This July, Barbie, released by Mattel Films and Warner Bros., hit theaters and surprised viewers. The Barbie movie, featuring some of the nations favorite actors such as Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie, was thought to be a light hearted and comedic film, featuring the bubbly life Barbies are assumed to have. However, viewers were shocked that the movie portrayed deeper meanings associated with the Mattel company and society itself.

The movie starts off displaying a world run by Barbies, where all women are in powerful positions, while Kens are more focused on grabbing the attention of the Barbies, and remain very shallow. Some may say this idea is most likely to contradict our society, where women are seen as lesser in the business world, and more highly valued in a family setting. Viewers pegged this movie as feminist. Although this stab at society depicted in, “Barbie Land”, can be seen as hypocritical, the idea just comes from the brand of Barbie itself, where Barbies have multiple lifestyles and important careers. Later in the movie, the main character Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, finds a way to alter “Barbie Land”, where it is run by men. Many people became angry at this back and forth between the power of men and women, especially because many feminists advocate for equal rights between sexes. However, I believe that the movie was trying to dramatically portray the unequalness some may say our society has within the workforce, by reversing the roles or exaggerating the circumstances to add some perspective. For example, when Barbie enters the real world, she enters the corporate building of Mattel, where she expects to find a woman in charge of creating the Barbies, although she is let down when she realizes this company made for little girls, is run by men. In the end of the film, the Barbies agree that it is time to create equality and allow Kens to participate in other opportunities as well, much of how our society has advanced to be where we are today.

The big takeaway from this movie for me, the idea of self-identity and finding purpose. Throughout the movie Barbie. The main Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, is forced to enter the human world because she is experiencing emotional thoughts because she is linked to her owner, who is going through a midlife crisis. Entering the real world gives Barbie a sense of reality, and she realizes she is now able to experience emotions such as sadness and anger, those of which she is unable to feel in her own world. She realizes it is impossible to live a perfect life, and not everything can go according to plan. The movie concludes with Barbie deciding to remain human, because she doesn’t feel she has a purpose as a Barbie. This message relays that we are so set on what we want to do or who we want to be as children, but as we grow older, we become aware of the transition into adulthood and not feeling valuable enough. The way Barbie is able to embrace her feeling of not belonging, helps normalize the mid-life crisis many adults face. 

In my opinion, the Barbie movie was beneficial to audiences due to its hidden messages behind each scene. However, the movie is also light-hearted and humorous and could be enjoyed in just an entertaining way instead of a thought provoking manner. I enjoyed Barbie, and would recommend watching it to those who have not seen it.