Barbie (2023)
Stereotypical Barbie lives in a magical place called Barbieland, where women rule the world and everything is perfect—until one day when it's not quite so perfect. Stereotypical Barbie starts changing; her feet go flat, she has out-of-character dark thoughts, and she isn't the Barbie she used to be. She has to venture out from Barbieland and discover the truth about the world—and along the way, she discovers firsthand the dangerous system of Patriarchy. Gerwig delivers an incredible introduction to feminism and a classic for the ages, whether you love or whether you hate Barbie.
Lighting and Color
Color is used frequently by Gerwig to contrast the real world and the Barbie world. The real world is represented by a brown or less saturated color while Barbieland is exclusively pink. As Barbie progresses throughout the movie and becomes more human, her outfit becomes less pink before eventually becoming brown at the end. In the beginning of the movie, Weird Barbie gives Barbie a choice between the real world, which is represented by a Brown sandal, and Barbieland, which is represented by a pink high-heel. Less saturated colors represent being "real".
Metaphors and Symbolism
The Barbie® Peggle level is modeled after many metaphors and ideas that are explored under Gerwig's direction. Most obvious at first glance is the Venus symbol (♀) and the abundance of pink, representing femininity and female empowerment, which is central to the entirety of Barbie. Near the middle of the layout, there is a line of bricks that is broken up by a hole and the Venus symbol; these bricks metaphorically represent a phenomenon known as the "glass ceiling"—the idea that there is an "invisible barrier" caused by the patriarchy preventing women from holding certain powers or accomplishing certain things.
Barbie explores this concept through the structure of Mattel's leadership. The company is famous for producing Barbie, a product more specifically targeted towards women, yet in the film not one member of the leadership committee is female, a clear and direct criticism by Gerwig. There is a certain barrier—invisible yet present—to the top. This idea is brought up again at the end of the movie once Barbieland is saved from the Kens and the narrator points out how women have less power in the real world.
In Peggle, this notion is slightly reversed, as the ball shoots from the top of the screen to the bottom. Yet the function remains the same: it is a barrier that must be broken before anyone else can reach further, and the characters, in the background of the level, have already broken some of it for us. If we expand this metaphor, the Venus symbol also has a similar meaning within the level. Due to its shape, it provides easy points and a chance at a free ball which is conducive to success. This is seen in the video at 1:20. Similarly, the pink pegs and bricks randomly throughout the level provide a boost which leads to a higher score. Orange pegs, which are required to be cleared for the level to be beaten, could also have a metaphorical meaning. They might represent important feminist milestones, such as women's suffrage, educational rights, marriage rights, among others, and "beating the level" can be seen metaphorically as fighting against the Patriarchy.
The blue bumper in the center of the level is a metaphorical representation of a patriarchal force. It stands as an obstacle to the success of the Barbies, and it is very difficult to remove or destroy. As such, they are forced to adapt. The bumper can be used to one's advantage to potentially bounce a ball into hitting a peg. In Barbie, the Barbies use Patriarchy to their benefit as well. Since they are familiar with the system which they now live under, they distract the Kens by pretending to fall under female stereotypes—such as being clueless with money and not knowing how to play sports. This allows them to take Barbies and "un-brainwash" them and mobilize them into fighting against the Patriarchy. Through this, Gerwig emphasizes the importance of being aware of gender stereotypes and that they are harmful.
The team of Barbie "deprogrammers"
The Barbies pretend to be clueless about their finances
Godfather Ken mansplains movies
Themes and Motifs
A major recurring theme in Barbie is the complexities of womanhood and the reality of living under the Patriarchy. Gerwig explores this theme in many unique ways, as both a writer and director. One such method is by contrasting the Barbies with a real-world woman. As the Barbies have been living in Barbieland for all of their lives, they can't quite put a finger on the underlying problems with Barbieland after the Kens take over. But Gloria, who is a normal person from the outside world, put it into worlds to "wake up" the Barbies and moblize them into saving Barbieland.
The Patriarchy
Gerwig also presents that the Patriarchy is a human and detrimental invention. This is shown by Ken literally making a Patriarchy in Barbieland, which collapses while the Kens are too busy fighting each other to do anything about it. Barbie is also distraught when she goes into the real-world for the first time and discovers the Patriarchy.
Gender Norms
The movie constantly acknowledges gender stereotypes; so much so that the main character is Stereotypical Barbie. She is meant to do everything stereotypically—which is also represented with the actual box she goes in—and grapples with falling out of these norms when she starts to develop thoughts of death and flat feet. When the Kens take over, the Barbies are also supposed to fit within new gender norms which more closely relate to the ones in the real-world. The Barbies are not supposed to have demanding jobs, and are just supposed to be there for the Kens' enjoyment. These troubling norms are broken and removed from the society by the Barbie 'deprogramming' team. At the end of the film, it is obvious to Barbie that she can no longer be Stereotypical Barbie, because it is based on ideals and gender norms that are impossible for any woman.
Ode to Motherhood
Gerwig creates an ode to motherhood during the film, mainly through the character Gloria. When she is taken from her thankless life in the real-world, she is finally appreciated in Barbieland the way she deserves to be. Gerwig places a montage at the end of the film using footage from the cast and crew with their mothers to show appreciation, and Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, states "we must stand still so our daughters can look back and see how far they’ve come."
The real-word Ruth Handler (on the left) versus the movie portrayal (on the right)