The Barbie Movie and Performative Feminism 

Barbie was enjoyable but I feel like so many people missed a crucial part of the movie. I feel like it clearly lines out that the oppressed(Kens) becoming the oppressor just ends up creating the same structure. It feels like a critique of girlboss feminism as some women think they can just replace the same structure. It makes me think of the common saying of ”If women were presidents and kings there would be no wars” which is just not how the world works. But I do agree that it’s all surface level and the self discovery plot and patriarchy plot feels very messy. It’s also like 2015 buzzfeed feminism.

I’d say the Barbie movie is a fairly good introduction to feminism. I can imagine a child watching this movie and coming out of it having learned something important. It’s flawed, and not particularly radical, but it’s a Blockbuster movie made by Mattel and Warner Bros., so I can’t say I’m shocked.

for me the film works best when read not as using Barbie to explore themes of feminism, but using themes of feminism to explore Barbie. the essence of Barbie is a cornucopia of contradiction because she’s a receptacle through which every single idea and political discourse can be articulated. the film works to evolve Barbie by letting her experience flaws and humanity for the first time, exposing the perfection of Barbie personified in sentient form to the contradictions that we perceive her with. it’s honestly best read (in my opinion at least) as a coming of age story for her, articulated through the relationship between dolls and the people who play with them.

I disagree with this take: I like the both Ken plot and the Barbies self discovery, because they play into the idea that Patriarchy as a whole hurts everyone, and that we are good enough as we are, we don't need to be defined by someone else. Ken was defined by Barbie and without her, he didn't feel good enough so when he saw the people like him in the Real World were in charge, it played into his insecurity of not being good enough as he was. Which is what Patriarchy teaches men. That he as a man deserves this that and the third thing simply for being a man. Barbie was defined by the girls that played with her and she didn't feel good enough without that. She even says it in the movie. She was defined by someone else. I Feel like Her apology to ken was more on that she took him (as a friend) for granted and made him feel insecure and that insecurity lead him to be vulnerable enough to fall for toxic masculinity. I don't think it was saying that women are the root of the problem in our world but since the Kens are the allegory for women in the Barbie land, and the Barbies are the men (in the sense that they control everything and the Kens don't have any say in anything) that the Barbies were the root of Kens insecurity, like Men are the root of women's insecurities which leads to jealousy and so on and so forth. I feel like if anything it was saying that Men (Barbie in this case) should apology for (Ken's) insecurity. TL;DR I feel like the movie while yes surface level, speaks on how Patriarchy is the root of our problems as a society. We're all victims of it to some degree. Men hating Men, Men hating Women, Women hating Women, and all the insecurities that comes with not feeling good enough. I feel like the movie is just telling us, they weren't aren't defined by our roles, or other people or our genders, but we are good enough as is. I feel like that's the true feminist message, that Patriarchy sucks for us all (not equally), and that we are all equally, good enough.

my first thought after watching it was:”this is a great intro to make girls and women realize that there is an issue”, the movie is so popular and so many people went and saw it and i come from a smaller town where feminism doesnt rlly crosses people’s minds and im just really happy that this might awaken some thoughts

as much as i loved the barbie movie i definitely agree with what you said about the deradicalizing barbies speech. it felt like basic stuff i’ve been hearing for years and i was surprised to see so many people acting like it was so innovative.

i've been waiting for people to review it that aren't just mad because they're misogynists, thanks grayson

I think another thing to keep in mind is that even with Greta Gerwig at the wheel, this film was still a brand film for Mattel. Mattel wasn't going to approve their IP being used in a way that really tore down their brand or made it look bad to consumers. I was actually surprised with how many "jabs" they were okay with taking, from the male CEO and C-levels jokes to being cast as the "villains" and chasing Barbie for part of the movie. For those reasons, I went into the Barbie movie expecting plastic feminism sold from the capitalist agenda and could be pleasantly surprised when it was trying to have real conversations, however "baby's first feminism" those conversations were. Also, my interpretation of the Kens and their situation was that feminism is not complete without including men/everyone in the conversation. Even in a world run by Barbies, it wasn't a perfect Utopia because part of the population wasn't being included. If this movie was meant to serve Feminism 101 talking points, one of those talking points is that feminism serves everyone, and breaking down gender roles benefits us all. But I'm curious if anyone else got that same interpretation.

I think the problem is that it was not really well executed in the movie as a whole, but the point was that patriarchy and equivalent power structures rob EVERYONE of their agency; I think it should have been made much more clear from the beginning of the movie how brutally dismissive of Ken Barbie was, without making a generalization, but I got all of that from when Barbie said “I don’t want you here”. It was a little bit clumsy, but I think the idea was that under Barbie, their world actually created a space where everyone COULD be an individual, whether they took the time to look into their own identity or not, and I like the idea that the Barbies, because they had worked so hard and built everything, had zero idea that the Kens had no individual identities. I think it’s important too, to remember that the whole point of the movie is that Barbieland is not supposed to be a real representation of feminism; it is genuinely supposed to be what it is in reality: a vision of feminism created for girls to give them an idea of how to construct their own identities in a world that is explicitly a patriarchy, and therefore has to be an extreme in order to convey any of that. The point at the end of the movie that I got was about Barbie apologizing for not realizing Ken’s individuality or really caring about it at all, and a commentary on incels just not taking the time to understand that they are responsible for their own agency, not women, and how they should just pursue their own genuine interests, not try to use patriarchy to brainwash women into wanting them because “that’s their right as a man”.

