I was on vacation, when Barbie premiered in theaters across the country. When I returned home, a day after opening weekend, and, subsequently returned to the social media I had been avoiding while I was away, I was inundated with all the hot takes, critiques, deep dives and general rants about the film.
Among them were those questioning whether young children, girls in particular, should be allowed to see a PG-13-rated film, with some notable inuendos made evident in the trailer. (Not to mention the others in the movie itself.)
Some argued the film was far too mature for little kids. Others countered that much of the “adult” content would go over their heads. Then there were those who questioned why a movie called, Barbie, about a toy that has historically and continues to be played with by children under the age of 10 would be made for adults.
Before seeing the film, I could respect that view. Barbie is a children's toy, and kids who love the dolls would clamor to see a movie featuring the glamorous plastic figure.
Of course, there have been tons of kid-appropriate Barbie movies. Granted none were big-screen features, but they existed.
Unlike, many of the stereotypical “male” toys, most notably, Transformers, there has never been a major motion picture that targeted the nostalgia for stereotypical “female” toys, until now.
Barbie is first and foremost a love letter to women in their 30s and 40s. It is for the little girls who played with Barbies in the 1980s and 90s in a post-feminist-movement world that had us believing we could do and be anything. Barbie and her many careers was just a mirror of what we were lead to believe. We could be the President AND raise five children. We could cure cancer AND cook a three-course meal from scratch. Barbie didn't create the fantasy, she just gave it form.
Greta Gerwig, who is 39, infused Barbie with nods to the female millenial experience. In particular the experience of “older millenials,” “xennials,” or Gen-X cuspers. I won't share the brilliant monologue performed by America Ferrera (also age 39), because if you have yet to see the film, you deserve to be awed by its brilliance without the burden of knowing how every word has been picked apart.
All I will say about that speech is that it everyone, regardless of age or gender can appreciate its message, but it is first and foremost a manifesto for millenial women. As I listened to the words, I felt both affirmed and disheartened. I felt like Gerwig reached deep in my soul and captured everything I have felt about being a woman my age in this time.
The last movie that I can remember speaking so boldly to the experience of being a millenial woman was Promising Young Woman, which, like Barbie, was produced by Margot Robbie's production company, LuckyChap Entertainment.
Whereas Promising Young Woman was definitely not appropriate for kids and a tough watch for straight men forced to reckon with their own problematic behavior, Barbie delivered a not so different message in a much more appealing package.
So, in this way anyone can enjoy Barbie. I know many of my friends who have girls loved seeing the film with their daughters. From their experiences, it seems the more mature content went over their heads, and they were just there for the fun. I happened to go with my husband, who, appreciated seeing Margot Robbie in her Barbie splendor and enjoyed the fun and camp of the movie.
Yet, I know that when America Ferrera performed her monologue it hit different for me and every other woman of my generation. I know every absurd reality check about the experience of being female made us laugh a bit harder.
Barbie is for everyone, and it is for us.