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Well, I did it. I went to see Barbie. I didn’t want to go. Yet, I felt a strong sense that I needed to go. After working with girls for over 40 years, I know very well the targeted messaging that has been crippling their ability to be all that God has called them to be. With the incredible investment and marketing that has gone around this star-studded movie, I sensed that all was not pink and innocent. I sensed there was a message that the writers, producers, and directors desperately wanted to deliver to today’s moms and daughters and that compelled me to see the movie for myself.
To say that I wasted two hours of my life is an understatement. However, if those two hours could be redeemed by sharing my learnings with others, it will be an investment well worth my time. The biggest lesson of all is to warn all of those that I am able: AVOID THIS MOVIE at all costs and above all do not bring your Barbie-loving daughters! Despite its blockbuster status, its Rotten Tomatoes rating, and superlative marketing plan, this movie is a horrible misuse of an iconic children’s brand that has been with us as long as I have been living. Sure, there are some pretty production designs, beautiful costumes, and slight humor, but they are all eclipsed by the overt messages of the importance of separating the sexes, usurping and maintaining power over one another, seeking meaning through secularism and the longing to be the Creator rather than the created.
This may seem like I am angry. Well, I am. But moreover, I am sad. Sad that Mattel and the movie creators had an opportunity to empower girls to be all that they were created to be, but they drastically missed the mark. Instead, the main message seems to be that the only way to empower women is to belittle men and that the Creator should not hold a place of relevance for today’s woman. I found it ironic that the creator’s (Ruth Handler’s, Barbie’s creator, character) direction to Barbie at the end was to “feel” — putting feelings above truth and using feelings as the main factor in decision making. A very slippery slope, indeed.
The film is rife with sexuality, some overt call outs and other innuendo: from claims by the Kens that they “will beach you off,” to someone in the “real world” wanting to see Ken’s “nude blob pushing under those jeans,” to the President of Barbie Land calling the Kens “M******rs” while a Mattel logo covers her mouth and bleeps out the word, to Ken proclaiming since he and Barbie are boyfriend and girlfriend, he should spend the night, to the final statement of the film when Robbie reaches the reception area as she becomes a real woman in the real world, she proudly declares, “I’m here to see my gynecologist.”
I am sure there were plenty of times moms wished they had not brought their 5 to 9-year-old girls (typical age of the girl who plays with Barbie) to this movie.
Sexuality aside, the pandering of philosophies that promote falsehoods to the truths shared by the Lord through His Holy Scripture are abhorrent. The film’s promotors have intentionally marketed to young girls (as evidenced by the movie previews and logoed merchandise in every aisle that a girl frequents) a movie whose themes are dark, confusing, hopeless and are reflective of the mental health crisis in which our nation’s girls are already immersed. How does this film help today’s condition or today’s girl? It doesn’t.
The consistent message above all is male buffoonery and the dangers of patriarchy. From the first moment we meet Ken, he is toppled by a wave that catapults him into many somersaults before landing on shore only to be treated by Barbie. His character, of course, lacks depth and intelligence unlike his female counterpart. In his attempt to find meaning due to Barbie’s continual rebuffs, Ken forces his way to journey with Barbie to the real world. After roller blading with Barbie as she endures construction workmen cat calling and police officers making lewd comments, he decides to explore the real world himself. He is attracted to the visages of machismo he finds all around him. He even goes to the library to check out books like Origins of Patriarchy and Why Men Ruling the World Made it Better. After becoming empowered in the real world, Ken comes back to Barbie Land to change its identity to a Kendom, a place where women leave their past successful power roles to massage men’s feet, serve as brides and wives, and serve men beer. The film states that the Barbies have no defenses against patriarchy, leaving little hope to today’s women as it is impossible to be a woman in the modern age, as articulately sermonized by America Ferrara’s character.
The young teen in the movie, Sasha, who Barbie believes may have caused her feelings of depression and thoughts of death, represents Gen Z in a stereotypical fashion: angry, dark, and impassioned. When meeting Barbie, she attacks her for representing “sexualized capitalism that has set feminism back 50 years” and then she proceeds to call her a “fascist.” This character is hardly an example of the hope-filled teens that I am blessed to work with day after day.
A true example of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Barbie falls dangerously short of offering any hope for today’s women despite its pastel imagery, beautiful movie stars, and a heroine that is a beloved, iconic doll known for generations. I pray that any righteous anger towards this movie will motivate us to provide girls a venue in which they can be empowered by Truth and the beauty of God’s creation.
Thanks for watching that movie so I wouldn’t have to. I seriously doubt I could’ve endured it.
Interesting commentary. I used to be an English teacher, so I guess I can claim to have been a mentor to Teen girls and boys.
It’s too bad. I think Margo Robbie is a talented actress, although every movie she’s been in that I know of sucks except for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Ryan Gosling is talented too. The film has a long list of famous people.
Unfortunately, the films Hollywood put out now are often trash for one reason or another. People have pointed out that Barbie is anti-male. Here’s another one that Margot Robbie starred in: “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey?” It has a theme of emancipation from men/men are bad. All the men portrayed in the film are some form of evil misogynists. The titular character has a grand time as she breaks men’s legs. One reviewer who liked the movie wrote about the negative reviews: “Lots of hurt man feelings here, LOL, drink them tears ladies.”
