I thought Ken's identity crisis wasn't about misandry or finding sympathy for him rather understanding the ways men are socialized to place their value in their ability to attract women as a result of patriarchy.
@@Angel_Auraa ken brought over a surface-level viewing of patriarchy to barbie though, without the long-term societal implications. it was making fun of hypermasculinity. at least, since the movie goes into a western view of patriarchy, it’s really difficult to make a critique of matriarchy considering the US doesn’t have that, but it uses pre-patriarchy Barbie to make a message of perfectionism. each barbie are in outstanding occupations and are each extraordinary, yet they don’t have individuality outside of that. they’re marked by their titles and only that, which is why it was such a big deal when stereotypical barbie was slowly becoming different. having a human enter barbieland introduced the ability to have flaws, because the world isn’t perfect and neither can the people living in it. both the barbies and kens struggled with these imposed roles but had to learn to steer from them differently.
But isnt that the thing people are complaining about the writers see 2+2 and come up with 17, if we lived in a matriarchal world a man would be taught to value the same thing, just by seeing womens reaction to a man most of the ones around him find attractive, people put value in what's valued
I think Barbie was at its best when it was going all-in with the existentialism and metahumor - there were a few moments where I felt my mind touch the void for a moment.
I actually took what Ken did to Barbieland and how Stereotypical Barbie got crushed under it as being representative of the internalized patriarchy so many women are indoctrinated into. The way to navigate through, or away from it is awareness and addressing how paradoxical hegemonic femininity is. The paradox gets further exacerbated given political identifiers you can fit into like race, class, body type whatever. I never took Gloria's speech as being a virtue signal, because it's something every woman has to process.. the fact that nothing they ever do will be right. But in addressing that scrutiny is unavoidable, there is freedom because that means you can do anything. Having the barbies regain their sense of self after addressing the biases they had internalized felt very intentional.
I think it made the MOST sense that Gloria, of all the characters, made that speech because she was definitely struggling up her hill. She has a corporate graphic design job only to be ignored and disrespected by the CEOs and her daughter. If the Issa Rae president Barbie made that speech, then yeah, it would be forced. Instead, we have Gloria, who has definitely let other forces take a hold of her, finally vent and release her thoughts.
Yes, it is about how girls start visualizing what womanhood is going to be like, and part of that is they are told they are going to be desirable to men, their power will come from the power they have over men.
i missed u! sidebar: did u peep Sasha? Sasha is intelligent, slightly cynical because of her recent education of societal ills, and effortlessly cool. She is a Bratz doll😊. it goes to show how Barbie and Bratz have different approaches toward feminism/gender politics.
Honestly I just appreciated the acknowledgment. Greta and Mattel could’ve easily shit on the bratz and play up negative criticism the bratz have gotten. But they really gave a decent nod and I think it was a good choice to make Sasha the one to make the modern criticisms of barbie
I'm not particularly feminine, but I didn't realize how much I missed having an icon of empowerment wrapped in cotton candy pink. I know they exist, but it made femininity feel like a valid option, when it usually doesn't. I came here thanks to the algorithm seeing me watch Verilie Bitchie's video. A pleasant surprise, indeed. 💞 Hooray discourse 💞
@@MegaMilencheNo, also critique on white feminism isn’t about hating white women. White feminism is feminism that isn’t intersexual, so only trying to uplift white women, or straight women ect. Ex: someone is a feminist but is racist and homophobic, they’re a white feminist.
@@MegaMilenche First two waves of feminism were only focused on white woman by the majority (I say majority because there were obviously some women who most definitely sided with their POC sisters but generally it was focused on white women)
I still need to catch the movie, but I have mixed feelings about this movie and Barbie as a cultural figure. Mattel and co. sure did a hell of a job of recuperation of the narrative of Barbie’s history and politics. We are in this odd space where people want both tradition and liberation and this movie plays off of that. I’ve personally been a bit bothered by how much conservative politic and cultural mores have begun to weave their way back into the culture, in particular for Gen Z and some millennials. Even the concepts of “hyperfemininity”/“traditional femininity” to me are limited and often are still promoting narrow and sometimes harmful concepts of femininity and womanhood. We can love the pink and enjoy those things society has demonized for being associated with women, but also don’t need to take on the oppressive and limiting politics that come with it.
