Whoever joked about Barbie being a silly, old, corny movie has never played with actual Barbies growing up. Don't even get me started on the Oppenheimer beef – the new Christopher Nolan film that was supposed to premiere on the same weekend which led to pretentious film buffs creating a nonsensical war between movies to see which one could gross more in the box office. Greta Gerwig's newest film isn't here to compete with other films, as the latest trailer and newly announced soundtrack – featuring Dua Lipa – suggest that Barbie is playing in another league.
“Humans only have one ending, ideas are forever,” is the phrase that has stuck with us after watching the clip, as the main character, Barbie, confronts a reality she never had to face before. In Gerwig's own words, the film is an allegory of girls reaching their teenage years, “They’re funny and brash and confident, and then they just—stop. All of a sudden, she thinks, ‘Oh, I’m not good enough’.” Barbie is here to challenge us to go back to those years and realise when and why everything started to go downhill.
With a simple scene which features a battered up, defaced Barbie talking to Margot Robbie's character in a Matrix-like blue pill/red pill situation, she asks her if she wants to stay in her world seen through rose-tinted glasses by choosing a bejewelled pink pump or to actually live out the human unadulterated brown Birkenstock existence. Barbie obviously chooses the former over the latter, to which the weathered Barbie says “Wrong choice.” The bottle-blond beauty is then transported to the real world, followed by her Ken, of course, much to her eventual dismay.
This coming-of-age movie of sorts which explores womanhood – I mean, Greta Gerwig is no stranger to this topic, think of Lady Bird and Little Women – comes with a cherry on top, or a pink plastic case in this case, which is an ingeniously assembled album soundtrack featuring Dua Lipa's Dance The Night and new songs from the likes of Charlie XCX, Lizzo, Ice Spice, PinkPantheress and Nicki Minaj – Barbs, rejoice! –, among many others. This film is here to clearly challenge our thoughts around womanhood, femininity and all things pink, so try to enjoy the wait until July 20th, and remember, Barbie is everything, but he's just Ken.
With a simple scene which features a battered up, defaced Barbie talking to Margot Robbie's character in a Matrix-like blue pill/red pill situation, she asks her if she wants to stay in her world seen through rose-tinted glasses by choosing a bejewelled pink pump or to actually live out the human unadulterated brown Birkenstock existence. Barbie obviously chooses the former over the latter, to which the weathered Barbie says “Wrong choice.” The bottle-blond beauty is then transported to the real world, followed by her Ken, of course, much to her eventual dismay.
This coming-of-age movie of sorts which explores womanhood – I mean, Greta Gerwig is no stranger to this topic, think of Lady Bird and Little Women – comes with a cherry on top, or a pink plastic case in this case, which is an ingeniously assembled album soundtrack featuring Dua Lipa's Dance The Night and new songs from the likes of Charlie XCX, Lizzo, Ice Spice, PinkPantheress and Nicki Minaj – Barbs, rejoice! –, among many others. This film is here to clearly challenge our thoughts around womanhood, femininity and all things pink, so try to enjoy the wait until July 20th, and remember, Barbie is everything, but he's just Ken.