Such films that are anti-male are only part of the problem. I’ve seen companies celebrating and valuing women more than men. Our society is trying to “empower” women. Yet masculinity has been paired up with the word, “toxic.” But no masculinity is toxic. It’s bad behavior which is toxic. Both men and women do things that are wrong. Femininity and masculinity are both good. Feminism is not. The thing is, I don’t hear much talk about “strong masculinity,” “heroic masculinity,” or “valuable masculinity.” No, people pair the word “toxic” to masculinity and it says a lot. To be successful, a woman does not have to climb the corporate ladder or be a CEO. A successful woman does NOT have multiple partners and abort their children. It is not doing whatever a man does and (supposedly) doing it better. It is not about being powerful or demeaning men. Of course there are women who do love and respect men, but that’s not the attitude of feminists in general.
Hating men and pathologizing masculinity is really hating America and pathologizing our history.
It is all done to destroy us.
It works. Men are hesitant to be masculine and girls and women are depressed. Not to mention young men growing up without fathers or male role models. Like a country with a corrupt government that normalizes lying and hatred.
Masculinity can be defined by strength of character and body, protectiveness towards others, and upholding values that keep a family, community and a country together. Thats the definition of a hero and a dad.
Good points, Cat.
We need more men like you describe, and more women who appreciate and value masculinity and the men in their lives. I focus on masculinity, maybe because I’m a man, but it’s also more under attack. But it’s not one-sided, husbands also ought to cherish their wives.
We’ve got to push back against what the feminists and those seeking to promote Marxism and the destruction of the traditional family are pushing. Their lies aren’t “empowerment,” but are harmful to individuals and ultimately, our nation.
The author, Patti Garibay, is right. This movie is pushing a Leftist, feminist message and it’s evil.
“To say that I wasted two hours of my life is an understatement. However, if those two hours could be redeemed by sharing my learnings with others, it will be an investment well worth my time. The biggest lesson of all is to warn all of those that I am able: AVOID THIS MOVIE at all costs and above all do not bring your Barbie-loving daughters!”
One positive could be that some eyes will be opened regarding feminism. For far too long, feminism has spread through the world and even the church has been infected to a degree. Feminism is bad for men and children (literally, unborn babies have been aborted thanks to feminism) but feminism is bad for women too. For anyone wanting to see the evil roots of feminism, Here’s an article you can find it if you copy and paste this in your search bar:
There’s Nothing New About Worshiping Abortion, or Linking Feminism to Satan
It’s an article by Carrie Gress.
I read somewhere that young men enjoyed the movie, because of the Kendom (Kendom a kingdom of Kens), which is kind of sad, because apparently the Kens behave more like frat boys than gentlemen.
One of the reasons that feminism is so vile and toxic is that there are too many “gentlemen”. Look at how politicians obsequiously pander to feminism. Even Republicans, in an awkward, inept way- remember Mitt Romney’s “folders full of women”?
Those simps are called “white knights,” because the cretins think they’re protecting helpless women from knuckle dragging men, even though they insist women are the equals of men. Stupid hypocrites. I hate their guts.
The movie is feminist propaganda not worth spending your time and money on
One of the more nuanced reviews I have seen was from a 20-something young woman who said that, if the Barbie toy that she had as a child had been marketed with the same message as this film, she would never have played with Barbie in the first place.
My parent’s generation had Mrs. Miniver and The Story of Madame Curie, we’ve got Barbie.
Good points. Mrs. Miniver may have been a wee bit too refined, but she made sacrifices and faced challenges of war with stout valor. And Madame Curie was a woman of real accomplishment, not a feminists who elevates women by trashing men. Her contemporary “woke” feminist counterpart would probably claim that the rigorous scientific training that Marie Curie underwent was based on “masculine” concepts such as reasoning, objectivity rather than “feelings” . Feminists after all demanded that all the stops be pulled out to recruit more women into STEM. When Affirmative Action failed to do the trick (BTW, the proprtion of women in STEM is lowest in feminist contaminated Scandinavia and anglophone countries and highest in “patriarchal” countries such India, Pakistan and China, where “Women’s Studies” are unknown), feminists attack methods of scientific inquiry as inherently masculine.
Thank you for the article. Everything I’ve seen about this intellectual wasteland of “entertainment” tells me that the joy has gone from childhood for too many.
It was just Democrap trash.
I did not see the film, but long review on YouTube by “The Critical Drinker”, blasted it in the most devastatingly humorous way. Showed a clip of the opening scene where the Barbies are smashing their baby dolls to pieces. Looked to me like support of abortion.
Of course, I’ve told everyone with children to avoid this terrible excuse for a move.
BTW, same reviewer shows clips from Snow White too…..another movie for kids turned into a nasty farce by Disney. “who must have a death wish”.
As long as Disney is controlled by “woke” leftists, it will churn out misanthropic shit.
“The Jungle Book” is the last film old Walt put out. A timeless classic cartoon that even adults can watch, as he intended it. And the songs are great.
Funny that the main cinematic rival for this bomb of a movie was itself a movie about The Bomb!
Yeah but “Oppenheimer” was good. 🙂
My son was going to take his 10 yr old daughter to see it and I kept telling him to look into it further because I was sure he would be throwing his popcorn at the screen.
He read a few conservative reviews and told his daughter it wasn’t a movie for nice girls. She didn’t seem bothered and never asked to see it again.
It’s telling that feminism is to chuck femininity and adopt the worst stereotypical traits of men. And I’ve long noticed that many gay men do the same trying to be women, and many gay women trying to be men.
Most Hollyweird movies and shows do that these days, barbie just makes it more obvious, being marketed to children.
I stopped going to movies after Hollywood dismantled the censor boards in 1967. With a very few exceptions, the vast majority of movies made since then are junk. It’s nothing but sex, profanity, and endless political indoctrination. John Nolte over at Brietbart writes outstanding pieces on the trainwreck that is Hollywood. He’s really an expert, especially on Disney, who he refers to as the Disney Grooming Syndicate.