Barbie: Greta Gerwig's Heartfelt Message To Society (Spoilers Ahead)

Where do I even begin with this movie. As expected from the talented movie director herself, Greta Gerwig never fails to deliver a thought-provoking film that will leave you with your own thoughts for hours. From "Lady Bug", "Little Women", to now "Barbie", people were curious to witness how Gerwig would passionately translate the message of the worldwide play dolls that have grown with us throughout the years. In return, she delivers themes of modern-day feminism, the conception of patriarchal society, and the essence of human existence in a collective world. "Barbie" unravels numerous societal issues, offering a profound reflection of modern struggles and conflicts of both the female and male experiences. Whether you are a woman (like Stereotypical Barbie) in a male-dominated society, or a man (like Ken) in a women-dominated community, this movie communicates its message beautifully of the constant recurring issue in reality; that is the outdated gender norms of society. Gerwig's "Barbie" is a powerful cinematic experience that resonates deeply and prompts essential conversations about our collective reality.

"Barbie" starts off its story with an introduction to 'Barbieland', a world full of Barbies, where Kens are pushed aside and are less prioritised in the Barbies' eyes. Initially, as the audience, I found this fact amusing and humorous, since Ken was often seen as the comedic relief and somewhat funny character that has no potential or value of being important to the storyline. This was even emphasised numerous of times by the Mattel directors themselves within the movie. When Barbie and Ken ventured to the real world, they were only concerned of Barbie and explicitly mentioned that Ken is not physically or mentally able to cause any harm. However, as this scene plays out, comes the irony of Ken's discovery of a patriarchal society. The audience then realizes that Ken is fully aware of his capabilities to create change in 'Barbieland', a crucial insight that foreshadows the significance of 'Kenland'. This revelation leads us to confront the essence of modern-day feminism and its evolving meaning.

Feminism, at its core, is created for women to receive equal gender rights and advocacy to men. Its bare creation was to avoid the social occurrence of gender superiority. However modern-day feminism has faced misinterpretation and dilution, deviating from its original intent. Instead of empowering women to break free from the constraints of a patriarchal society and liberating men from toxic expectations imposed by hegemonic masculinity, it fosters a belief where women should always surpass men. This misguided approach prompts young girls to strive for constant greatness, perpetuating the notion that they must outshine not just men, but eventually others in society.

Modern-day feminism continuously sets yet another norm for women to fulfill, pushing us to be career-driven individuals while simultaneously expecting us to embrace traditional nurturing and motherly roles. Society demands that women become CEOs of companies while raising four children or more. Society will then demand that women should also become astronauts in space, while maintaining a "pretty-face" when met with anti-gravitational forces. These are the type of absurdity in newly conjectures that are set by society's judgement and values. And so, this raises the perpetual question: When will women ever be free?

In this movie, "Barbie" brings the audience to feminism's core purpose and existence. It breaks the movement of gender superiority which has been heavily misidentified as what feminism should be in the current 21st century and introduces the idea of 'The Ordinary Woman'. As a teenager myself who thrives in constantly finding academic accomplishments and pursuits in becoming the best, "becoming ordinary" did not sound the slightest bit attractive to me. When Barbie reassured the concept of becoming someone ordinary --someone who is fully capable and talented in many hobbies, yet does not have a specialty, or perhaps someone who does not have a given titled role in their life-- I was taken aback by the overall simplicity of the idea.

In that given moment of self-reflection, I then realized that my very reaction to this humbling and schematic imagery of becoming an "ordinary woman", had single-handedly proved to my very conscience that I have been a victim of the misconception in modern-day feminism. I felt as if I have been caught red-handed. Throughout my life, I have been regarded as a person who would offer nothing but support to all my friends' ambitions and dreams, yet when introduced to the idea of a girl being "normal", I refused. I refused to think that some girls out there were desiring of those simplistic ideas. I refused to think that women can be ordinary.

Over-stimulated by the toxic misconception of modern-day feminisim, I had become a primary victim of gender superiority, and expected others to simply not confide in becoming ordinary; especially myself. At this point, I then realised that throughout my life I have been hard on the little girl who had piling expectations for herself since elementary class; if it were not for Barbie, I would not have realized this. I came to the realization, that women should be allowed to become normal, and there is nothing wrong with the given choice.

Not only did Barbie had managed to single-handedly expand the horizons of what feminism could mean to women globally, it also introduced "the male experience" to the audience, the men's side of the story. Ken first began as a character who was one-dimensioned. His very purpose was to serve Barbie, his partner. Now Ken's story from the progression of his naivety to the destructive consumption of hegemonic masculinity from mass media, offered a conceptualise space for his character to become progressive from static.