Spot on, especially when u pointed out how ppl want both tradition and liberation. They indeed change a lot about the og Barbie “philosophy” to make it more palatable to the modern, more conscious viewer. And it worked
@@atlf3357 Again, it is okay for women to be traditional feminine. It is fine. Keeping some traditions is fine. Progressives need to lighten up and get the stick out of their butt. Again, demonizing femininity does not make you a feminist . It makes you the opposite actually.
Cotton Candy. The critique that is baked into this movie about Mattel is interesting because it's kind of just the first step. It is the step that a lot of companies do, but never really do anything more than that. This can then lead to things like pink washing and green washing. You know, acknowledgment of the problem is not a fixing of the problem. That's capitalism, baby! At the end of the day, they are a for-profit company. What would true repair look like to us? The fact is with the complexity and diversity of people, there is no one thing nor one answer
i haven't seen the movie yet, but this will 100% help me see it with another lenses than if i'd seen it without seeing this first! also, about Ken discovering himself away from Barbie, in his own terms, to me it feels a lot like the inverted story of the woman finding herself away from men, which i find very interesting. love the video, by the way!
"Any time there's a hierarchy, there's always going to be issues where everyone is impacted. Period. We all should be equal and we all should wear pink every day."
I love this conversation so much, my favorite moment being the discussion of how expectations for what it means to be a woman are set up to be unattainable, even if you try your hardest to reach the standard you will always fail in some way so we should all just do what we want with our own lives and how we present ourselves as long as it presents no harm. I’m also obsessed with the set and outfits 💗cotton candy dreamhouse perfect for Barbie lol thank you for this amazing video 💗💕
Cotton Candy ❤ I saw the movie over the weekend. It addresses feminism and Barbie's symbolism throughout the years. Sasha dragged her by her blonde edges 😭. It was such an honest way to address the critiques. Great video Herby!
💗 appreciate the critique. I felt as a cisgendered man it had one on the better… “digestible” introductions of feminism, patriarchal hierarchy and misandry without it getting academic or preachy. It was self aware in both recognizing Barbie being a feminine Rorschach test, and Mattel leveraging this as pure cash grab. While the message was poignant it wasn’t as chest thumping as the right claims it. I think Greta achieved something similar to only Ryan Coogler with Black Panther in walking the fine line of critique under a mass marketed film. My bigger interest is seeing how Mattel operates after this with Barbie and Ken after this success.
i just clicked on this video (suggested to me) and i just finished the scene where you're on the phone. i am so blown away by the timing in that video and you did it with no cuts lmao omg i hit subscribe for that. bless the barbie movie for showing me so many channels i haven't seen before
I appreciate the balance of F**cking slay me , and stimulating my mind with your amazing rhetoric The doll study - Mamie Clark Mm !! that would’ve been a huge conversation starter
What you said about kids with touchscreens is so true. I don't plan on becoming a parent but I can see how it is so much easier to hand your kid a tablet. Plus, when they go to school and other kids have them and want them too... Anyway, cotton candy ❤
Cotton Candy a hundred times over!!! Thank you for this video and for all your videos ever. I enjoy watching them so so much. And as for Barbie, I felt that Greta did not take on this project with the intention to address all the numerous issues that Barbie as a doll, as an idea and as a capitalist product have had on our society but with the intention to give as much nuance as she is capable of while still maintaining the pink, the fun and the silliness. And that's precisely why I loved it. If she had tried to delve into the experiences of women of color and the kind of misogyny we experience, it simply wouldn't have hit because that is not an experience she will ever have or fully comprehend. As a cis woman of color myself, I was not expecting to see my full experience of being a woman in this patriarchal world reflected on the screen but it was still a delight to walk into a cinema and feel seen because the movie was still packed with nuance that is far too often missing from other productions. I cried, I laughed and I felt seen and the movie kind of perfectly reflected what I feel towards Barbie: she will never fully represent my experiences but I can still fondly come back to her and recall a time in my life of imagination, discovering style and discovering womanhood, even if that womanhood was and is far more in favor towards people who have privileges I can never access.