I read a tweet that said Barbie discovering feminism and America’s monologue are how a lot of young people first learn about feminism, and that makes sense because Barbie is a doll. This is her first introduction to any of these topics and nuances, so that’s why it may seem basic to us but it is groundbreaking to Barbie. Yeah, the movie itself isn’t saying anything brand new, but also there’s lots of other places to look for deeper feminist theory and writings. A Barbie movie may be a young girl’s intro to feminism and these ideas, but to older folks who have been studying it for a while, that’s not the case. As a Barbie kid and feminist, I adored the movie so much! 💖 the sets, costume, and acting were so good, and I really had so much fun and even cried lol.

from my point of view, the whole scene with ken crying about how he doesn’t know who he is without barbie was supposed to be a parallel to how women are expected to feel towards men. i think it was touching on the idea that women shouldn’t know how to be without a man. (but i am still confused abt what we are supposed to take from that)

To me, the overarching point was that patriarchy harms literally everyone. It was kind of a surface level exploration, but you can only fit in so much in a movie, so I think Barbie was a good overall critique of patriarchy and serves as a great jumping off point to greater conversations, and I hope we see more media that explores more nuances. I do wish Ken had apologized to Barbie at the end. I think the Kens deserved to have their issues acknowledged and apologized for, but the Barbies deserved even more of an apology for the Kens doing the patriarchy and stealing their houses and shit. I wonder if that was an oversight or if the filmmakers were trying to make a point with the lack of apology from Ken. I really loved this movie and I want more like it, especially if they're more nuanced

Ok so my biggest issues with the Barbie movie is that IT’S TOO CIS CENTERED!! They speak in entirely binary terms (men and women) while ignoring many other experiences outside of that. I’m a non-binary trans guy, as much as I tried to enjoy the movie, It just wasn’t written with me in mind. Trans masculinity is different from cis masculinity and I really wish ppl would specify when making critiques. I do have another issue with the movie’s seemingly anti masculine stance. Writing masculinity as inherently bad and femininity as inherently safe gives me the ick. It reminds me of how TERFS consider trans masc people traitors because they’re “joining the enemy.”(As if trans guys have the structural power to oppress cis women). And the ONLY man to become an accomplice to the Barbies is a man that’s more feminine than the others? Yikes- And I did not enjoy the analogy of Barbieland being the opposite of our patriarchal society. I interpreted the Ken’s to be the “women” of their society since they’re treated as second class citizens. So why are we as an audience supposed to be upset when the Kens rise up and take over? Why are we supposed to feel bad when the Barbies lose their power and are unable to mistreat the Kens?? To me, it reads as the movie inadvertently saying “if oppressed people rise and gain too much power, they’ll change society for the worse.” Overall I didn’t HATE the movie, I’d give it a solid 6.5/10. I would probably just not watch it again unless I was bored lol

I see the whole thing where the movie tries to make you feel pity for Ken thing as like a kind of reverse perspective for the male audience. Like I think it’s there to make men understand how women feel in the real world. Since in Barbie world it’s almost reversed, women run everything and men have to go greatly out of their way to get noticed. I don’t think it was there to give sympathy for men, then again some men who don’t have a good grasp of like critical thinking with themes of storytelling might go out of the film seeing it as like a sympathy for men kind of thing.

i don't agree that the kens don't get enough consequences in the movie. after the kens stop and ask for forgiveness, barbieland goes right back to status quo with the all-women congress, which is fine, i actually think that's funny, but i read a tweet (that i can't find now) talking about how the kens were seemingly homeless and, when you think about it, wouldn't that mean they were revolting for a legitimate reason? lol

I’m one of those adult doll collectors who dressed up in pink and brought their Barbies to the theater, and I genuinely felt worse about myself leaving than I did going in. I was excited to see how they’d address the obvious misconception that Barbie being perfect fixed feminism, but by the end I felt like we’d been slapped with several different serious cultural issues with the only solutions boiling down to “actually just love yourself”. Being called out on screen by a teenager for being a victim of consumerism was a funny gut punch, but there was never a point in the Barbie movie where I ever felt good about having bought into the hype of Barbie. Instead I sat questioning why I’m okay celebrating their current surface level inclusivity, doubting whether or not anyone meant to be inspired by the dolls actually sees value in them, and wondering whether the movie hated Barbie or Ken or Mattel or Me.

i thought the movie was more focused on the arbitrary attachment of labels and the staggering weights attributed to them. i think it's definitely shown in the ken subplot where the entire conflict is stereotypical ken prescribing the first "definition" of a man he can to himself (first 'barbie's partner', then 'horse-riding leader'), but it's a lot more interesting in barbie's arc where she struggles with the existentialism of being literally labeled "stereotype" and leaves barbieland by embracing the individuality and variability that is necessary to really be alive (particularly with gender identity and womanhood). idk i didn't really think the apology barbie gives to ken was an implication of guilt for women in the real world; i thought it was an acknowledgement of how that society holds back individuals by whittling them down to superficial roles and titles

I watched barbie yesterday with my mom and sister, it was a fun time honestly. As a young man I got the surface level messages about the patriarchy and women empowerment. I do think it should have gone further and challenged the modern landscape of roles, expectations, creator's impact on others and their idea etc. Barbie's arc of becoming a creator rather than an idea was sweet but I would've loved to explore the humanity she discovers by the end. There are moments where Barbie appreciates life and that montage near the end had me in tears.

About the writer/actor’s strike: If you were accepting a sponsorship from the Barbie movie or another media project/group, THAT would make you a scab. Just doing your job accepting sponsors from non-Hollywood companies is fine. I would suggest looking it up as there are a ton of q&a’s regarding online content creators who review movies!!

i too felt like this movie was very intro to feminism. after hearing that so many ppl thought it was a man hating movie and that americas speech was sooo moving i thought it was simply going to be more. like every time someone said something feminist it felt like they were saying unfinished thoughts i wished they would’ve looked a little deeper into feminism but ultimately this movie isn’t just for adults so i understand and i definitely think that it’ll probably spark a lot of young girls interest in feminism

personally, i loved it, and it definitely evoked strong feelings about being a woman (barbie is also one of my special interests, so im biased). but, i think it's definitely more of a "baby's first feminism" film.

