When I was a child, my favorite game was playing Barbie. Today, with the release of the new Barbie movie (a live-action!) I took the opportunity to throw myself into researching the doll and the movie! It was no surprise that I was fascinated by her creation and story!
Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll, said: “The philosophy behind the doll was that, through it, girls could be anything they wanted […] Barbie has always represented that women have choices!” However, the reality, as always, is more complex. In and out of the movie, we watch a discussion unfold raising concerns about how encouraging girls to be everything they aspire to can lead to future frustrations, since the reality is that not everything is possible. And pursuing certain aspirations can be costly, even more so while trying to keep up with society’s standard of appearance.
Mattel, the company behind Barbie, is aware of the growth of social movements for equality and diversity, including the feminist movement, and in the film it is clear how the movement has influenced its approach to gender. We are aware that joining social movements is fashionable these days, but we can’t forget other equally important movements, which Mattel seems to have forgotten to support – irony contains, as it is clear that it has CHOOSEN not to support or address other agendas. For example, movements that seek to improve working rights and conditions and protect the environment. These issues are often not discussed, and the movie is no different. Perhaps for fear of bad publicity, since many know that Mattel does not provide ethical conditions for the employees in its factories and that its main products are made from non-recyclable materials.
Although the movie comments a little on the discussion about creating unrealistic expectations for women to achieve, there is a heated debate on social media about whether or not the movie was successful in teaching feminism. While others appreciate that it’s a piece of entertainment made by and for women, that doesn’t necessarily need to educate or prove a point. That’s right, for women not children! The appropriate age rating is 13 and over.
Although all this information is not the focus of our analysis today, it is essential that we comment on the current situation to understand how, even knowing all this, we continue to seek the feeling of nostalgia and familiarity that Barbie represents. This may be linked to a problem that, although it is expressed in the individual, is becoming a systemic problem: the struggle of the adult against the paradise of childhood.
Carl Gustav Jung, the father of analytical psychology, taught us that works of art are to society what dreams are to the individual. They come with a compensatory quality! In the movie, the Barbie doll stops being just a doll with a childish tone and goes through the process of becoming a human adult. This passage is represented by Barbie’s leaving Barbieland, a world that alludes to the Neverland of Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up and took eternal refuge from the adult world in Neverland.
At the same time as the movie hooks us with its nostalgia for childhood toys, it also sends a powerful message to our psychology: we have to live in the real world, there is no other option. Greta Gerwig’s film mirrors our own journey from childhood to adulthood.
BARBIELAND AS CHILDHOOD PARADISE:
At the beginning of the movie, Barbieland is portrayed as a world of the imagination, a childhood paradise where there are no problems. Everything is perfect and the film is very much in tune with childhood games with Barbie: the actress’s performance mirrors the movements possible with the doll, there is no water or liquid, the objects are out of proportion to give the idea of a plasticized world, sometimes too big, like the toothbrush and the juice box, and sometimes smaller than expected, like Barbie’s car.
* No real water in the shower or liquid in the milk carton
* walking on the pool
*floating instead of stairs or the slide
In this first scene, the absence of mirrors may symbolize the dolls’ lack of self-reflection and self-criticism. This lack may explain how the Barbies of Barbieland don’t suffer from impostor syndrome, characterized by excessive self-blame and self-doubt, where the person who suffers from this syndrome, usually a woman, doubts their achievements and competence.
In Barbieland, the Barbies proudly acknowledge the awards they receive and say things like “I know” or “I worked hard for that”.
*lack of mirrors
Even skills that are historically and socially more encouraged and developed in women, such as using emotion to help make decisions, are celebrated in Barbieland. In contrast to the real world, where women are sometimes discredited in the workplace and even embarrassed for showing emotions in a professional environment. In Barbieland, the Barbies believe that uniting feelings and reason improves performance, which is true in the real world too, but is not recognized due to the macho quality that organizational structures still perpetuate.