Herby, I walk through life in a similar viewpoint as you (black gay nonbinary & amab) andi loved barbie as a kid, and I love this movie down. The movie was incredibly smart and thoughtful and made me feel seen, even as a non-woman. However, if Mattel were to address Barbie's problematic herstory and properly make an impact, it would have to double the length of this film. Personally I'd love to see any other film or series even where Mattel addresses it's issues and illustrates what they'll do to improve. Either way, the movie was incredibly smart marketing and I will be buying the soundtrack
cotton candy my 7 year old daughter loves to play with barbie dolls and playing barbiedream house on her ipad. we limit how long she plays per day although she’d prefer to be on it all day. we actively work to balance our analog and digital experiences as a family. 💗
no one talks enough about the anti indigenous sentiments throughout the film tbh. from the appropriation of cowboys to that comment about "it's just like smallpox!" when the kens took over barbieland with no indigenous people on set or in the writer's rooms. and YES, America ferrera is a white latina and perhaps she does have indigenous blood but being latin doesn't make you native American by proxy. they're very oppressed in latin America, to be perfectly honest.
Cotton candy. Lol I feel that Mattel, like Netflix, will let criticism of their brand as a way to get the consumers of their products to laugh at the hypocrisy/oppression that they produce to normalize their practices. Almost as a way to get ahead of any and all backlash, without having to change a thing.
I felt the exact same way about this movie like how are you gonna be aware of your white feminist perspective but still not do anything about it. Just show some black families in the montage and that’s enough.
Cotton candy. I walked away feeling like the whole movie was a white feminist Matel ad. I definitely appreciated the blatant and strong feminist stance but I still felt like the criticism was just made to make the Barbie franchise stronger in today’s age.
i do think that one of the scenes at the end of the movie pretty much sums up why mattel would agree to the portrayal of themselves. it when america ferrera asks if the can just make a regular barbie. wiull ferrell answers no but then the guy behinds he tells him it would make them a lot of money, so he agrees. they agreed because they understood how much money they were going to make from this movie.
I agree with you - obviously barbie is not in the clear but i think the movie did a good job about bringing up good discussion topics while still being a comedy
Cotton candy 🍭 And ugh yes, Amerikkka (also a modeling event I performed at.)is amazing at suggesting Just, Goodness , equality, giving us a sprinkle of representation in television and more broadly in politics and then sitting back like “Boom 💣.. we solved humanity” while the bandaid slowly comes off again because was anything ever truly fixed to create significant change… 🗣️No
Speaking as a teacher in an elementary school, the sense of imagination is GONE! I told my kids to come up with a tv show character, half of them drew spongebob and then asked for tablets
❤ Cotton Candy! Thank you for this critique. I won’t lie, I didn’t anticipate the layers and based on other articles thought it was a leap into feminism. You broke this out extremely thoughtfully and varied in regards to each experience. Thank you love!
Cotton candy. I had so much fun watching the film, but there were multiple points where I found myself questioning the motivations of Mattel for green-lighting it. At the end of the day, they are a company and their product is being marketed. It very much made me think of the current era of live-action Disney remakes where they want us to think they're in on the joke, but the brand remains king.
Cotton candy !! This is NEXT LEVEL ! I love the visuals and you hit every note ! You did your BIG ONE on this . Btw i love your wig 👀 the Baddest MF KEN EVEE 💕💕💕
One of the more insightful critiques I’ve seen of this film, especially when it comes to realistically looking at what a movie about a plastic doll can be expected to achieve.
I'm getting tired of big corporations like Disney or now Mattel showing how they're "in the joke" about the sexist business decisions they've taken over the years. Like, the CEO of Mattel is still actually a man.
This is my favorite video of yours. I love the set, I love the editing, I love Gay Ken, his thigh highs and twerking😂❤ Great conversation. I haven't seen the Barbje movie yet and this video made me decide to watch it TOMORROW
cotton candy! I liked the barbie movie but I’m happy that you said it’s a cash grab cuz it’s true. It’s a big endeavor by Mattel to save their company since being progressive is now kind of profitable! I appreciate the care that was put into the movie but I’m also baffled by the fact that Mattel thinks it can pass a commercial off as art. & it was THOROUGHLY white.. I also also didn’t like that they gave barbie a p*ssy at the end when she became a “real” woman 😬 sick of cis white feminism!
(pink heart) my partner is a straight cis brown man who's really excited to see barbie purely for the himbo aesthetic. I'm expecting it to have some good commentary but overall pretty white feminist, but ultimately I just want to finally use those free cineplex tickets my aunt gave me ages ago.