Grayson wearing Izzzyzzz's rawrxd jacket is the crossover I didn't know I needed

The main thing I think you're missing/forgetting is that in Barbieland, the Barbies are the oppressors and the Kens are the oppressed - Barbies take the societal place of men within the movie which should be considered when you're talking about the uprising of the Kens and the end conclusion of said uprising. It's still obviously bad that the Kens choose patriarchy over equality and it is treated as such which is why in the conclusion it's explicitly stated that patriarchy harmed the Kens too, but the reason it's the Barbies apologising to the Kens is because within Barbieland, the Barbies are the men who are apologising to the Kens - taking the place of the women - for underappreciating them etc etc you saw the scene. The rest of your criticisms are pretty much spot on, the messaging was definitely very subdued although I felt it was that way to appeal to a wider audience, particularly men, and if it was too hard on the "man-hating" feminism that demographic would not have been reached nearly as widely as it was but it did mean it felt a little watered down and surface level. There was definitely a choice made to explore more messages with less depth than pick one and run deep with it, which kind of makes sense for Barbie, Barbie does everything so I feel like with the choice to do more but shallow or do less but deep, it makes more sense to pick the former. I loved the movie, it's certainly up there with some of my favourite movies, it's really funny, it's beautiful visually, and I do think the messaging worked even if it wasn't as hard hitting as it could have been. All in all it's flawed as all movies are and I don't think its flaws take away too much from the movie or what it's trying to accomplish.

i loved the movie but my biggest critique coming out of the theater was that the "message" was very muddled with other side plot messages and it felt like i was being bombarded with information. It was patriarchy vs matriarchy, but also the woman experience, but also the human experience? but also mother daughter relationships?? but also-

I mean, I know what it says is kinda basic feminism 101 but many people didn't actually get the feminism 101 "lessons", thats why I feel like spelling it out bluntly works in a way, and even then, people are still not getting it. It could be argued that those superficial aspects are part of the characters acting like children are playing with them, and I think its kind of on brand to be superficial about it. This will probably be a lot of girls' first exposure to feminism (I know its technically not for kids but I saw so many little girls at the theater), maybe even other grown ups who never paid much thought to it, and very much like Barbie, plant that seed of feminism in the same way Barbie was originally made to inspire little girls to be whatever they want and how that may have infiltrated the culture and popularized those thoughts. Very befitting of Barbie to be those things simultaneously.

I think a lot of the feminism was aimed at women who are moderate/conservative cuz they are very surface level, and then validate the basic leftist values or smth like that. As in affirm and introduce instead of explore. Which just is a different function

Spoilers. For me the part I was confused about, and maybe I misunderstood something somewhere and then got caught in that train of thought, but I thought they were comparing the Kens to women in the real world. Like for instance one of the brain washed Barbies says something like "Oh yeah I love being just decoration" which is exactly Ken's whole problem. He feels like nothing more than an accessory to Barbie because he literally is. But then it's even worse for Kens in that world than real world women by the movie's own words, like I think they imply the Kens are all homeless? The line at the end was literally something like "Eventually the Kens will have as much power as women do in the real world." Which doesn't immediately sound like the most feminist sentiment, but I think that's the point? The big conclusion to that whole side of the story is that the Kens are allowed one representative at a vague and expressly low level position in government somewhere and the Kens are happy with that. Like they literally give them just enough power to keep the oppressed from rising up and I don't know what that means? Is that a good thing? Was the movie criticizing the Barbie Land government? Everyone seemed pretty happy with that and I feel like I'm truly just missing something to make it make sense. I think there might just be some dissonance where it felt like a happy ending where things were resolved, but the issues of oppression and objectification of the people who were seemingly outlined as the stand-in for real world women in the supposedly idealistic Barbie Land universe are allowed without explicit critique to continue with only a vague promise that eventually things will get to the point that they are in our world, even though the whole movie has been explaining how bad our world can be.

Oh my gosh I was so excited to see your review and I have to say, it is SO NICE seeing someone else critiquing the film, and not in a "I hate women this movie is anti-man" way. I think what really stood out to me about Barbie is the plot going on with Sasha/the daughter, how they portray her in the movie, and especially her clothing/costuming throughout her character arc. Seeing the angry, tomboyish, "emo" Latina tween was like looking at myself from 8th grade. Especially in Euro-American media, seeing any representation of a gender non-conforming Latina (especially coming from a mixed household!) is incredibly difficult to find. And AS a mixed, gnc Latina, it made me sooo sad to see her's and her mother's plots steamrolled by the Ken plot. I just felt like they got pushed aside to make room for Ken and his... Kendom. But specifically with Sasha, they portrayed her hatred of Barbie (and what she represents as a gender-stereotype-conforming, traditionally attractive White woman) as childish and unreasonable (the fascist comment). They specifically use her clothing throughout the movie to show her transitioning from a "sad, emo, woman-hating, unfeminine girl" (the dark colors, "woke" attitude, baggy pants and shirts, no makeup) to a "happy, smiling, pink-wearing, frilly, feminine girl" (the fluffy, hot pink dress in the barbieland scene, with makeup and jewelry, and nicely done hair, no longer speaking as much, bright colors in the real world). I read this as molding her into gender conformity, and positioning the idea that you cannot be gender non-conforming AND enjoy traditionally feminine things. This in particular irritated me because obviously it isn't true. This is an internal struggle that I experienced growing up as a Queer, gnc Latina who adores traditionally feminine things, and seeing it happen on-screen with the exact opposite conclusion I came to was frustrating. Seeing Sasha become silenced (seriously, does she even talk after they leave Barbieland besides the 2-sentence argument with her dad about his Spanish?) and the way that they portrayed gender non-conforming presentation and feminine interests as fundamentally incompatable made me so mad that I am sitting here writing an incredibly long youtube comment about it, 36 hours after seeing the movie. Anyways, thank you for providing a space where criticism and discussion can actually happen.

