Very fine and fair observation regarding the movie; about it's hitting satisfying story goals and perhaps taking itself a bit too seriously. But, oddly, for me the real interesting discussion was the one regarding how women react to and treat other women. Admittedly, this is because it addresses a central question about one of my own musical play projects languishing in stalled rewrites. I am not going to get into that here, because it utterly detracts from your narrative. But, I write encouraging you to share any other thoughts you have about this (admittedly because it would clearly help me to see the issue from a comic, satirical side - which is sorely needed.) I recognize the fine line between misogyny and a male's satirical observations on women and clearly do not wish to be on the wrong side of it. And I suspect Claire Booth Luce's THE WOMEN did highlight this discussion back in the 30s. DEATH BECOMES HER also touches on the subject of women using beauty and fashion to best one another. And while this subject is merely a minor subset to the greater thrust of the BARBIE movie focus here, if it would not be outside your range of consideration, I invite you to give some more discourse on this other subject. If it would help spark your interest in the subject, you could be begin by looking at the vast difference between BARBIE (2023) and THE WOMEN (1939) and how they make statements about women generally. Unless I am wrong, one tends to promote a "fairness and equality for all women fantasy," while the other satirically confronts the reality that to get what you truly want, fairness and female equality are unreal. That would make one movie an utter fantasy, concocted to give power to a doll to shape the lives of women while the other is a satirical reality about the lives of women. Am I way off here? Wow! I just flashed on Joan River's trashing women on the runway. What was that really all about? Was it Joan lashing out to defend her own damaged self image? Man, I may have opened a Pandora's box here. But, again, that is a far cry from the Barbie world fantasized about in the recent movie.
Kurt thank you for your thoughtful response! I know every frame of THE WOMEN and every line!! It's important to remember that Luce's original play (which was wayyyyy spicier!) and the film are a scathing satire of a particular class of American women of her time--wealthy socialites. So it's pretty over the top, but it's interesting that you cite it because it was conceived by a woman about women--and, lest we forget, it was directed by a gay man and I think the camp edge of the movie speaks for itself. Gay men for decades have defined the beauty standards and styles of women, for better or worse...but that's another piece! DEATH BECOMES HER is a pretty sharp indictment of female vanity--and I like that you bring it into this BARBIE conversation, but for a different reason: in DEATH BECOMES HER, the way the female protagonist/antagonists bring everything upon themselves and each other--men aren't blamed; the way the women behave isn't the fault of male mistreatment. Even the tempting devil bringing the youth potion like a poisoned apple is a woman, and what a woman--Isabella Rossellini. One might also bring in MEAN GIRLS, in which a very wise and funny Tina Fey exposes the ways that women undermine and betray each other. I like your thought train here! It's important, if we continue the way we're going, with girl bosses and other female archetypes and stereotypes emerging in storytelling, often accompanied by a diatribe or lecture about how all the ills of women and the world are the fault of the patriarchy. I've watched things like VELMA, and SHE-HULK, and while created by women, they don't make women look very good, and often play into horrible old tropes about women without even seeming to be aware of it: women as scolds and shrews, manipulators and emasculators, and yeah--bitches stabbing each other in the back to get to the top. But sometimes, they get it right: remember the end of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (another womans' film)? Miranda makes Andy see that she'd betrayed Emily in order to go to Paris and to get ahead (even though Miranda had given her an ultimatum)...Andy sees that viper in herself, and walks away from that world. I think women filmmakers require more time to develop past the need to either prove their value (which Robbie and Gerwig already have to the tune of billions) or to push "feminist" messages which are all about trying to either castrate or villify men. It's not strength when your empowerment can only come in defiance of the other half of the human race.
I was amused to learn from Bill Maher that the film’s decree “fight the patriarchy” at Mattel’s 12 white men board of directors is undermined by the inconvenient fact the nearly half of the board in non-fantasy life is female.
Bravo. Another brilliant essay that says exactly what I feel/think. You are so spot on and wow, what a writer.
