The Barbie Movie will premiere in Malaysian cinemas on 20 July 2023, and Greta Gerwig’s latest film work might just be able to change the past years of negative perception of Barbie and uplift Mattel, the toy manufacturing company that had struggled for years to connect with modern consumers.

So, how does Gerwig make these changes in one movie? What elements did the movie portray that will impact viewers? And is Barbie worth the watch for adults and children? I’ll be discussing major spoilers from the major and explaining how Barbie is more than what once was a controversial doll.

If you’re looking for a spoiler-free review of the movie, head on over here instead.

Style Over Substance

Before I dive deep into Gerwig’s incredible work with The Barbie Movie, let’s recap some of the few negative perception people had of Barbie throughout its 64-years legacy.

It has been pointed out that Barbie is as popular with critics as she is with fans; there have been numerous controversies over her lack of diversity, promotion of unrealistic body standards, and reinforcement of sexist stereotypes. Through past speeches, tabloids, and movies, society has transformed her into a conventionally attractive woman who lacks personality and intelligence, to the point of being a sex symbol.

Songs like “Barbie Girl” by Aqua and “Not Your Barbie Girl” by Ava Max both carry negative connotations with one objectifying her and the other excluding her from the definition of success. While the latter is a song that celebrates the “girl boss” in every woman, Barbie is still portrayed as a pushover.

It doesn’t stop there; one of the most apparent targets is her striking blondness. Films like 1931’s “Platinum Blonde” to 2003’s Mean Girls, have characterized these characters solely as sex symbols with charmingly empty brains or known as “dumb blonde”. This stereotype when further has them as the antagonists. Moreover, this character has a common likeness of being “too feminine,” obsessed with their appearance, the colour pink, shopping, and the sought-after male lead. Simply put, if you were given a choice to idolize a “dumb blonde” character or a cliche blonde antagonist? You would probably choose neither.

Finally, Mattel took an approach of rebranding Barbie’s image worldwide with the help of filmmaker, Greta Gerwig and star-studded casts – Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Kate Mckinnon, Issa Rae, and many more. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Robbie previously revealed that the film is going to give its audience ‘the thing you didn’t know you wanted’. Yes, they did deliver what most viewers would have thought to be a typical irrelevant female-lead movie.

In The Barbie Movie, Gerwig dispelled most of Barbie’s preconceptions by including a variety of Barbies and Kens with different races, shapes, and sizes, where all of these women are Barbie, and so are all of these Kens. Barbie, was a nuanced character who experiences the struggle of everyday women in the real world, feels empathy, and even so far as to question death: “Do you guys ever think about dying?”.

Based on The Guardian interview, Gerwig described this line “as being demonstrative of the film’s anarchic energy”. As for Ken, the character has its spotlight in the movie with the underlying theme of self-discovery, self-acceptance, and honouring one’s own identity. While it may not completely eradicate the negative presumption of Barbie, it will definitely leave a long-lasting positive impression on sceptical viewers, such as myself.

Pink Complex

Along with the themes mentioned, Gerwig managed to capture a variety of viewpoints of Barbie from the perspective of a contemporary teenager, an adult raised playing Barbie, a conglomerate organization, and even Barbie herself. These viewpoints then intertwined with each other throughout the movie in which the stereotype Barbie begins to question her purpose: What is Barbie? Well, you’ll have to watch the movie to figure out what Barbie means to you.

Some of the most touching scenes in The Barbie Movie would be when Gloria, starring America Ferrera spoke out about the struggles of being a woman in this modern-day era. The context of the empowering speech is about ludicrous expectations placed on women: You can’t be too big or too thin, you can be a leader but not bossy, you can be pretty but not too much that it antagonizes others, and so much more. In my opinion, the monologue resonates with every women’s knowing what sacrifice meant regardless of age and race. In the cinema, the audience applauded when the monologue ended, and even men appreciated how accurately it depicted women’s struggles. According to her interview with The Cut New York, during the production take, everyone on set including men was crying.

At one point, an assistant director told Robbie to get it together. “He said, ‘You don’t need to cry, you’re not on-camera,’” she says. “And I was like, “I’m not doing it on purpose.”

Despite the movie’s inclusion of feminism, which is a huge part of it, feminism is tied to a bigger universal topic, humanity. A great example would be Ken’s journey, which illustrates how someone with no status in society became vulnerable and goes through lashes in order to be considered something of significance. In essence, Ken’s attempt to overthrow Barbie Land was nothing more than a quest for Barbie’s affection.

He believes his worth as a person or as a living doll is determined by how much Barbie acknowledges his presence. Ultimately, Barbie realized her previous actions may have upset Ken and showed him that being himself is more than enough. As Ken’s shirt quoted, “I Am Kenough”.

Gerwig successfully blends the comedy, musical, drama, and fantasy elements into a whole pink madness that surpasses expectations despite all these complex themes. It takes an exceptional director to take an iconic doll and transform it for a whole new generation of audiences across the globe.

Anyone Can Be Barbie

Given all the points of what makes The Barbie Movie stand out as more than just a typical fantasy plastic world, Barbie is worth watching in cinemas for adults and especially children. Being said, it is because children who idolize Barbie can definitely learn about self-respect, self-perseverance, humility, and humanity too. I strongly advise parents to take their children to watch this masterpiece that can change the perception of any unfriendly critics worldwide.

Check out the exclusive Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s interview with ABC News.