Barbie Movie

[Cognisant]

Stereotypical Barbie and a wide range of fellow Barbies all reside in Barbieland, a matriarchal society where all women are self-confident, self-sufficient, and successful. While their Ken counterparts spend their days engaging in recreational activities at the beach, the Barbies hold all important job positions, working as doctors, lawyers, and politicians. Stereotypical Ken, Barbie's boyfriend, is only happy when with Barbie and seeks a closer relationship, but Barbie rebuffs him in favor of independence and female friendships. During a dance party, Stereotypical Barbie suddenly becomes stricken with worries about her own mortality. The next day, she finds she can no longer complete her usual routine and activities, and her hair and skin are no longer free of blemishes. She meets with Weird Barbie, a local outcast, who tells her that in order to cure her mysterious affliction, she must travel into the real world and find the child playing with her.

On the way to the real world, Stereotypical Ken stows away in Stereotypical Barbie's convertible. Arriving at Venice Beach through a portal, the pair cause multiple antics in the area, alarming the Mattel CEO, who orders their capture. Stereotypical Barbie tracks down her owner, a tween girl named Sasha, who criticizes Barbie for encouraging unrealistic beauty standards and shallow consumerism. A distraught Barbie discovers that Gloria, a Mattel employee and Sasha's mother, is the catalyst of her existential crisis. Gloria began playing with Sasha's Barbie toys while experiencing her own identity crisis, inadvertently transferring her concerns to Stereotypical Barbie. Stereotypical Barbie is almost caught by Mattel's CEO and his subordinates, but Gloria and Sasha rescue her and the three travel together to Barbieland.

Meanwhile, Stereotypical Ken learns about the American patriarchal system, and feels important and accepted for the first time. Returning to Barbieland, he easily persuades the other Kens into taking over. The Barbies are rapidly subjugated into submissive roles as maids, housewives, and agreeable girlfriends. Arriving in Barbieland, Stereotypical Barbie tries to convince Ken and the Barbies to return things to the way they were, only to be rebuffed. Sasha inspires a depressed Barbie by acknowledging the inherent contradictions of American femininity. With the encouragement of Sasha, Gloria, Weird Barbie, Allan, and other abandoned toy lines, the Barbies free themselves from the Kens and manipulate the Kens to fight amongst themselves on the Barbieland beach.

After a truce, the Barbies quickly regain their systemic power, and both Stereotypical Barbie and Ken apologize to one another and each acknowledge their failings. Ken bemoans that he has no identity or purpose without Barbie, to which Barbie encourages him to foster an autonomous identity. Stereotypical Barbie, who remains unsure of her own purpose and identity, meets with the ghost of Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler. Ruth explains that Barbie's story has no set ending and her ever-evolving history surpasses that of her roots. Moved by this, Stereotypical Barbie decides to become human and return to the real world. Some time later, Gloria, her husband, and Sasha take Barbie, now going by the name "Barbara Handler",[a] to a gynecologist for her first appointment.

So the ideal matriarchal society is one where all the men are useless layabouts and the women do all the work? But only the fun and glamorous work of course, can't have women collecting garbage, unblocking toilets or doing menial labour.

And this ideal matriarchal society where women are neigh omnipotent and men are useless can be overthrown almost immediately by just one guy realizing his inherent masculine primacy?

My favorite part of all this is that it's supposed to show that the matriarchy is the way things ought to be, that women ought to dominate society and men should adopt a secondary role lest they get in over their heads and mess things up, meanwhile in reality this movie and the money it will lose and the damage it will do to the Barbie brand is a perfect example of why the exact opposite is true.

I need to go see this movie, I want to find out what they think the "inherent contradictions of American femininity" are, I bet it's going to be hilarious.

 

[sushi]

i will also see it even though i have 0 interest

 

[dr froyd]

sounds pretty wild that they would insert all this cultural-marxism propaganda into a barbie movie, but it wouldn't surprise me. Gotta keep programmin them kids.

I have see it for myself though

 

[birdsnestfern]

As soon as Amazon prime has it available, I'd like to see it.

Daily Mail's Sarah Vine wrote: "It's a deeply anti-man movie, an extension of all that TikTok feminism that paints any form of masculinity - other than the most anodyne - as toxic and predatory...

"Every male character is either an idiot, a bigot or a sad, rather pathetic loser. If the roles were reversed, and a male director made a film about how all women were hysterical, neurotic, gold-digging witches, it would be denounced - quite rightly - as deeply offensive and sexist."

She concluded: "It's uneven, disjointed, the plot makes no real sense - and the dead hand of corporate America weighs heavily upon it."