I think the lack of deep deep feminist discussion was more for an audience that may be new to these topics. No it didnt have the nuance of Wollstonecraft, but its a Barbie movie for kids, dumb men, and smart women ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I loved it btw 5/5 Edit: and dumb women and smart men too. We all gotta start somewhere

It's amazing how much depth a seemingly light-hearted film can have😵‍💫

I felt bad for the Kens no one loved or cared about them they were the "women" in this movie. No happy ending for the unloved or lower class in barbieland.

One thread that was left unfinished in my mind is... the Mattel execs were dolls too, right? Like, almost everyone in that building seemed to be operating on the same sort of logic that we saw the outside world DOESN'T run on. The weird sort of assumed vision, some absurd hivemind tendencies. The esoteric structure of the building. Even the ominous threat of "death" when Aaron (?) went to tell the CEO about the escaped Barbie. If it had been the wrong call, would Aaron have wound up "in the box"? Was there supposed to be some sort of commentary that we collectively invent these corporations in the same way children invented Barbieland? That they are just functioning on the logic we ascribe to them? Overall, I did love the movie. I thought it did ENOUGH, but it is sort of "Baby's first feminism" level rhetoric. Still, I think that has a place. It was still a solid movie just as a MOVIE, which helps a lot. And I get all your criticisms and objections. You're not wrong. It just didn't hit me the same way.

Thank you for articulating my main problem with the movie. However I was unsurprised because mainstream Hollywood and the Mattel corporation were never going produce a meaningful critique of the system.

Thank you for the safe space! Because I agree. I feel like there was a lot of “tell not show”. Particularly when America Ferrera’s character went on that whole feminist rant, I had the exact same thoughts of “and…?” Like I know women are treated badly. I thought the movie would be a little more clever with that message and get to leave the theatre really thinking abt what I had watched and not feeling like I had been talked down to. Also same goes for the whole learning to be human theme - Barbie at one point says: “Being Human sounds so hard.” And like yeah it is. They didn’t really do much to convince me it was worth it though??

While I disagree with a lot of your takes on movies as a whole (except Batman), I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and I’m glad you aren’t afraid to have unpopular/different opinions. Love you and your content, Grayson ❤️

I think the idea of a level-one feminism doesn't always play out as you describe. Women can be, at some point in their life, or in some contexts, aware of the depth of misogynist oppression but just, you know, not want to think about it all the time because it's depressing and society is really good at pulling the focus. So maybe a straight/bi/pan woman knows about the "He wants you to be his mother but doesn't want you to remind him of his mother" phenomenon, but they end up with a guy like that because society is telling them that being in a relationship is super important, and a bunch of guys have the same flaws, so it's just normalized, and it takes someone going back to fundamentals and actually repeating what they already know to them for them to be like oh yeah why am I putting up with this? Like the whole concept of Barbie rejecting this perfect relationship with Ken without any sort of concrete reason is radical in and of itself. To me, the takeaway for the viewer is a sort of "Barbie mindset" epitomized by the statistic that married women aren't as happy as single women, but married men are happier than single men. The idea of "don't settle" is so boring and level-one, but feminist women still settle all the time (which can have really disastrous consequences for them and their children down the line), and it's worth reminding them that settling isn't worth it in a way that's not going to make them depressed for two hours.

Grayson!! i have been thinking similar things but this is my theory/thoughts about why this happened: I think that the majorly the flaws of the movie overall are a result of studio/ exec meddling as it was intended for a WIIIIIDE release and for the broadest possible audience so the whole thing was de-clawed and “dumbed down” from what Greta originally intended. I feel like this is really evident in the narration style, heavy HEAVY exposition, and the fact that even the most basic themes/ideas are explicitly spelled out over and over again- I think that despite the fact that modern audiences are the most cinema literate they’ve ever been, studios still under-estimate their ability to understand movies and ideas… sad. In saying that, as a woman student cinematographer it did feel pretty bad to watch the credits and see that less than 20% camera, lighting, and sound departments were women… interesting…

completely agree. my biggest problem with the movie is the end. the movie feels very unresolved as the Barbie’s end up in the same situation they were in before the Ken’s took over, by literally manipulating and emotionally terrorizing all the Ken’s before the ‘vote’. felt a bit off and not feminist at all lol anywho, great review and video!

i loved the movie for what it was but i agree the plot was ~lukewarm~ at best, confusing at worst. And that was hard bc i looked forward to this movie all year. I think its good to look at things you love critically tho. Thanks for sharing your thoughts grayson!

Ben Shapiro is going to have to repair his house from all that flood damage, he shed many tears😢😢😢

My boss watched this movie and he commented respectfully on misogyny and the patriarchy in an intelligent way and I had this need to praise him cause I've been around toxic men who don't even think sexism even exists. Like...that has turned into the bare minimum.