This valorization of skills and traits, historically attributed to women, spreads throughout the world of Barbieland where the scenery is filled with pastel tones and the political structure of the world favors Barbies over Kens.
REFLECTIONS ON DEATH AND VALUING LIFE:
Stereotype Barbie’s journey is a profound reflection of coming of age. Stereotypical Barbie, like the other Barbies and Kens, initially displays a childlike naivety typical of those who don’t yet know all the nuances and complexities of the real world. Living in a cycle of perfect days and party nights, Stereotype Barbie seems oblivious to life’s deeper issues. However, when she begins to reflect on death, a topic often ignored in the Barbieland children’s world, things begin to change.
Barbie’s thoughts on death evoke the ideas of renowned psychiatrists such as Carl Gustav Jung and Irving Yalom. Jung believed that death could be the end of life as we know it, but he had doubts about the purpose of complete existence. On the other hand, Irving Yalom believed in complete finitude after death. However, regardless of their beliefs about what happens after death, both psychiatrists agreed that the phenomenon of death is something that puts life itself into perspective, and given the right proportions, can awaken in the individual a greater desire to live their own life.
It is only when Stereotypical Barbie begins to wonder about death that she also begins to question whether there is more to life than repeating the same perfect day, day after day. But it’s only when radical and perceived threatening changes begin to invade her days that she takes action. She wakes up disheveled and with bad breath, finds the shower water an unpleasant temperature, her toast burns, the milk for breakfast is sour and stale, and she notices cellulite on her legs, losing her high-heeled stance to flat feet. Stereotype Barbie’s fall from her Dream House, when before she simply floated to the ground, symbolizes the beginning of the transition from childhood to adulthood, the fall from the paradise of childhood to the beginning of contact with the real world.
These changes, although not just limited to the physical aspect and also deeply affecting Stereotypical Barbie’s psyche, are only taken seriously by her and her fellow Barbies when they reach the physical. Similar to what we face in our society, where psychological illnesses are devalued and even dismissed, while physical ailments are readily attended to.
The disruption of her perfect world leaves her perplexed and searching for answers. It is in this moment of discomfort and questioning that Stereotypical Barbie crosses paths with Strange Barbie, a Barbie who, due to radical and heavy-handed play in the real world, has suffered disfigurements in her version of Barbieland. However, Strange Barbie stands out as a wise and experienced figure, capable of fixing other Barbies due to her unique experience. She has accumulated wisdom and knowledge from having gone through countless adversities and challenges, making her an invaluable figure in the Barbie universe.
This encounter between Stereotypical Barbie and Weird Barbie can be interpreted as a powerful reminder to viewers that sometimes people who may initially seem ‘weird’ or different have valuable experiences and knowledge that can be extremely useful to those who need help. It invites us to look beyond superficial appearances and recognize the value of wisdom gained through life experiences. It is the idea that evokes the archetype of the wise old woman. Strange Barbie lives on top of a hill, isolated from the rest of Barbieland, in the best hermit style.
During a visit to Strange Barbie’s house, Stereotypical Barbie discovers that a portal has been opened between her in Barbieland and the child who is playing with her in the real world through thoughts of death. It’s interesting to note that Strange Barbie explains that for the portal to have been opened, both parties need to want it. This phrase may indicate an invitation to Stereotypical Barbie to take responsibility for the events in her life and not just consider herself a victim of circumstances.
Furthermore, needing two people to open the portal evokes the idea of a relationship. For Carl Gustav Jung, the goal of life for all human beings is the path of individuation, becoming who you really are, moving away from the massification processes of society and becoming a unique personality. Jung makes it very clear that no one individuates on the top of Mount Everest, alone, but rather in society, in relationships with each other and, for this reason, we need each other so that, through the relationships we establish with the external world, we can deepen and individuate our own relationship with the riches of our internal world.
Also during the visit to Strange Barbie’s house, Stereotypical Barbie is faced with a choice that symbolizes the transition from her perfect life in Barbieland to the real world, with all its complexities. Strange Barbie presents Stereotypical Barbie with two shoes, a high-heeled foot, representing a return to the world of perfectly equal and predictable routines, and a peep-toe that alludes to simplicity and contact with the real world.