The pregnant (Midge) doll was real but was discontinued do to complaints that she would "encourage teen pregnancy." She was first introduced as Barbies friend and a teen doll at the time but was then later married to Alan, and then part of a family set.
i wonder if a rebrand of Barbie can revitalize the playfulness of the world. it is so true that we are moving toward a digitalized society. I felt a bit of progress with Laverne Cox’s barbie. I’d love to see more.
Yo, I love Cotton Candy! Thank you for the great nuanced commentary on this movie. It's really good to get a perspective that I don't have, so thank you for putting in the effort and time to make this video!
I was gonna go see the movie last night but I just ate a bunch of cotton candy instead. So glad I get to watch this video at home for free! Much love 💖💖💖
“You can wrap a lot of things up in comedy, and make a bitch swallow that pill!” Yaaaaaaaaaaas !!!! That statement right there is a very powerful evaluation of how to place a message in art.
This is the first video I've seen from you and looking at your other videos I wish I knew about you sooner. Great script, great vibes, great editing, great humor, great criticism. Thank you for putting so much care into your video I will be binge-watching your other stuff ^_^ 💓💓
Woke isn't always bad, either. It's just the internet stigmatizing the word. This time, the product actually turned out pretty good for once in my opinion 😅
1st..... Cotton Candy!!! 🩷 2nd... This WIG!!!! (throw it away 🤣🤣🤣🤣) 3rd... I appreciate your dive into this film. I will say as peen loving chocolate man, I have never related to Barbie nor have I ever understood the hype. But listening to this video did offer insight I hadn't considered before.
I love your production quality and on-camera charisma! I've been wanting to say this a few videos ago that I always leave your videos having learnt a new word and a great conversation with opinions that l seldomly disagree with. Love that! I haven't watched Barbie, will do so soon and then I'll come edit my reply...😅
The fact that they took ken to the real world instead of other Barbie’s really made the movie fall apart for me. I think Kens could’ve stayed the supporters to Barbie’s and been portrayed as competent and caring men but obviously not the main characters. I think taking a handful of Barbie’s to the real world and having them all collectively experience different forms of oppression and female experiences then the movie would’ve felt more feminist. By having one white barbie in the real world experience sexual harrassment, and being upstaged by ken later in the movie. I think by having not a single main character barbie would help too. Having each barbie experience something different but all equally female would allow the movie to dig more into the diversity of female inequality and feminism. And yes this would definitely a slower movie with less comedy because exposing sexists truths simply beyond ogling and talking over women is going to be far less comfortable of a conversation for general audiences. But I feel if Barbie wanted to have it’s diverse cast of women, it would need to show how the real world actually effects different women in different ways. Because if a trans barbie went to the real world, or a woman of color barbie went, the treatment would be different. It would be impossible to tackle every unique issue but allowing the audience to view how feminism is so much more than “successful men dominate successful women is bad and women are equal”. Even with the way weird barbie was treated by other women barbies it was clear it was a story about a singular white woman and her problems with women in society, than how all women face problems in society.
The vibe the aesthetic and the message of this video and all you’re video always leave me thinking and expanding my perspectives on different topics. You never disappoint or miss the mark keep doing yo shiit.💕💯
I absolutely love how much you talked about all of the nuance of the film!! I absolutely loved your Gay Ken persona, very iconic ;3! Your discussion about how this movie is not only targeting nostalgia, but is also trying to get Barbie back into the youth, who aren't as familiar with the physical dolls, was a new perspective I hadn't even thought about! Yes, it is a cash grab, and it's not perfect, but I think the fact it's managed to spark such important conversations about feminism, toxic masculinity, and the very concept of *identity* as a whole is incredibly prominent in itself. Of course, as a white, cis woman, I can't say anything on the racism or other lack of inclusivity from Barbie's history, or even how far the discussion should have gone in the actual film. Even as steps are taken to bring more demographics into the toy line, does that make up for the past or even present issues? We all have such different opinions on that, and some are more willing to forgive than others. To me, the Barbie movie is about identity. About how we are all put under the suffocating pressure of societal expectations. Whether it's being "wrong" as a woman no matter what you do, not being "enough" of a man for people to take you seriously, or even feeling like existing as a human being is "bad" due to emotions and aging... Barbie, to me, is about how it doesn't *matter* what society tries to tell us about ourselves. People aren't just concepts... they're far more complex, and far more wonderful than that. There is a beauty in being alive and discovering yourself throughout your life that *no one* should ever take away from you. And if you feel like someone has? Take it back. Or even remake it.