I really appricate you always talking about disabled representation, your words in the idol video meant so much to me, as a chronically disabled person myself with an invisible chronic illness ur support towards people like me always makes me tear up:’) ur vids r my fav

omg the izzzyizzz jacket!!! so glad I was able to get one it's so silly

I really liked it but I can see how people had issues with it. However I saw Oppenheimer before it so it made this movie 10x better after sitting through that

The ending message from Barbie is a great lens to watch the movie from in terms of feminism: She wants to be part of the creation, not the product created. She doesn't want to be the idea, she wants to do the thinking. This whole movie she goes through the stages of autonomy and self-realisation in a parallel way (IMO) to when some women grow up past the social structures of school and become really aware of their free will, what they actually WANT to do, rather than what they have to do. Through Barbie the doll, so many roles and outfits and personalities are put through her, depending on the decade, wave of feminism, and whatever brand wants their name on her. It is similar to the archetypes of women - all contradictory and alluring at once. As one being, it would be a jumbled mess. I agree the ways they did it through America and Sasha as the mentor figures were messy, but I think the message of the movie still works and I really do believe it is slightly beyond surface level feminism in my eyes! Maybe not compared to other Gerwig movies, but thinking of ways this could have been a girlboss, body positive to the laziest degree, 'Barbie's not perfect!' shill, I was pleasantly surprised they leaned into the girlhood, coming of age angle using Barbie AS the mold for every girl growing up, angle instead!

I agree with you on a lot of points that the movie was kind of surface level for me. I am kind of thinking of it as a gateway for people to understand feminism better. I think it’s like important for that to be seen on like a main stream scale, but I definitely think this movie could’ve improved in the way that they handle that and definitely been way more intersectional cause I did not handle race or like disability or anything at all.

I think I might be way off, but I think that how it ends with Barbie apologizing showed how irl women often have to play out that exact scenario where they talk a man off the ledge when it’s not her responsibility. I think that’s why it’s so overdone ex/ Ken acts like he’s gonna jump off a ledge etc. I think it was satirical and showing how women even just imagery and imaginary women have to act out these situations.

This film was unexpected. I thought I was gonna watch a goofy satire movie about Barbie. And I did but with a much more meaningful and positive message. I really like it. Also Greta gerwig getting hate from Snyder cult because of the joke……😑 really? It’s a joke and wasn’t even that offensive. Get over it. I’m a fan of the movie and I laugh my ass off of that joke.

honestly really agree with the whole surface level thing. i liked the movie, but felt like it was either not subtle enough or too in your face while being very surface level. they could've went up a notch and made it more prominent or more subtle

The point you made that i agreed with is the comment about the clothing and i remember thinking when watching it that it was a bit stereotypical. Also with barbies apology to ken at the end i saw that as her apologising for not properly treating him initially as an individual and the film adressing how everyone deserves to be seen as their own person regardless of gender. But i do 100% understand the point you made about I did think the film was a fun but messy comedy that explored gender issues which isn't usually seen in a film of this size

Hey Grayson, if you haven’t seen the video “men” by contrapoints I highly recommend it, for me it was eye opening on a lot of issues when it comes to patriarchy.

the barbie movie may be messy and not particularly groundbreaking, but i enjoyed it. i liked the part where barbie told the old lady at the bus stop that she was beautiful, and i liked the staff's home videos at the end. but most of all, i like that it opened up a deeper conversation about feminism and patriarchy between me and a close female friend of mine who i went with. we bonded heavily over our experiences afterwards, and even if the movie itself was quite surface level, i'm grateful for what came out of it for me and my friend.

I absolutrly agree with everything you said especially about the apology to Ken at the end I had the same thought of “is this the message we want to send?” That it’s her job to make him feel better when he destroyed Barbie land? I also 100% agree with how Surface level the feminist talk was. Like I expected it going in cause you can tell the lighthearted tone but like you said the audience is almost entirely women who were most likely aware of all of these things by 12 years old. MY other biggest criticism which I would’ve liked you to touch on too was the lack of intersectionality? America is a Latina woman, they MADE that casting choice, and there was absolutely no effort made to discuss the ways Patriarchy affects her in ways that it doesn’t affect white women. There was such obvious potential in the reprogramming scene with President Barbie, a Black woman, to talk at ALL about the double standards and extra weight women of color have to carry.

Unpopular opinion: I think the Barbie Movie didn’t just discussed and showcased feminism but also individualism, autonomy and self actualization. In some parts of the movie there is abundance of feminism and woke movement especially during the barbies being brought out to trance. But I think that self actualization is abundant in the part of barbie conversing with Ruth Handler at the end AND also Ken finding out that he isn’t defined by this notion of being a lover to a main character or even by patriarchy and I think the magnitude of both Barbie and Ken’s ‘Spiritual Awakening’ is what I really find enchanting and entrancing in the movie. So I don’t necessarily believe that Ken is overshadowing Barbie or that the movie failed to deliver a more accurate representation of what true feminism is or is not anti-men enough, but I do believe that the movie really did a 100/100 perfect job in discussing about individualism and self actualization and giving of the message of “you are not the socially ingrained ideals and movements but a precious unique complex soul worth a million of potential.”

i think if you keep in mind it probably IS supposed to be intro to feminism 101 for the tween/teen girls in the theater who've been thinking the exact thoughts but arent sure how to articulate it. i remember seeing an article where greta gerwig was talking about how stereotypical Barbie's journey throughout the movie is supposed to mirror the experiences growing up and going through puberty as a girl, and when you think about how barbie reacts to all the injustices she faces and acts like a pouty brat back in barbieworld after the kens take over and gives up, imagining her having the thought process of a tween makes it . make sense? idk. i agree with a lot of the stuff you've talked about, especially how the ending's message is confusing. this was a run on but yeah

I loved the movie, though I wish they kept the healthy relationship that Ken and Barbie had in things like Barbie life in the dreamhouse because for me that helped me structure what a good relationship could be, both loved each other and helped one another, Ken and Barbie were their own people, Ken had a house and a car and Barbie had her dreamhouse and her car too💋 i think I just wanted that series as a movie tho 😭 and I think Ken was out of character bc I know for a fact he would not do that to Barbie with the whole patriarchy shizz he loves her too much for that For me it was more enjoyable thinking of different characters for the movie instead of Ken and Barbie, still liked the movie tho and the atmosphere with everyone in hot pink playing into the bit was so nice 😭😭

I disagree. In barbieland, the Kens don’t get to have any agency. They are the cheerleaders, they hold no power. They were literally created to only feel worth if they get attention from barbie. You see ken literally has no skill, he only can’t just beach. The reason barbie apologizes is not because as a women she should be great full for Ken. But that as his friend she neglected him. I think as his friend she was apologizing for taking him for granted. Just my thoughts. Great Video

Thanks for a fair review. I liked it A LOT lol

rlly disappointed that america ferreras character didn’t rlly have much going on other than being the one responsible for introducing barbie (clueless/white/privileged) to the concept of misogyny/feminism w no mention of how these experiences vary based on race/class/identity. her character is also directly responsible for the majority of the plot, but her personal issues are barely addressed. kind of tired of poc being expected to educate white ppl on how oppression works lol.