This choice refers to the metaphor of the pills in the movie “Matrix”, where the blue pill allows Neo to forget the truth that the world has been taken over by machines and return to the ignorance of the Matrix, while the red pill leads him to the real world, full of challenges and uncertainties. Stereotypical Barbie, however, despite having questioned her existence in a world of repetitive perfection, chooses the security of the known, symbolized by high heels. This reflects an aspect of human psychology observed by Carl Gustav Jung, where the libido, or psychic energy, tends to regress when confronted with the unknown, leading the individual to seek a return to a previous stage of life that has already been overcome.
In the scene, when Strange Barbie confesses to Stereotypical Barbie that, in fact, there is no choice, that she must go to the real world regardless of her decision, which was only intended to give her confidence and security, but which didn’t work, Stereotypical Barbie reacts with an attitude reminiscent of a child who wants to maintain control over their reality, but soon realizes that this attempt to cling to the familiar and the predictable won’t work in the context of the imminent transition to the real world.
GETTING REAL
When they arrive in the real world on skates, they attract everyone’s attention. Their outfits, inspired by Barbieland fashion, are an explosion of neon colors, hot pink and cut-outs that remind us of 80s sportswear. People can’t help looking at them, and it’s in this scene that Barbie experiences something that many women have experienced during the transition from childhood to adolescence: a peculiar, sometimes negative, self-consciousness. While Ken enjoys the sensation of being admired, Barbie is confronted with looks and interactions that carry, as she will describe it, a kind of tinge of violence. This scene is an impressive representation of gender disparity and the difference between the experience of men and women in public spaces.
The same location, two human beings, but completely different experiences, all due to gender. This scene vividly illustrates the reality of women who face uncomfortable situations and harassment when navigating public spaces. We are also invited to reflect on these gender issues and I feel that highlighting the importance of recognizing and discussing these experiences in the real world is necessary.
This need is also perceived and defended by Sasha, the teenager who Barbie thinks is the counterpart responsible for opening the portal. Sasha is the protagonist of the only time an anti-Barbie dialog is delivered directly to the audience, but the construction of the scene is intended to consider it a bit ridiculous: the character, the cynical teenager, goes from saying that Barbie perpetuates sexist beauty standards and culminates by calling her a fascist. “I don’t control the trains or the flow of commerce!” Barbie cries. So is criticizing Barbie to her face too harsh and exaggerated?
Criticizing an object used as a vehicle for children’s imagination in an attempt to make it more inclusive of human diversity and more suitable for the mental health of future citizens is essential, as it is the duty of society as a whole to look after and protect children, including their infantile psyche, until they develop the necessary skills to exercise self-care. But in the movie, Stereotypical Barbie appears embodied in the body of a woman, characteristically within the standard of beauty imposed on women by patriarchal society, but still a woman. Sasha even believes that she has some kind of psychological disability to believe that she is Barbie herself.
Yes, the idea of the Barbie doll has turned out to be a totem representing sexualized capitalism, unrealistic beauty standards and is contributing to the destruction of the planet, whether through the glamorization of unbridled consumerism or the fact that the dolls are made of plastic. Sasha is right in her arguments, but at that moment she wasn’t really a feminist. Feminism is about sisterhood and treating a woman, who until then she thought had psychological deficiencies, rudely to the point of making her cry, doesn’t seem very sisterly to me.
I believe that the character Sasha is a satire on all those who call themselves feminists because they understand the intellectual part of the movement, but get lost in the execution. Placing an idea above a person is precisely what the movement criticizes in machismo, which doesn’t see women in their singularity, but only as generic second-class citizens, and that’s exactly what Sasha does with Barbie, a woman she believes has psychological issues, in this scene. I wonder if Sasha’s behavior isn’t another aggravating factor in the current situation, which is wonderfully illustrated by a dialogue between Ken and a man:
This is clearly an indictment of the fact that, despite the many advances and achievements of the feminist movement, these victories were not the result of a change in consciousness where everyone realized that patriarchy, despite apparently benefiting men, is not good for either gender.