Honestly… how dare you have so much personality and charisma?! I’m over here genuinely entertained, engaged and hanging onto you ever word. Thank you for this :) Oh, and ‘cotton candy’!
Oooo love all the different locations and backgrounds! Okay production! I left the movie having had soo much fun and feeling like it did not do for me what it did for the group of cheering white women next to me 😂
Cotton candy!~😍 Excellent critiques on the film and how it misses certain aims (or why some of its' aims are just outlandish, like misandry being a target here?!). Love it, excited for more of your work!
Cotton candy: this was such a great video. I wanted to watch the film but get some insight before going in. This was perfect and spoiler free (for the most part)
Im not ready to see it because people have been crying during and after it. Ngl, the movie made me want to get a pink jeep like the one I had as a little girl with my own custom, airbrushed license plate with my name on it (which I still have). I don't need a red convertible mustang and a pink jeep wrangler.... but I'm gonna get it 💖💖 🤣🤣 Mushu needs a friend
@@Silly_u1908 It is! My first car was a red 2014 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited.... hated it. After a year it started to give me problems and in late October of last year I got my baby Mushu. I only had the Hyundai for a year. My mom called it a reckless purchase for a 21 year old but she was glad that I got rid of the Hyundai. For her to be so scared of my car and to call it a death trap, she sure doesn't mind riding in it sometimes 💀💀His repairs seem cheaper than a dang Hyundai hybrid!!
Barbie was quite hated and ridiculized at the early 2000s (Barbie Girl from Aqua was a hit), and I think Mattel has been trying to absorve these criticism upon Barbie and making a joke from it to make this brand survive. Not only Mattel did a "cover" of Barbie Girl with different lyrics for a Barbie commercial some years ago, now Nicki Minaj sampled Barbie Girl for the OST of Barbie the movie. About the film's plot, they made a list of every critic Barbie received, and laughed at it with this "comedy plot". I don't think Mattel is feminist nor self aware, I think they are fooling us for making us think they are our friends, and Barbie too. The truth is that Barbie is fabricated in poor countries by poor woman... How can that be feminist? It's a film made to sell Mattel products, we must not get confused by this corporation.
I should have watched your video before seeing the movie! Maybe I could have appreciated the story a bit more instead of being bored out of my mind. My daughter and I were hoping for a movie of blissful fluff, a reminder of the fun we had with the whole Barbie scene in her bedroom. I had even sewn Barbie clothes by hand! My 15 year old grandson said it best: “the movie could have been so much more, something people would want to watch over and over again, because there is a huge audience who loves Barbie”. Yup! By the way, I truly appreciated all the pinkness of your production. Pink rocks💕💕🌸
Cotton candy kisses for you my friend. As always you are doing your big one and it is a true joy to watch and soak up knowledge, critics and a good kiki. 😘😘😘😘😘
I love your channel!! Do you have an instagram so I can follow you and support you? You deserve wayyy more attention. You talk about such great topics and I love how you apply critical theory, intersectionality, and leftism and address gender, class, race, and queerness in all your takes.
I like thus movie a lot ngl, but I am open to people's critiques that arent from uH mUh GaHd WaHmEn HuRt MeH squad ... Bevause that's not actual critique, it's just standard fragility.
cotton candy! I loved the movie but I appreciate your critiques and thoughts so much! Thanks for adding to the dialogue! the information about play was so interesting and devastating to hear as a teacher. I'm glad I have the latitude as a kindergarten teacher to allow for more play during the day but still... sigh.💓
The transphobia surrounding this movie was just so goofy to me because Barbies don't even HAVE genitals (not that genitals are everything), so what are we even talking about? Also, to the best of my knowledge, she wasn't even playing a trans Barbie; she was just existing in a movie as an actress that happened to be trans. Idk if people know this, but actors aren't usually playing an exact version of themselves in their films, especially not when in a magical setting. Wild, I know
Cotton candy 🌼🌼 The way you speak about kids is healing and on point. I distinctly remember barbie and not being allowed to play with cars! I'm sending you lots of good vibes. 💖💖