Yes!!!! I felt pretty uncomfortable and disappointed when I left the theatre. It was a really good movie either way but I had REALLY HIGH expectations for it and this was just...eh. It left me feeling very disillusioned, very simple feminism and tbh clearly this movie is very much a product of capitalism WHICH I KNEW OBVIOUSLY but idk... I enjoyed it overall it's funny and made good points but it just disappointed me idk... It does feel very isolating cuz I see EVERYONE loving it so much, but it felt so simplistic for me...

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thank you for this thoughtful review!! i was trying to put my finger on why the movie made me somewhat uncomfy and you hit the nail on the head

a couple days ago i was saying in ig comments that this movie wasn’t good because of it’s poor + lazy writing and neolib white feminist messaging and ppl (most of them white girls) were attacking me for not liking this movie. i didn’t even come into it wanting to hate it; i was really excited to see it! although i wish just generally that i could synthesize my thoughts about this movie better, but i completely checked out when the middle-schooler called barbie a fascist and i am NOT rewatching this movie. i’m glad to see other ppl w bigger platforms bringing criticism to barbie besides the misogynistic shit, so thank you grayson!

i think that ken learning about the patriarchy and bringing that idea back to the other kens was a message on how young boys can so easily go down the alt right pipeline and how destructive that can be, especially when they share those ideas with others, so I think that ken being redeemed at the end was to show that 1 he was also a victim of the patriarchy as well and 2 that it's never too late for these kids or Ken to realize their mistakes. Also, America Ferrera's character's speech being very simple and nothing really groundbreaking is honesty fine, because that not what the speech was meant to be, it was meant to teach barbies about societal norms that women/barbie have to face, the barbies have never had to deal with anything like that before so obviously the speech wasnt anything revolutionary.

I agree grayson. i think the movie definitely centered mens learning over womens catharsis. we know we live in a patriarchy , we know why the issues are issues. i just wish it was more catered towards women and focused more on the barbie plot line than ken. it’s like they had to coddle kens ego until the end and that was really annoying. i did really like the movie but certain things just didn’t sit right with me. i’m tired of women being oppressed in media to force empathy out of men.

I agree with a lot of your critique of this movie! I feel like I personally didn’t take away much from the feminist messaging because most of it is surface-level. However, I feel like this could be a good movie for younger audiences/ audiences who are new to feminism, to introduce them to VERY base line feminist ideals. On other note, when the movie tackles more serious issues like the patriarchy, Barbie becoming human, what it means to be a woman etc, I found it to be a lot less impactful due to the goofy nature of the movie. Not sure if anyone else experienced this. One minute I’m giggling at a doll joke and then the next I’m listening to a speech about what it means to be a woman. (not to mention the speeches were a lot less impactful because most of the rhetoric I’m already aware of) and it doesn’t sway me as much as it was supposed to. Overall I really liked the movie and want to see it again with my family. I’d give it a thumbs up. Having a feeling it will live on as an iconic movie.

queer people might know how there are some queer movies that feel like they are made for a straight audience, love simon often gets that critique and i agree, Barbie feels like a "girly" movie that was actually for men, to teach men the basics of feminism in a way that isnt to offencive to them, like women are people and maybe people are mean to them sometimes, it feels like the bare minimum take

When I watched the movie yesterday, the moment America Ferrera did her speech, you could hear a pin drop. It was that quiet! That was one of the best highlights of the film for me

I loved the movie! I have to disagree with you on Ken! I actually really liked Ken's story. I read his plot as a "how does it feel to be treated less" kind of story because in Barbie World, the Kens are rarely given a voice vs the real world where men dominate every industry and women have to fight to be heard. The Kens in Barbie's world are put in the women's shoes while the Barbies dominate every part of her plastic world. The best part of the movie is when Barbie actually starts to experience flaws and emotions. I also disagree with you on Barbie having to apologize to Ken because when Ken emotionally opens up to her about being made to feel like he's not worthy without his girlfriend, Barbie realizes how dismissive she was of him. I think it made sense for her to feel awful. Not saying that she needs to lower herself, but when she realized how unfair she was to Ken, it gave her that sudden realization that this patriarchy does not help men either. Also, Ken feeling less worthy without a girl shows the men how they would feel if they had to deal with these impossible standards that we women do. At least, that's how I viewed it...

