Last year, Margot Robbie starred and produced in the insanely commercially successful comedy Barbie. The film was not just a mainstream blockbuster but also a pop cultural event as thousands showed up at the cinemas wearing pink to commemorate the iconic play doll. The film spoke about real issues about gender and the cultural significance of the doll.
The film was directed by Greta Gerwig, who is known for her social commentary and humor, which satirizes current pop culture trends. Apart from referencing events like the ‘Release the Snyder Cut’ campaign, the film also packed multiple Stanley Kubrick references, apart from the 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired opening sequence.
Margot Robbie Revealed Multiple Stabley Kubrick References In Barbie
The Margot Robbie starrer Barbie, in many ways, changed the way the children’s play doll was perceived in the mainstream. The film traversed its origins as a doll, which broke the stereotypes for dolls for girl children, which until then were limited to babies. Barbie could be many things, and her ambitions could be more than just child-rearing.
This point was brought home by Greta Gerwig’s picturization of the doll’s origins in the style of the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Stanley Kubrick directorial has an opening sequence that traces the evolution of mankind from apes in pre-historic times. Similarly, Gerwig traced the evolution of Barbie dolls. The sequence was recreated to the last detail, including the operatic music.
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However, that was not the only Kubrick reference in Barbie. Margot Robbie revealed that there was a reference to Kubrick’s The Shining in the film. The throw-away line occurs when Stereotypical Barbie, played by Robbie, is in the car with America Ferrera and Ariana Greenblatt’s characters, and the latter asks her mother if the two are ‘shining’.
Robbie spoke about Gerwig’s love for cinema and how they used to host screenings on set to give a better understanding of what was required from the creative teams. She told Deadline,
“Greta would reference The Red Shoes when we were talking about the exact kind of color LUT that we wanted. Or she’d reference His Girl Friday when she’d say, ‘I want all the Barbies to talk at this pace.’…There are so many Kubrick references for a Barbie movie [laughs]. There’s even a Shining reference in there…I think he would have [approved]”
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining was also produced by Warner Brothers, which was the studio behind Barbie.
Also read: Margot Robbie Says $1.4B ‘Barbie’ Success Reminded Actress of Her Childhood For 1 Reason
Other Pop Culture References In Barbie
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie offers a commentary on being a woman in the present-day real world, the far-reaching effects of patriarchy on society, and the problems with extremities in ideology. However, it is also a fun comedy about a Barbie doll who gets existential thoughts about death after repeating the same day every day in Barbieland.
The film is termed a fantasy comedy, with Margot Robbie’s Stereotypical Barbie living in the fictional toy world of Barbieland where the children who play with the doll decide its personality. The Barbies rule the land while the Kens just exist without much agency. The film also parodies many real-world events and has many Easter eggs referencing popular films.
The storyline of the film seems to have parallels with the classic fantasy film The Wizard of Oz, except it is the other way around. In the film, Dorothy, the protagonist, escapes the real world to go into a fantastic realm. There is a reference to the film in Barbie, where there is a pink-brick road as opposed to the classic yellow-brick road. The Wizard of Oz is also seen playing in the theatre in Barbieland.
Another WB film that Barbie references is The Matrix. When Stereotypical Barbie goes to Weird Barbie for advice, the latter gives her two options whether to enter the real world or to remain in her illusion, much like Morpheus gives the ‘red pill/blue pill’ choice to Neo in The Matrix. The film also references the Snyder Cut movement.