Nevertheless, Gerwig showcased Ken's journey into becoming an independent character with elements of comedy. His Ken song, performance, and especially the "Ken War" were memorable moments that made the whole theatre burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all, including me. While watching the whole scene played out, as the Kens fight for their love for Barbie, they "battled" it out and showed their "manly attributes" by dance offs, a game of badminton, flexing their muscles to one another, etc. Moments like these may come across as simply silly and funny to the audience, yet the subtle critique of Gerwig's commentary in the absurdity of toxic masculinity created by a hegemonic society was shown to the audience. The reason why we were laughing so much at that particular scene, was because we are aware that men fight to attain dominance, and just the idea itself is so funny and hilarious to some, that it brings us to question how childish and boisterous the concept of showcasing one's strength to gain dominance can be categorised as something "manly"; how the expectations and mannerisms of what a man is supposed to be is set up by traditional conservative norms that should have been outdated years ago, seeing as how silly it looks now.

Gerwig had once again managed to deliver her memoranderum to patriarchy through the portrayal of toxic masculinity and the chaos it brings to a community. She did not end it at there however she managed to leave an explicit and upbringing message of how "Kens unite as Kens". Interpreting its meaning of how us as individuals should not be fighting against each other to prove our worthiness to society's insatiable expectations at the very weight of our shoulder. Even after all of this, Gerwig had successfully added more dimensions to Ken's character, whilst maintaining his humours delivery; further aligning with his purpose of becoming a simultaneously important comedic-relief character in the Barbie movie. Without Ken there would be no plot, no 'room' for development, no Barbie. You could tell at this very point Ken is my favorite character from the movie, oh and you could never forget his best friend Allan.

Moreover, the movie emphasised on the everlasting beauty of being human. There were two scenes that had me teary-eyed, which at this point, I entirely did not expect that to happen from a Barbie movie. A scene of Barbie meeting an elderly women at a bus stop for the first time, triggered something within me. Just the very essence of silence, and face-to-face eye contact meant so much to me, as an audience. It felt as if these two women were conversing about so many things, yet also nothing at all since there were no dialogues given in that specific scene.

The scene had a duration for its own, and it did not felt forced. Normally when a movie showcases a scene with no dialogues, just an exchange of glances between characters, some of them may feel forced. You may feel as if the director is trying to communicate to its audience regarding a certain topic, however "Barbie" had a notable difference in deliverance. It felt natural, and I immediately picked up on what the scene was intended to be. The two characters looking into the very eyes of each other, imagining and conceptualizing the life that each of them had, and having nothing but admiration for each other, was simply amazing to watch.

The micro expressions that both actors had as they saw each other, felt as if thousands of words have been exchanged by the two characters. It was as if both were too drawn into each others' beauty and had no words to describe that very feeling. Until the single-sentenced dialogue delivered by Margot Robbie was said to the elderly woman, "You are so beautiful". As soon as the words came out of her mouth, a pang was felt on my chest. This lack of physical closure creates a sense of internal longing and admiration that both characters have for each other. The scene consisting of less than five minutes created a universally understood exchange of message amongst two women of different generation and timeline. Beautifully illustrating the profound relationship of womanhood, where words become meaningless in expressing the deep bond of shared struggles and genuine happiness. The mere exchange of glances between these women is enough to convey a profound adoration for the shared experience of being women altogether.

Lastly, the scene that deeply resonated with me the most, were the montages of random different people flashing through Barbie's eyes as she decides to become human. Accompanied by the captivating sountrack of Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?", the montage perfectly encapsulated Barbie's internal conflict.

In 'Barbieland' a Barbie, would forever become a product of the imagination. A mere thought that is incapable of a physical creation's abilities. Barbie's crisis was the longing for true existence. With her yearning to become human, we are given this flashing montage, where it seems as if the audience are confronted with different versions of their younger selves. Throughout this duration of montage, we see children blowing candles, teenagers laughing, a woman smiling to the camera. Confronted with personalised home-recorded video footages of random people experiencing happiness at different multitudes of moments, "Barbie" managed to evoke a heavy sense of appreciation for humanity as some of us endures an emotional moment of self reflection through the exploration of womanhood and growing up in general. Which, ultimately, is what Barbie desired. To become a true and physical embodiment of women, embracing the fullness of human existence. The scene not only moved me, but also highlighted the universal longing for a meaningful and authentic life as we celebrate the beautiful complexities of being human.

Overall, "Barbie" had not only deconstruct the core value of feminism, or expanded our horizons on the male experience within the feminism movement, yet it has also highlighted the universal longing for a meaningful and authentic life as we celebrate the beautiful complexities of being human. Throughout the duration of the movie I was smiling ear to ear nonstop and was intrigued by almost all of the pink color schemes in 'Barbieland'. Production design in this film was top tier and one of the best ones I have seen from featured movies this year. Comedic timing and character dialogues were pure gold from Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach; honestly, I would definitely watch "Barbie" for the second, third, fourth, and fifth time. That was how much I truly enjoyed this movie. I would confidently give this movie a 9 out of 10, simply because the movie duration could have been shorter and the cartoonish animation drawn on top of the real-life movie settings felt a bit awkward and off to me. Although I am most certain it was a choice of artistic freedom, so some might actually love it. Other than that I sincerely loved this movie and did not expect myself to be fascinated over Gerwig's heartfelt message from a live adaption of "Barbie".