Barbie reviews: What do critics make of the Margot Robbie film?

One review calls the film "painfully funny", but another describes it as "uneven and disjointed".

www.bbc.com

Someone ELSE wrote this:
Watch all the many male oriented films, especially from the 80's backwards. If Robbie did anything, it was a role reversal. A request that men put themselves in the roles that women were given on screen or off, and try to imagine how limiting and humiliating that would feel. The movie also highlights allowing men to cry, to show joy, to express themselves. I could go on, but won't. I believe Vine is too programmed (as the movie points out), or makes too much money pretending to be programmed, for me to care about her opinion. This movie needed to be done, and it needed to be done with little subtlety because the message just hasn't been getting through. Thanks, in part, to women like Vine. Get on a women's FB page. You will find men trolling and harassing women. From laughing at their every comment to making derogatory and insulting remarks. Do women do that to men on male-oriented sites? Lastly, I've been a woman in the 80's. No one is going to tell me I didn't experience what I did. It's gotten better now, but even a year ago when I was out on a walk a few houses from home, a man pulls up in a car and starts remarking on my skin and body. Then asks if I have a boyfriend. I was angry but fearful as I had no idea what this man might do. (Can this fear finally be appreciated? How often do men have to physically fear women? The stats are in, not going to lie to make men feel better--they commit most of the violent crime, especially against women.) I HAD to play along (and that angered me), I told him I was married, and after a few more unwanted comments, he slowly pulled away. I was 57 years old taking a walk in my little neighborhood. This was 2022. A tiny spoiler alert: At the end of the movie, Barbie gives herself permission to be human. Flaws and all. What better gift than that from women who have been trying to be perfectly everything at once?

And someone ELSE wrote this:
It’s a movie about Barbie. I enjoyed it. Yes the role reversal is there and there was redemption of the Ken at the end. But it is also consistent with how girls played with Barbie. Ken was an afterthought, Barbie was the main character in girl play. Good fun and lighthearted.

 

[Cognisant]

Do women do that to men on male-oriented sites?

They do and I'm not surprised this idiot gets mocked, the internet isn't a safe space it's a wild west saloon where being an idiot will get one mocked and if she thinks harassment on the internet is exclusively male on female then she's clearly an idiot.

Lastly, I've been a woman in the 80's. No one is going to tell me I didn't experience what I did. It's gotten better now, but even a year ago when I was out on a walk a few houses from home, a man pulls up in a car and starts remarking on my skin and body. Then asks if I have a boyfriend. I was angry but fearful as I had no idea what this man might do. (Can this fear finally be appreciated? How often do men have to physically fear women? The stats are in, not going to lie to make men feel better--they commit most of the violent crime, especially against women.) I HAD to play along (and that angered me), I told him I was married, and after a few more unwanted comments, he slowly pulled away. I was 57 years old taking a walk in my little neighborhood. This was 2022.

No it wasn't grandma, that does sound like something that happened to her in the 80s when she was in her 20s, but nobody rolls up trying to sweet talk random women on the street these days, certainly not a 57yr old. Well I suppose it could have been a guy in his 50s trying to relive the glory days of his youth.

Even if this ridiculous story is true, so what? Why do the rest of us have to suffer for the antics of the occasional weirdo, because going by the same principle that means I get to hold all women accountable for the antics of femnazi misandrists.

But it is also consistent with how girls played with Barbie. Ken was an afterthought, Barbie was the main character in girl play. Good fun and lighthearted.

Which is fine, I don't think anyone had their heart set on Ken being the star of the Barbie movie nor would they have cared if Barbie overshadowed him. We're not like women we don't need to take over every franchise and try and kill off and replace the start of the show with a female version who's just inherently better because she's female. We're not that petty and insecure.

 

[Cognisant]

 

[birdsnestfern]

I wasn't a barbie fan, but I worked in a catalog call center where if you won the highest sales of the month, you won prizes. I won two months in a row, and earned a Christian Dior Barbie worth $250 and several Coca cola collectables, ornaments and pins for high sales. This isn't the Dior, just a copy of one of the original Barbies.

 

[ZenRaiden]

Unfortunately most if not almost all artists are severely traumatized people. Usually they are also highly sensitive people.
However any female that makes the narrative that all men belong to the box of evil, is invariably going to traumatize women who have actually been abused by man, and instead of healing their ego they will hurt them in the long run.
No matter how cute and sensible the narrative tries to be the bottom line message women get is men are "pain".

I agree women today are treated like garbage by men. However modern society will not solve this by painting all men as wrong and defective in order to deal with the fact women are treated like garbage by men.