THANK YOU, :-) I was gonna just post a Note about it...and got carried away... LOL
Very fine and fair observation regarding the movie; about it's hitting satisfying story goals and perhaps taking itself a bit too seriously. But, oddly, for me the real interesting discussion was the one regarding how women react to and treat other women. Admittedly, this is because it addresses a central question about one of my own musical play projects languishing in stalled rewrites. I am not going to get into that here, because it utterly detracts from your narrative. But, I write encouraging you to share any other thoughts you have about this (admittedly because it would clearly help me to see the issue from a comic, satirical side - which is sorely needed.) I recognize the fine line between misogyny and a male's satirical observations on women and clearly do not wish to be on the wrong side of it. And I suspect Claire Booth Luce's THE WOMEN did highlight this discussion back in the 30s. DEATH BECOMES HER also touches on the subject of women using beauty and fashion to best one another. And while this subject is merely a minor subset to the greater thrust of the BARBIE movie focus here, if it would not be outside your range of consideration, I invite you to give some more discourse on this other subject. If it would help spark your interest in the subject, you could be begin by looking at the vast difference between BARBIE (2023) and THE WOMEN (1939) and how they make statements about women generally. Unless I am wrong, one tends to promote a "fairness and equality for all women fantasy," while the other satirically confronts the reality that to get what you truly want, fairness and female equality are unreal. That would make one movie an utter fantasy, concocted to give power to a doll to shape the lives of women while the other is a satirical reality about the lives of women. Am I way off here? Wow! I just flashed on Joan River's trashing women on the runway. What was that really all about? Was it Joan lashing out to defend her own damaged self image? Man, I may have opened a Pandora's box here. But, again, that is a far cry from the Barbie world fantasized about in the recent movie.
Kurt thank you for your thoughtful response! I know every frame of THE WOMEN and every line!! It's important to remember that Luce's original play (which was wayyyyy spicier!) and the film are a scathing satire of a particular class of American women of her time--wealthy socialites. So it's pretty over the top, but it's interesting that you cite it because it was conceived by a woman about women--and, lest we forget, it was directed by a gay man and I think the camp edge of the movie speaks for itself. Gay men for decades have defined the beauty standards and styles of women, for better or worse...but that's another piece! DEATH BECOMES HER is a pretty sharp indictment of female vanity--and I like that you bring it into this BARBIE conversation, but for a different reason: in DEATH BECOMES HER, the way the female protagonist/antagonists bring everything upon themselves and each other--men aren't blamed; the way the women behave isn't the fault of male mistreatment. Even the tempting devil bringing the youth potion like a poisoned apple is a woman, and what a woman--Isabella Rossellini. One might also bring in MEAN GIRLS, in which a very wise and funny Tina Fey exposes the ways that women undermine and betray each other. I like your thought train here! It's important, if we continue the way we're going, with girl bosses and other female archetypes and stereotypes emerging in storytelling, often accompanied by a diatribe or lecture about how all the ills of women and the world are the fault of the patriarchy. I've watched things like VELMA, and SHE-HULK, and while created by women, they don't make women look very good, and often play into horrible old tropes about women without even seeming to be aware of it: women as scolds and shrews, manipulators and emasculators, and yeah--bitches stabbing each other in the back to get to the top. But sometimes, they get it right: remember the end of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (another womans' film)? Miranda makes Andy see that she'd betrayed Emily in order to go to Paris and to get ahead (even though Miranda had given her an ultimatum)...Andy sees that viper in herself, and walks away from that world. I think women filmmakers require more time to develop past the need to either prove their value (which Robbie and Gerwig already have to the tune of billions) or to push "feminist" messages which are all about trying to either castrate or villify men. It's not strength when your empowerment can only come in defiance of the other half of the human race.
I was amused to learn from Bill Maher that the film’s decree “fight the patriarchy” at Mattel’s 12 white men board of directors is undermined by the inconvenient fact the nearly half of the board in non-fantasy life is female.