The movie was fun and mostly because of the visuals, and the first part of the movie was awesome (before Barbie talks to the teenagers). I feel like the movie was trying to please everyone and ended up saying nothing of real substance. We never have to see the Kens or the Mattel people as real antagonists, as if patriarchy is just an idea and no one is to blame for it, except maybe Barbie for giving girls unrealistic body standards... but what about those who have the power to create products like Barbie? And for me it didn't feel justified that Barbie wanted to be part of the real world because we only see her experiencing sexism, we don't even see her having fun! just the small interaction with the old lady... Anyway, I felt that it was an attempt to make consumers not feel bad about buying Barbies for their kids because now she's a feminist! I loved Greta's past movies and I thought she was going to make an existencial movie, maybe Barbie discovering the concept of mortality... or why not realizing she could have never liked Ken because she likes Barbies :P Thanks for your video! You have a new subscriber :)

my love for greta gerwig is so deep and intense that she could make a movie about paint drying on a wall and i would see it in 70mm opening night and call it a modern masterpiece

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I was so ready to like it that I actually had to sit myself and understand what didn't meet the standard I had for this movie in my head. It left me wanting MORE. I couldn't really place if I even should be expecting more from a comedy or if I had missed the point? I love how you worded it, I agree. I think we were not the target audience as people that already have a 'deeper' understanding of these topic (yes I enjoyed most of it and cracked at most of the jokes) but it didn't change or push forward my vision as much. BUT I feel like the Barbie movie may lead the way for some future discussion about feminism, even in the form of a movie. Maybe Greta wanted it to be fun and accessible rather than groundbreaking. But oh am i delighted that it makes men ranting about the movie look like whining children

i personally didn’t emotionally connect with the movie or think it was anything groundbreaking, but i also don’t think that was the point. i feel like it was just fun movie with a basic message of wooo feminism and doesn’t have to be deeper than that. for the themes, imo i didn’t really feel that with the ken theme, what I took away from it is that patriarchy hurts everyone and at the end of the day to be kind to everyone regardless of gender. basic equality “we are all equal” stuff

The only part I cried at was the start when the little girls started breaking their baby dolls 😭😭

You’re not alone!! This is exactly how I felt walking out of the movie last night. I had a lot of fun with it, and I’d watch it again, but some of the things it seemed to be communicating felt just… incorrect.

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Haven’t seen the film but the unnecessary hate is just stupid. I miss those days when everyone enjoyed movies.

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i see that grievance and appreciate that you acknowledge that it's just never enough. but on the bright side, it gives women a reminder of their feminism, a moment to collectively join together an bond, and for those who are less versed in their inner feminism a feeling, some words, and validation in their first steps towards feminism.

Loved the video and hope you start feeling better or conversely find some satisfaction in your sadness. I do a little of both, you can’t feel great all the time when you’ve survived trauma but at least you can acknowledge it and not let it eat everything good by ignoring it.

I thought the exact same thing abt the speech they used to get barbie’s out of the trance, like I felt like i’ve heard the same speech 10,000 times

I agree there’s a lot of surface level stuff but I think part of the reason such a small thing breaks out the Barbie’s is cause they never experienced patriarchy before and not having the words to express how they feel made it nearly impossible for them to understand how wrong things were

I liked Ryan Gosling as Ken. PERFECT casting👌🏾

damn what a treat, new podcast episode and now a new video! 🥰

I feel like there are three main types of reactions to this Barbie movie: 1) Those who just enjoyed it for what it was, as they are feminist on some level and either didn’t expect more depth from its commentary or they simply experience feminism from that surface level 2) Feminists who do have a deeper involvement in the movement and its nuances, and had this mixed reaction that Grayson had. Seeing that it was fun and wasn’t meant to be in depth and nuanced but also not being able to overlook the simplicity and surface level of it and thus criticising those aspects (I am in this group) 3) Misogynists who criticise the movie for even expressing that basic surface level of feminism. Simply angry at seeing men being criticised in any way, and triggered by the words “patriarchy” as you said

Oh, thank god someone said it. I was thinking something is wrong with me for feeling like it's a very beginner-level feminism. For me, it was also the fact that NOTHING has changed at Mattel in the movie. Like I was fully expecting America Ferrera's character 4o become CEO of Mattel at the end. Like it's not a bad movie, there are some funny jokes, but people on TikTok act like it's some huuuge revelation. Also, people buying Barbie dolls (or any other brand specific merch) are killing me. I hope Ken's sequel is not going to happen

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I felt the same way, when I left the movie theater I was like, oh, okay that's it? It felt like the whole movie was an introduction to the deeper topics. Im also not a fan of these types of movies so I feel I can't give them the love they deserve.

I didn't like the Ken subplot much either, but that's moreso because I think it was just handled in a really poor way. I think it's an interesting idea to explore how men are socialized in society and how the patriarchy makes it so that a lot of men, like Ken, end up craving validation and respect in a really toxic and unhealthy way. The problem is that the film doesn't give that idea enough space to breathe, and it's paired right up against Barbie's whole arc which causes both issues to not get the spotlight they deserve. I really hate how the Kens are supposed to be a direct allegory for real life women in Barbieland, and at the end of the film, they just end back up on the bottom of the totem pole beneath Barbie. Not only does that completely go back on one of the key themes of the movie (that patriarchy is bad regardless of who is in power) but it's also just a really lame conclusion to the conflict of the film. I don't get why they didn't just have the Kens and Barbies find equality with one another instead of keeping the patriarchical system in place. I think Barbie apologized to Ken during the balcony scene because she recognized that Ken was treated in the exact same way women are in actual society (as an accessory/prop for 'men'). She finally recognized that Ken deserves respect and to be treated like an actual person. My problem with that scene is that they didn't have Ken apologize as well, because he was being a complete and utter d-bag. It would've been so easy to just have them apologize to each other and then have them both recognize that people should be respected regardless of who or what they are.. bam boom easy peasy good message. Idk I enjoyed the film but I feel as though it got super messy and weird writing wise the longer it went along and I'm not sure what the takeaway was supposed to be. I'd say Ryan Gosling was probably the highlight for me, without him I probably wouldn't have liked it as much

Thank you! I was just saying this to my fiance yesterday. I took my mom with me to see the movie, and although I had fun watching the movie, I couldn't help but feel like it was all surface level femisim. It also didn't sit right with me that the resolution to the ken overtaking was just the barbie's taking over again, and sometimes letting the ken's have some control in their government. It just felt off..

