The iconic children’s play doll Barbie has finally got its blockbuster live-action adaptation. The Margot Robbie starrer Barbie was released on July 21 exceeding box office expectations. The event film was released along with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer resulting in a healthy competition among the polar opposite films and a cinematic double feature event that brought back people to the cinemas.
With Barbie being as big as it is in the theatres, earning a whopping $750 million at the global box office, it has received its fair share of criticisms. They are mostly aimed at the feminist themes in the film, which are also being viewed as anti-men. While the makers assure that it is not anti-men, a video of Margot Robbie during the film’s promotions which sees her feeling uncomfortable being branded as her counterpart Ken has been subject to boycotting.
What Is Barbie about?
Barbie is directed by Greta Gerwig, who is known for directing films that look at the female experience of living in the world. She seemed to be the perfect director to bring the story of the play doll who hopes to get out of a ‘plastic world’.
Historically, the Barbie dolls came around at a time when playing dolls for female children was aimed at child-rearing. With the introduction of Barbie, playing dolls became more aspirational, with many iterations of the doll having lucrative careers. The dolls also brought in harsh criticism for promoting unhealthy beauty standards for young females.
Barbie takes place in Barbie Land, which is a toy world that is filled with Barbies and their anatomical counterparts, Kens. One of the Barbies, played by Margot Robbie realizes that her world and the routine around her are not real. She then hopes to explore the real world and goes on a journey with her Ken. The rest of the story shows the truth she learns and how she brings it back to Barbieland.
Why Is Margot Robbie Not Happy About Being Ken?
In a promotional interview with Buzzfeed, stars Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, Micheal Cera, and Kate McKinnon are seen taking a quiz to determine which characters they are. In classic Buzzfeed style, the quiz consists of a series of hypothetical questions wherein the actors choose their preferences, resulting in them being more likely to be a Barbie, a Ken, or an Alan.
During the quiz, stars America Ferrera and Micheal Cera’s answers resulted in them being Barbie, while Kate McKinnon gets to be an Alan. However, the most surprising result was that of Margot Robbie, who was branded as Ken. Robbie did not seem very happy with the result as she exclaims with disappointment multiple times.
“Why am I, Ken?” she exclaims with disgust as the rest of the cast console her by reading out a sweet explanation about the personality of Ken. Robbie continues to be salty about the result for the rest of the interview. Fans were angry with her reaction with one of the comments saying, “Her being offended by being Ken is actually destructive to the point of the Ken arc”. Barbie has received criticism for having shallow male characters such as Ken and has come under scrutiny for being anti-men.
Is Barbie Anti-Men?
Upon release, Barbie was lauded for its exploration of feminism and existential dread. The monologue given by America Ferrera about being a woman in today’s world was appreciated. However, the film came under extreme scrutiny by a certain group of audience.
Ben Shapiro, a conservative columnist released a 40-minute video about how Barbie was anti-men and how it was a two-hour film that was filled with misandry. His news outlet the Daily Wire penned an article with the title ‘Barbie delivers feminism with a man-hating sledgehammer’. Most of the criticism seems to be aimed at the third act of the film where Ken discovers patriarchy and brings it to Barbieland to overthrow the ruling Barbies and to establish a Ken-controlled world.
On the other hand, critics have responded to these allegations by saying that the film invokes patriarchy. They defend the Margot Robbie starrer, citing it as a commentary and that the film is actually anti-patriarchy. With Margot Robbie’s apparent disgust at being a Ken in the Buzzfeed quiz, this message is seen to be ironic. However, the divisive reviews are not stopping the film’s successful run at the box office.
Source: Los Angeles Times
