Few of us knew what to expect when Greta Gerwig announced she was taking on a film based on our beloved childhood toy, Barbie. When asked in an interview if the movie is intended for kids, lead star Margot Robbie—playing the role of “Stereotypical Barbie”— responded with, “[Barbie] was literally crafted for everyone.” We all collectively agreed we’d see a bunch of pink-wearing dolls, but aside from that, we were left in the dark.
Greta Gerwig is known for her ability to touch the hearts and souls of audiences throughout the world with her “mumblecore” films, which serve as a contemporary approach to showcasing a journey throughout an individual’s life in an authentic, almost low-budget lens to incorporate realism. The rawness Gerwig displays in her directing opened various doors for her to express her societal views on gender and equality, messages on these topics very often unfolding in her works, with some being Ladybird and Little Women. Based on her previous works full of meaning in every minute detail, it was made clear Barbie would be more than just a cute story with Margot Robbie younger girls will take their family to go see.
A connoisseur of everything Greta Gerwig, I counted the days excitedly until the film was released. I spent long hours sorting through the outfits I had assembled in my online shopping carts, a plethora of pink and pretty filling up my phone screen; awaiting the release consumed me. I was a big ball of jolts and jitters as I walked into the Cinemark, and I ended up with tissues and mascara stains walking out of it. As my family and I exited the movie room and the credits were rolling, I recall repeatedly stating as if in a trance, “That was phenomenal.” Barbie was everything I hoped it would be.
The film was hilariously tear-jerking. You want to simultaneously curl up in a ball to cry while dancing to Ken’s music number. I found myself at multiple times sobbing but then quickly transitioning into a full-gutted laugh. When Margot Robbie said it was “crafted for everyone,” what she meant was made crystal clear upon watching the movie: Barbie truly is crafted for everyone.
Gerwig targeted all audiences in this work of art. Her ability to make her film, which had been centered on a toy girls mainly grew up with, connected to not just women but men as well is astounding. The never-ending battle between genders in today’s society was portrayed in a literal and physical sense when the Kens waged war against the Barbies and was seen being reconciled through settling differences. Gerwig highlights the beauty of growing old during Stereotypical Barbie’s time in the real world where Barbie, in awe, tells an elderly woman on a bench (Barbie was not accustomed to seeing wrinkles) that she was beautiful. Gerwig was also able to validate the confusion people will universally feel throughout life with the scene at the end when Barbie was comforted by her creator in the light that she does not need to know who exactly she is as a person yet, and she can explore her essence herself.
At the end of the movie, everyone is left with the message “Barbie can be anything.” This translates to anyone, no matter the identity or stage in life, can be anything. At the end of every gender war, identity crisis, and discontentment over aging, we are human and are all experiencing this roller coaster. It is okay to be lost sometimes because that is life.