Haven't watched yet but excited to as my gf and I didn't love the movie either and we could find NO ONE else how agreed with us so thanks for showing we aren't alone 😂

Grayson, you and I have the exact same reaction when we left Barbie but I was seemingly hung up on a different matters so Ima start by saying, I could be drastically wrong. I am gonna rewatch the movie but before then, Im gonna share what I gathered and I want to be corrected so please. The whole metaphor I saw was that Barbieland was a mirror of our world as it was before 2nd wave feminism. Where Barbies were in the ‘men’ role as the job holders and the ones in charge. Whereas the Kens were in the ‘female’ role as below and subservient to the Barbies and they cannot exist without a Barbies. And that Ken’s uprising was a sort of retelling/remix of 2nd wave feminism with the twist being that it ends up with the Ken’s becoming the oppressors and creating a toxic world. And obviously yes, this is bad. But me watching this movie and me establishing this metaphor as I watched, it all seemed odd to me that they always treated the Kens (the film, not barbies) as these idiots who don’t know what they’re doing and always make things worse. And now i thought it was funny, but looking back at the metaphor, it seemed a little off. And by the end, when the Kens relinquish control and the Barbies gain a new understanding of the Kens, they are still treated like idiots who don’t know what they want! They’re allowed to have the same jobs as other Barbies, but they are two steps lower in position. But the Kens being the idiots they are should be and are ok with that (I did like the one Barbie saying that they’re happy just being a Ken to a Barbie. Within the context of the metaphor, that was great to add as to not demonize that housewife lifestyle if it was one that was chosen, not forced). And instead of actually reaching an ideal solution, one where men and women/Barbie and Ken, can be equals and are valued equally, it instead becomes a lot like our world (or at least the real world established in the movie) where yes, women can hold jobs and be their own person, but they will still never be on the same level as men because of a lot of businesses and such having deep rooted and subtle patriarchal systems. There is still a patriarchy (or in Barbieland’s case, a matriarchy) as established by the office worker Ken spoke to about it who said it’s there but hidden. Am I crazy? Or is that not was just happened in Barbieland? But it’s regarded as a good thing because its women (Barbies) instead of men (Kens) remaining on top. Within the context of the metaphor which was obviously established to exist, doesn’t that just seem odd and hypocritical almost? Basically saying, ‘Yeah. The patriarchal system wouldn’t be so bad if it was women who were in charge and men were in our position.’ And I am aware that is a very red fem statement and I am also aware, I am not the target audience (if it wasn’t obvious, I am a dude and while I consider myself an ally of women and other movements similar, I am aware that there are things about the feminine experience that I will never understand.) and I would’ve left it that if I didn’t see the movie with my girlfriend. She agrees with me! And she is a man hater too but she also believes that men and women should be on a fair and equal level. So seeing this in Barbie made her extremely disappointed in the movie. Again, if anyone sees this, please help me to understand things better. I definitely had higher expectations as I did watch this and Oppenheimer on the same day and even though I love a lot of Chris Nolan movies, I was sure I was gonna like Barbie more. I really wish I could say I did. Maybe I did expect too much from this movie. But I don’t know, just writing it off as, ‘It was a Barbie movie! You can’t expect that much’ seems very wrong considering Greta Gerwig’s status and career. Sorry for the essay but I have been dying to talk about this and Grayson said it was a safe place so. I hope I laid out my thoughts in a coherent way. Thank you for the time. :)

Okay, so I had an idea with regards to the Writer's & Actors strike: The WGA & SAG should sponsor RU-vidrs to do a public service announcements regarding the strike whenever they want to do content involving their movies or shows. Think about it: "This video was brought to you by the WGA & SAG, who created this movie I'm reviewing but are getting screwed by the production & streaming companies that own them. I'm not part of these unions, but they (unlike the studio bosses) recognize that I'm part of the media ecosystem and that I'm getting financially hurt by the strike. So they're kicking me a few bucks to make sure I don't starve like the studio execs are hoping. Solidarity forever!"

what got to me was the subtle exploration of girlhood. it's different for everyone of course but there's a universal aspect to it and using someone as universal and timeless as barbie as a vehicle to explore it was fantastic imo. it made me dig out my beloved olympic barbie and cry so 10/10 from me. and honestly isn't barbie in a way babys first feminism exploration? growing into a tween and denouncing barbie and everything she stands for because you bought into the idea that she is everything that is wrong with womanhood only to realize that it was a warped image that society painted of her.

I had a similar feeling coming out of the theatre. I think my main critique is that it's not very effective storytelling to try to represent everything in 1 movie or 1 character. Barbie wants to represent every woman so she can't really focus on any woman. Personally connecting to a character that may have a drastically different life than you & seeing how the themes still relate to your life can be a really powerful thing. I just felt like the characters were there to serve the story & then they monologued about what the answers to people's problems are. It just seemed like they bit off more than they could chew & none of it got enough time for nuance: the trauma of growing up in a world where you'll be objectified, men becoming misogynistic in an attempt to feel powerful in the face of their insecurity, the multiple dichotomies that women are held up to and judged no matter where they land. There's also something to say about how directly the film approached its themes. That's not necessarily a bad thing- but displaying misogyny like that at a time when white man podcasts that advocate misogyny are plentiful is not a choice I would've made. It's hard to set aside personal experiences & laugh at the horse jokes or enjoy the musical numbers.

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Guys remember it’s called BARBIELAND, if there is a social hierarchy in their world I wonder who should be at the top of everything

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I think the movie makes a lot more sense if you view it as a movie about making a Barbie movie. Having Mattel board in the movie, and having really shallow characters as if they're not important, the whole theme of what does Barbie mean to real world women, can Barbie have agency, etc.