Over the summer, Barbie swept the nation with its bright pink color theme and viral Barbie poster memes. It became rapidly popular in the Waterford area with many Waterford High School students having gone to see the movie.
Written by Greta Gerwig, the movie spotlights a diverse group of Barbies and Kens who live in a magical world called Barbie Land. According to Cision PR Newswire, Barbie was the highest grossing movie of the year earning more than 1.38 billion dollars worldwide.
For many women, Barbie felt like a celebration of femininity, women empowerment, and the color pink. The general consensus is that Barbie shows the pros and cons of womanhood and conveys the realities of a woman’s existence. For girls at Waterford High School, Barbie was not a regular movie, it was an event. The color pink was everywhere and ‘I’m Kenough’ shirts were even being sold online. Additionally, the interpretations of the movie plot and message also varied.
Camryn Thibodeau, a senior at Waterford High School, joined in on the exciting event with her friends. Growing up, she had a huge Barbie dream dollhouse that she would look after and take care of. The house was prolific to her because she could create her own world in the Barbie universe. Initially, Thibodeau viewed the film with hesitation but had her mind changed after the movie started gaining positive reception: “Everybody on social media was saying they related to the movie and thought the movie was important. That’s when I realized I wanted to see it.” Thibodeau said. For Thibodeau, she had a strong interpretation of the film saying, “The movie pointed out how men have power that is naturally ingrained in society and how easily it is for women to be oppressed.
For Marializ Diaz, another senior at Waterford High School, the film was an important moment for women. When I was younger, Diaz said, “I had one Barbie Doll and her hair would change color,” she said. Seeing the first teaser for the film excited her. She made it a mission of hers to dress herself in pink for the movie premiere. She knew immediately the film would be successful. “I was so excited to see the film because I knew it was gonna be good. In fact, the only doubt I had was the person playing Ken” laughs. After seeing the film, Diaz appreciated the underlying message saying, “The movie showed a male and female perspective in a way that was funny and silly. It explores a woman’s reality in a way that benefits and empowers us.”
Additionally, Maria Polloka, a sophomore, had a big love for dolls growing up so she was given many Babrie dolls from family members. As expected, because of her love for Barbie, she was thrilled to go see the Barbie movie. Polloka was determined to see the movie with or without the promotion: “The hype for Barbie definitely made people more excited for it but even if they didn’t end up promoting it, I still would’ve wanted to see it.” Initially, her first impression movie was that it was going to be a regular kids movie so when she heard that the movie had a underlying ‘feminist’ message, she was disappointed: “I was hoping that it was going to be a regular fairy tale story so when the movie talked about multiple social issues I was a little disappointed.” In the end, Polloka had a unique take on the film saying, “Overall, I think the point of the movie was to show Barbie finding her identity and discovering herself out of Barbieland.”
While the reception of the movie was generally positive, for Emma Way, another senior at Waterford High School, her initial reaction to the Barbie teaser was the complete opposite of excitement: “I didn’t even know they were making a Barbie movie.” Way said, “I’ve always watched the animated Barbie movies, so I didn’t think it would work live-action.” For Way, she already had a dislike for live actions, so she didn’t care for the movie at all. In fact, even the social media hype didn’t convince her. She only ended up seeing it out of curiosity. “I didn’t see the hype for it on social media,” she said. “There was honestly more hype for it after I saw it. I just saw it to see what it was about.”
After sitting through the 1 hour and 54 minute film, Way enjoyed the light-hearted nature of the satirical film but only got a vague understanding of a deeper meaning. “The movie definitely had more meaning to others,” she said. “I think the movie benefited women by showing the female perspective. I guess they also talked about feminism too. That’s all I took from it”. Overall, she enjoyed the film and appreciated the message it was trying to deliver.
Overall, the Barbie film has impacted pop culture and has proved that woman-led films can be successful and amazing.
