BARBIE - A REVIEW

Unless you live by yourself in an igloo, situated somewhere in the Antarctic, with no wi-fi available, you would have heard that someone had made a movie that is based on a famous doll. I would like to put it out there right now that I have no affinity with dolls, Barbie or otherwise. My only childhood memory of playing with a doll, was tying one around a table leg with raffia string, and then pretending to be a cowboy while rescuing her from capture by Apache Indian braves.

Yet I watched Barbie.

I did not dress up in pink to attend the screening. I did not book a seat on the Barbie fashion bus. Nor did I subscribe to the Barbie Fashion Bandwagon. Not a single pink appeared anywhere on my wardrobe when I watched Barbie on the Big Screen. I would wager I was one of a ridiculously small minority of people who was not swayed by Barbie mania, hype, or hoopla.

Yet I still watched the movie.

Primarily because I was intrigued to learn that Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach had written the script. These two filmmakers are responsible for movies like Lady Bird, Little Women, Marriage Story, and The Squid and the Whale. They are known for crafting dramas with Serious Themes, inspired by their observations on human relationships. They are also known for their nuanced dialogue and creating characters with flawed psyches.

And here they are, responsible for the screenplay for Barbie, a movie inspired by a piece of plastic molded to resemble a kind of girl without lady parts.

I was intrigued to see how writers whom I normally associate with Serious Drama tackled this story. Did they decide to make a satire on corporate greed? Or did they go the subversive route and make a scathing commentary on feminism?

All I can say is the writers did do something subversive. For that reason alone, it was worth the price of a ticket.

The Barbie plot follows a Hero’s Journey. What kicks off the story is a series of disturbing incidents — one involving Barbie or Stereotypical Barbie, as the heroine is called — suddenly blurting out thoughts of existential despair during her morning routine.

As if that was not enough, she discovered a blemish on her perfect skin. Cue the OMG reaction!

Something is rotten in the state of Barbie Land.

To fix it, she must travel across Sea and Sky to Human Land, which is Los Angeles. At this point, I must issue a warning.

Warning: SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF

Do not question how it is possible for a plastic doll to travel from a land of dolls to a land of humans. It is futile to debate, argue and quibble. Just as it is pointless to spend too much time trying to work out the mechanics of how exactly Doctor Strange travels from one dimension to another in the multi-verse. Just sit back and let the disbelief and the stretching of incredulity wash over you like a tide of scented soap bubbles.

Just accept.

It is that kind of movie.

Barbie is silly at times, amusing, and the overall packaging is one of slick, glossy, bubblegum fun, but all that pink confectionary is just sugar that coats the actual pill that the writers want you to swallow.

A pill that opens your mind to a Serious Statement on Gender Politics.

What it means to be a Woman.

What it means to be a Man.

What Society expects from a Woman.

What Society expects from a Man.

And how we grow up with preconceived notions of what manhood and womanhood actually means.

It was at this point that I regretted leaving my brain at the entrance of the cinema. Another warning.

WARNING: DO NOT LEAVE YOUR BRAIN AT THE ENTRANCE TO CINEMA WHEN YOU WATCH BARBIE

For myself, I must confess I am all for Team Woman. I have often speculated that humans would be in a sorry state if it were not for our other better halves. In my previous life as a lecturer, I have noted that the student teams who survived obstacles in their film making journeys were mostly led by female directors. Perhaps, at that age, the constitution of female directors is laced with more robust steel, causing them to be more resilient than their male counterparts. When women come together to work on a united vision, mountains can be flattened.

Can men do the same?

Good topics to argue and discuss. And hopefully arrive at a better understanding of what makes a man A MAN and a woman A WOMAN. And why can’t we get along?

What good cinema can do is hold up a mirror to us so we can see all the blemishes, warts and, to paraphrase T.S Eliot — arrive at the end of our exploring and see ourselves clearly for the first time.

Not bad, from a movie based on a plastic doll.

You don’t have to be INTO Barbie.

You will still enjoy the movie.

Like I did.