Samantha Sollitto Journalism Portfolio

Behind all the pink and the glam that came with the absolute genius marketing, Barbie is a complex film that delves into the very thin line that separates childhood and adulthood. 

Barbie, even with all of her jobs and awards, is a child at heart. Margot Robbie demonstrates this unique innocence in her portrayal of “Stereotypical Barbie,” the one doll in BarbieLand with no real distinction or purpose. 

She believes that, because of how forward thinking Barbie was when she was first created, the doll has solved all issues of patriarchy and gender inequality in the real world. However, after her brief trip, she learns that nothing as simple as a doll could ever fix the years of mistreatment women have faced at the hands of the system.

America Ferrera, who plays Robbie’s Barbie’s human, is truly the heart of the film. Gloria is a mother who works as an executive assistant at Mattel headquarters. As her daughter has grown older, she fails to connect with her in the way they used to when she was a kid and she’s lonelier than ever. 

As Stereotypical Barbie fails to understand why she’s suddenly feeling depressed about life, Gloria is in the real world designing dolls that reflect this very human aspect of life. Yet, while Gloria thinks she’s doing it to create more progressive Barbies, it’s clear her true emotions are seeping into her work as she fails to grasp onto the extremely frayed relationship between her and her daughter. 

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach do a phenomenal job at displaying that childlike introduction to feminism through Stereotypical Barbie. While some might view Ferrera’s monologue scene as “surface-level thinking,” it’s just what the Barbies need to realize that the Kens don’t have control over them. 

Gerwig and Baumbach also expertly portray the destruction of men through the ideologies of the patriarchy. Men who were once kind and loving, turn on their female friends when they’re told that’s how they should act. If you don’t like him back, he has every right to try to ruin your life. How delightful.

Ryan Gosling’s Ken is a comedic yet deeply multifaceted exploration of this idea, as he slowly turns from an admirable on-looker in Barbie’s life to a destructive man who thinks Barbie owes him for not reciprocating the same romantic feelings he shares for her. But, you can’t blame Ken for this sudden change in behavior. It’s what he’s been shown by men in the real world.

Gosling delivers a beautifully emotional song called “I’m Just Ken,” singing about the treacherous misfortunes he, as Barbie’s accessory, must endure. While the song is as catchy as ever and Gosling has the voice of a gritty rock angel, it also makes the audience wonder why Ken thinks it’s Barbie’s job to fix and love him.

Women are not required to make men feel better about where they lack in life, encouraging them to keep trying and emphasizing that they are good enough. We are not Therapist Barbie.

Barbie, however, does an excellent job at clarifying this, while also apologizing for making Gosling’s Ken feel neglected. While she remains unapologetic about her feelings toward him, she helps him realize that he needs to be Ken without Barbie. If you define your whole life based on another person, are you really living for yourself?

Barbie is not just a film about a children’s toy. It’s a nuanced take on how women and men are both mistreated by the real world. While the Kens were only ever ignored in BarbieLand, women in the real world have to endure so much more at the hands of the patriarchy. 

The real highlight of the film happens within the last fifteen minutes when the creator of Barbie, Ruth Handler (played by Rhea Perlman) takes Barbie’s hands and shows her how wonderful womanhood truly is. 

With a breathtakingly emotional montage of women just being women while Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” emotionally destroys the viewer, Barbie finally understands what she wants to do with her life: go to the real world.

The Barbie movie doesn’t teach women to hate men or give them unrealistic expectations about career or life goals. Instead, it allows them to understand that it’s okay to feel sad and not know what you want to do with your life. 

I am not a physicist. I cannot do math nor do I have a Nobel Peace Prize in literature. I sleep when I’m sad and binge-watch hours worth of the same sitcom over and over again. But that doesn’t mean I’m not trying or that I’m not capable of being great.

Barbie is not about teaching women that they need to be successful in anything and everything they do. Barbie teaches women that they have a choice. They can do whatever they want.

The opening of the film praises the way the doll was able to steer away from the traditional housewife role that many dolls prior had forced young girls into. Yet, it never occurred to them that maybe some women want to be mothers. 

Or maybe, some women want to be able to feel unapologetically without having to explain themselves.

Or they want to be able to exist without having to be extraordinary. 

And that’s okay, too.