Men who are often victims of trauma and evolve to be abusive towards women rarely if ever want to get better, while men who fall victim to this message often are the goodie two shoes who let feminazies rule them with iron fist.

Thus extinguishing the natural chemistry.

I really do believe hollywood is a good example of how collective unconscious is dealing with a collective societal wound of the world we live in.
We live in an abnormal world and we have not found a way to deal with modern day by adapting to modern day.

I seriously can't think of a famous artist who was not victim of either trauma or severely mentally ill.

Women have great deal of power over men and they don't even know it.
But shutting down men as creatures who are not be trusted will really make all traumatized women even more guarded and look for bad apples, instead of realizing lots of guys are just simply normies with quiet normal attributes and general misguided ideas about females too, because we as humans were evolved to interact.

Well if you look at interactions of males and females today they are pretty short and shallow.
And of course our knowledge of opposite sex mostly come from those interactions.
And of course our way of interacting evolves on that basis.
Naturally I feel less and less inclined to talk to women as most of them just seem so distant.
I think its part because I was traumatized, but I also think its part because of how our society evolved really weirdly.

 

[scorpiomover]

As soon as Amazon prime has it available, I'd like to see it.

Daily Mail's Sarah Vine wrote: "It's a deeply anti-man movie,

Someone ELSE wrote this:
Watch all the many male oriented films, especially from the 80's backwards. If Robbie did anything, it was a role reversal.

I find this deliciously ironic. Margot Robbie is dressed up like a blonde bimbo for men to play with, use and abuse at their will, and yet somehow this is a movie that supports feminism?

It's very clear that the Hollywood Patriarchy has decided to bring back old-fashioned attitudes that view women as mere accoutrements to men. But that would be a hard sell. So they are trying to paint it as if somehow it's a demonstration of women's rights, "because it's a woman's right to CHOOSE to be a male's plaything".

I'd love to say this would not work. But Hollywood has form for doing this sort of manipulation, and it working.

 

[Cognisant]

I agree women today are treated like garbage by men.

Men in general or specific men? I certainly agree that there are specific men who treat women badly, I've lived with an abusive step-father and seen/experienced such treatment first hand.

But as for men in general I couldn't disagree more, I think we live in a time where women are treated exceptionally well but are running afoul of their own dissonance with reality, a dissonance that is a direct consequence of how much they've been coddled.

 

[Cognisant]

It's very clear that the Hollywood Patriarchy has decided to bring back old-fashioned attitudes that view women as mere accoutrements to men. But that would be a hard sell. So they are trying to paint it as if somehow it's a demonstration of women's rights, "because it's a woman's right to CHOOSE to be a male's plaything".

Indeed it is such a bad take on feminism (completely devoid of equality) that it seems too incompetent to be true, that this was actually an ingenious ploy to undermine feminism, after all surely the people in charge of productions that cost hundreds of millions of dollars couldn't be incompetent, right?

(gestures broadly to the burning shit covered ruins of the once seemingly unstoppable Disney empire) Surely no one would take a scheme this far, bleed themselves so thoroughly just to cover up their ulterior motives, the truth is scorpiomover they actually are that incompetent. As hard as it may be to believe.

 

[ZenRaiden]

Men in general or specific men?

Yes the bad guys. Not all obviously.

I certainly agree that there are specific men who treat women badly, I've lived with an abusive step-father and seen/experienced such treatment first hand.

Yeah, most people are civil, but the idea is to treat people well behind close doors, that is indeed where things really show. That is where barbie movies don't help.
That is where character good or bad happens.

I think we live in a time where women are treated exceptionally well

Yeah I agree, even the notion of patriarchy is kind of weak these days.
At least we don't have men running around and telling women they are bread winners and man of the house. Which is kind of notion that fit the times where women were expected to take care of laundry and dirty dippers.

 

[Cognisant]

At least we don't have men running around and telling women they are bread winners and man of the house.

That's called responsibility.

When you are the "bread winner" and the "man of the house" that gives you a certain degree of influence because the other members of your household are relying on you.

You know what being the bread winner means? It means the food on the table is there because you worked for it.

You know what being the man of the house means? It means if there's an intruder in the middle of the night you're the one who has to confront them, or if something's broken it's your responsibility to fix it, or if the house catches fire you're the last one out because you don't leave until you know for certain everyone else is safe.

And if you're outside and someone's missing you go back in.

Women love to bitch and moan about society's expectations, what a burden it is to present themselves as pretty and demure (which they often don't). Try being the man whose family burned to death in a house fire that he survived, see how privileged men are when a man fails to live up to what's expected of him.

We live in a society where a woman can take almost everything from her husband on a whim, where men live in fear of causing offense because a woman's opinion of him can destroy his relationships and career, where women can falsely accuse men of rape and get a slap on the wrist for it (assuming the man is able to successfully defend himself) while his life is destroyed by a baseless accusation.

If you don't think we live in a MATRIARCHY you're fucking mad.

 

[ZenRaiden]

That's called responsibility.

Yeah and responsibility is often defined by people in relationship not society.
Of all things when today women can make multiple that of men easily.
Also money on food are not always the greatest expense. Often times its only the highest expense for low income families.
For higher incomes food is negligible.

When you are the "bread winner" and the "man of the house" that gives you a certain degree of influence because the other members of your household are relying on you.

We should not conflate reliance with words like influence.
What do you even mean? I mean specifically not theoretically?
What influence does a man get to have in family?

You know what being the man of the house means? It means if there's an intruder in the middle of the night you're the one who has to confront them, or if something's broken it's your responsibility to fix it, or if the house catches fire you're the last one out because you don't leave until you know for certain everyone else is safe.

Yes. What is your point? If I were a cripple and my wife were judo gold medalist would she not get up and neutralize the intruder though?
Are we talking about relationships or contracts?

And if you're outside and someone's missing you go back in.

Statistically that is true.
I have heard a story of a female lifting a car from her husband who was fixing it.
The adrenaline she got made her able to lift the car, but she tore all main ligaments in her body. Barbies don't do that, but people who love each other to death do.

Women love to bitch and moan about society's expectations,

Come on man here were are doing the same thing.
Kind of like people who talk behind other peoples back about how other people talk behind their back. Can you dig it?
And we should complain sometimes, when it sux.
Why not. Without complaining we are not heard.
Without getting heard we never get where we want to be.
Granted the barbie movie is confusing according to the story you linked.
But the movie is not societal standard. We agree on that don't we?

Try being the man whose family burned to death in a house fire that he survived, see how privileged men are when a man fails to live up to what's expected of him.

I agree, but life is different for everyone. My main point is formula for family and good relationship that existed prior does not apply today.
If we rigidly apply it we get burned for real, slowly roasted at the altar of societal pressure and expectations that were instilled in us.
I don't want to be locked in a relationship with someone and slowly whither away.
If females settle for less both lose. If men settle for less both lose.
Its up to man and female to define and create a relationship.
Any message other than that is toxic inevitably.
Because people outside of the direct relationship have no bone in it, and no metric for how the relationship can function.
Its the people who run it and create it that have best shot at making it the most.
I want to see a movie about that.
Neither male or female dictums.

We live in a society where a woman can take almost everything from her husband on a whim, where men live in fear of causing offense because a woman's opinion of him can destroy his relationships and career, where women can falsely accuse men of rape and get a slap on the wrist for it (assuming the man is able to successfully defend himself) while his life is destroyed by a baseless accusation.

Yeah and this needs to stop ASAP. Because this is destroying society.
Females who do this to males have no empathy or character.
But destroying someones life be it male or female is pure malignancy.
Its a type of pathology that needs to be eradicated.

If you don't think we live in a MATRIARCHY you're fucking mad.

I actually don't know what society we have. What I see is a society with variable standards depending on who you ask.
There seems to be no mutual universal contract between the two sexes on how to conduct things.
Everything is sandbox game. What you make it. And honestly that is great, but also fucking confusing.

 

[Cognisant]

Yes. What is your point? If I were a cripple and my wife were judo gold medalist would she not get up and neutralize the intruder though?
Are we talking about relationships or contracts?

My point is that by saying "At least we don't have men running around and telling women they are bread winners and man of the house." you appear to be mocking masculinity, vilifying it even, do you not understand that these are meant to be example of virtuous masculine behavior?

And then you continue on to say (paraphrasing) oh well food isn't that expensive, it's basically a negligible expense unless you're poor, and, we should not conflate reliance and independence, just because a man serves his family doesn't mean they're obligated to heed him. And, like, y'know, some women are gold medal winning olympic martial artists so it's not like all women need a man to protect them.

So to summarize your point men aren't necessary anymore, they're not needed, or heeded nor respected, I guess we should all just fuck off and die then. Yeah?

 

[ZenRaiden]

you appear to be mocking masculinity, vilifying it even, do you not understand that these are meant to be example of virtuous masculine behavior?

I was not mocking it, but the times these ideas were alive were different.
Those ideas after wwII were actually good ideas. They were not bad ideas.
They were good fit for the time period give the way jobs worked.
I also don't think women or men actually enjoyed this idea.
I was not mocking it, I think most men if given a choice would not indulge in this mindset. We live in a world where this mindset is no longer necessary and I say good riddance.
Also maybe you view protecting the weak as virtuous or even worth some credit or something.
I think protecting the weak, be it a women that lives with you or nay even family is common sense. Its just the way sometimes shit is. You are right its not the same for women and men. But I still thank the lord I was born a man. Maybe that is just my bias. I am fine with the fact I might have to put my life on the line in the unlikely event that someone weaker is under danger. That does not mean I would gladly do it for someone who does not care about this, but Id still do it. So I would probably a choose a partner that can appreciate it. But I am not gonna cry about this. On flip side it would be kind of cool having tits just to try them out. But honestly I am fine being a male.
If some woman takes it for granted that I protect her, I guess its just the way it is.
Am I gonna cry about it? NO!

And then you continue on to say (paraphrasing) oh well food isn't that expensive,

I mean salad is like 1 euro here? What am I supposed to say? You can certainly make a life eating cheap food, and save a ton, and still be healthier than people who eat expensive. Paradoxically eating healthy today is dirty cheap.
I am not sure that is the case for all modern cities and towns in the world.
But where I live a bean can and some carrots are cheap as fuck.

it's basically a negligible expense unless you're poor, and, we should not conflate reliance and independence, just because a man serves his family doesn't mean they're obligated to heed him.

I actually don't know what you mean by this honestly, you are talking to an idiot just so you know. I am not so well versed in current "agendas" of war between sexes to know where reliance came in.

My main observation is that we live in a world where we are dealing with different variables. Careers for life where you have steady income no longer exist as common type of job. College no longer serves as gateway to better income.
Trade jobs are anywhere from shit to billionaire business.
You can have 140 jobs during your life if you like, where in the past when you were a miner mining coal it was for life.
Odd jobs, new jobs, 21 century jobs that are invented over night. Renting, housing, the fact you can buy a house in alaska and in Spain while working at 7 11.
I mean we live in a world that was not in existence before. The variables and options we have today, are endless, compared to what was prior to this.
And all this means the roles women and men play in todays world will be differently balanced game. Sometimes the relationships we enter should not be boxed in by some preordained mindset.

 

[scorpiomover]

(gestures broadly to the burning shit covered ruins of the once seemingly unstoppable Disney empire)

The Walt Disney Company announced a revenue of 82.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, an increase of over 15 billion U.S. dollars on the figure recorded in the previous year

Indeed it is such a bad take on feminism (completely devoid of equality) that it seems too incompetent to be true, that this was actually an ingenious ploy to undermine feminism, after all surely the people in charge of productions that cost hundreds of millions of dollars couldn't be incompetent, right?

Surely no one would take a scheme this far, bleed themselves so thoroughly just to cover up their ulterior motives, the truth is scorpiomover they actually are that incompetent. As hard as it may be to believe.

Barbie's character is a woman who dyes her hair blonde and pretends to be an airhead, so everyone cuts her slack for being a pretty airhead, and so she gets away with everything.

This film was liked by a lot of people, but considered to have very little content. It's a "pretty airhead" of a film. So everyone cuts her slack for being a pretty airhead, and so she gets away with everything.

 

[ZenRaiden]

Barbie's character is a woman who dyes her hair blonde and pretends to be an airhead, so everyone cuts her slack for being a pretty airhead, and so she gets away with everything.

This film was liked by a lot of people, but considered to have very little content. It's a "pretty airhead" of a film. So everyone cuts her slack for being a pretty airhead, and so she gets away with everything.

Pretty airhead is pretty interesting concept.
So what you are saying is that people who are airheads get away with stuff.
But then lot of times I feel like that is true only sometimes.
I get the feeling like a lot of times airheads also get treated like airheads.
I personally prefer being considered airhead, its simpler that way to socialize.
Because when people assume you are intelligent it also means they will assume you can do anything.
So socially people come with loaded assumptions with everything.
I feel like assumptions social expectations are always part of these movies.
For instance people might assume I can do X because I can understand Y.
I feel self conscious understanding certain things while struggling with grammar, writing, or arithmetic. I am also self conscious about my knowledge of memory and not being able to remember things like when to pick up my meds.

So I feel safe talking smart to people here, because I know they cannot make assumptions about my day to day inadequate life style. It helps because these assumptions about my intellect don't hinder the facts I present.
If you knew me in real life youd probably assume I am borderline retarded.
And sometimes you would probably assume I am faking.
My family always tells me how smart I am, but compared to a regular sensor like half wit ISTJ I am a moron when it comes to daily survival.