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Greta Gerwig Thoughtfully Responds To Conservative Backlash Against Barbie-TGN

Summary

  • Barbie director Greta Gerwig responds to backlash against the film, emphasizing that the movie aims to invite everyone to let go of societal expectations that hinder equality and self-acceptance.

  • The backlash misses the point of Barbie, as the movie explores how both matriarchal and patriarchal societies fail to bring fulfillment and value to their members, and advocates for inclusivity and working together for progress.

  • Burning Barbie dolls and claiming the movie is anti-men stem from harmful societal expectations that the film challenges, promoting unity and self-love instead. Barbie’s message is meant to inspire and bring hope.

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Warning! This article contains Barbie spoilers.

Barbie director Greta Gerwig has shared a thoughtful response to the conservative backlash against the film. This has occurred despite Barbie breaking numerous box office records during its opening weekend and receiving mostly favorable reviews. The backlash includes the audience score being review bombed on Rotten Tomatoes, Ben Shapiro releasing a video of himself burning Barbie dolls, Elon Musk criticizing the movie’s stance on the patriarchy, and assertions that the movie is “woke” and “anti-men.”

While speaking with The New York Times, Gerwig was asked whether she expected this backlash prior to Barbie‘s overall well-received release. She also shared what she hopes all viewers, regardless of their feelings or political leanings, take away from watching the movie. Read her comments below:

No, I didn’t. Certainly, there’s a lot of passion. My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men. I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people.

The Backlash Misses The Point Of Barbie

Barbie‘s message is ultimately about inclusivity and self-acceptance. No matter how perfect life seems in Barbie Land at the beginning of the movie, that status quo is not restored, even when the Barbies reclaim their power. This is due to Barbie Land’s matriarchal society excluding the Kens, creating a hierarchy that prevented the Kens from being valuable and fulfilled members of their society. The patriarchal society that Ryan Gosling’s Ken establishes isn’t any better as it brainwashes the Barbies, excludes them, and strips them of their self-worth and invaluable contributions. The Kens are still left unfulfilled in this system, only with new frustrations.

The Barbie movie’s ending makes it clear that neither the matriarchal nor patriarchal society worked. Instead, changes are made that create more equality among the Barbies and Kens, along with the outcast dolls. Barbie explores how the systems such as the patriarchy harm everyone, including men, and that it is only when everyone is treated equally and works together that real progress can be made. The movie is meant to be an invitation to inclusivity and to let go of the societal standards that prevent equality and self-acceptance from happening.

Once the Barbies and the Kens release themselves from these expectations, particularly when it comes to Margot Robbie’s Barbie and Gosling’s Ken, they are much happier and are able to move forward with more meaning in their lives. Burning Barbie dolls, review bombing on Rotten Tomatoes, and believing the movie is an attack against men are rooted in the kinds of harmful societal expectations that the movie teaches its characters to let go of. Rather than being intentionally divisive, Barbie‘s messages of unity and self-love are intended to be thought-provoking and to possibly inspire and instill hope.