symbolising female empowerment for others, and staying in Barbieland for playtime, no longer resonated with her.

This take on self-acceptance also extended to Ken, the male character in the Barbie movie. Ken, who simply pined for Barbie’s attention and only wanted “to beach” (which means going to and existing on the beach) learns to embrace himself to be “just Ken” after a comedic misadventure. 

Seeing both their transformations and in particular, Barbie’s decision to stay true to herself, were what I found to be the most touching parts of the movie. So much is expected from us as women, and these expectations come from everywhere and everyone (including other women). 

Perhaps, underneath all the overused jokes, the timeless lesson of self-acceptance and valuing ourselves is a much-needed – albeit classic – message to audiences of all ages, gender and background.

Barbie reminded me that sometimes, we just need to take a step back, reflect on our true worth, and pursue what we genuinely value without being caught up in other people’s opinions – something I never expected I would learn from a doll.

THE BEST PART OF BARBIE: THE EXPERIENCE OF WATCHING THE MOVIE

Did you see the throngs of people in pink at the cinemas last weekend, when the movie opened in Singapore? 

In a very meta-twist that has nothing to do with excessive humour, the movie brought women – and men – together in the real Real World by inspiring them to proudly embrace themselves and their unique takes on the colour pink. 

So many across the world, from celebrities like Billie Eilish to politicians like Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, embraced the #Barbiecore trend of watching Barbie with your friends dressed in all shades of pink.

My girlfriends and I couldn’t resist it either. We had made plans to watch Barbie months before its opening, and even excitedly shared in our group chats what our outfits were going to be. 

We wanted to reflect the fun and colour of the film set for the occasion and that honestly,  was the best part of catching the movie. As Aqua's song goes: Life in plastic can be pretty fantastic – even in our Real World.