Some people have placed the character Sasha as one of the most blatant examples of Barbie’s sexism and a metonymy for the broader argument that the film is presenting. Sasha is portrayed as an intelligent, self-assured young woman, furious at the sexism that society imposes on her. As far as the movie is concerned, this reflects an unfortunate rigidity on Sasha’s part, which has created a barrier between her and her mother, Gloria. The problem is magically solved when Sasha and Gloria travel to Barbieland, where Sasha learns to relax a little and fall in love with Barbie’s magical potential. To highlight this transformation, each time she appears on screen, her hair, make-up and outfit become more elaborate, more feminine and pinker. The relationship between mother and daughter is healed and Sasha returns to the real world all the better for having embraced the Barbie within.
The way I see the trip to Barbiland was only possible because Gloria is a functional adult who embraces opportunities, including the chance to go on an adventure with her favorite toy and her daughter, and just have fun. When they arrive in Barbieland and realize that patriarchy has contaminated the Barbies, it is Gloria who points out that the Barbies have suffered a psychic contamination and that they have no antibodies to deal with this infestation. It is also Gloria who delivers a profound discourse on the difficulties of being a woman in the real world and, from this, frees the Barbies from the psychic virus of patriarchy.
For those familiar with the textual production of the feminist movement, Gloria’s speech may have sounded simplistic, but it was effective nonetheless, as several women were able to make an emotional connection with her words. It was not uncommon to hear from people around me how the speech affected them and how it was in this scene that they shed tears. Simplicity doesn’t overshadow the revolutionary nature of a scene like this in a movie with so much relevance on the pop scene. And I believe that beyond Sasha embracing her inner barbie, what happened on that trip to Barbieland was that Sasha saw Gloria, beyond the imago Mãe, but as a woman.
On this journey, Sasha understands that her mother is a woman who experiences the difficulties of her gender, who is aware of them, but who nevertheless doesn’t spew hatred at the people around her. Gloria heals Sasha in the sense that she teaches her daughter that there are other possibilities for living the feminine and Sasha heals Gloria when she accepts and encourages her mother’s artistic abilities, through which she expresses a repressed part of herself: “your drawings are everything you pretend not to be”. Gloria teaches Sasha to accept the enlightened side of the feminine and Sasha teaches Gloria to accept her dark feminine. Both are necessary for a healthy experience of energy.
Stereotypical Barbie has a difficult time in Barbieland, at first she throws a tantrum and wants her dream house back. Then she goes into a state of pure hopelessness. She says she’s going to stay there until one of the better-prepared Barbies wakes up and does something about the Kens’ patriarchy. But with the help of Gloria, Sasha and the other Barbies who weren’t under the influence of real-world ideas, they reclaim Barbieland through teamwork.
The sovereignty of the Barbies over the Kens is re-established, everyone is preparing to go back to their lives until Stereotype Barbie says she doesn’t want this future for her anymore. She meets up with her creator and after Ruth Handler shows her what it’s like to be human, Stereotype Barbie chooses to become human anyway. From the childishness of Barbieland to the adolescent self-awareness of the real world, Stereotype Barbie now becomes Barbara Handler, an adult who has learned to work as a team, is aware of what it means to be a woman and has said yes to life.
She has consciously chosen to be a creator of meaning, to be who she imagines, not who is imagined. To be the being. And not just an idea. The film teaches us the need to develop awareness of who we are and what the world around us is like, the need to make a conscious choice about living as adults and the importance of teamwork, of living well in society. But beyond that, the movie teaches us that we are who we imagine ourselves to be, an ode to spontaneity. When we edit ourselves too much, retouch our personality or think too much about being, we are not being, we are performing an idea to the detriment of our internal reality.
So, did it make sense to you?
You can also listen to mypodcast Psyche in Words, where I explored this topic together:
