BARBIE Feelings and Logical fallacies

Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.

It is not too late to talk about the movie, assuming by now many have watched the much talked about film. I have always been intrigued by the doll I never got to play with myself, but got them for my girls, whenever ‘she’ changed her looks – initially; then her professions later! Of course, the first Barbie in the house was a pretty little girl, with her little kitchenet; then later upgraded to a pink bedroom with her fancy pink furniture and all-important dressing table, and a closet full of pretty clothes and high heels! Barbie was born before us, but was available mostly to the western affluent.

On the film front - according to Ryan Gosling, he accepted the role of Ken after seeing his daughter's Ken doll lying face down in the mud next to a squished lemon. He then took a shot of the doll and lemon and sent it to Greta Gerwig, saying, "I shall be your Ken, his story must be told." I was intrigued by a slide in Barbie's house that went from her bedroom to her swimming pool!

Michael Cera plays Alan in the film, who is Ken's best friend was apparently, introduced in 1964 – many of you weren’t even born! Barbie sure has come a long way since its inception. His girlfriend-turned-wife Midge also appears in the film. Both characters were canonically married in 1990 with the Wedding Day Midge dolls. How lovely!

It is said that the composer, Mark Ronson wrote the song "I'm Just Ken" largely as a joke, and recorded a demo for Greta Gerwig, not seriously expecting it to be included on the soundtrack. However, she liked the song, and when she shared it with Ryan Gosling, he felt so strongly that it added to the character of Ken and he successfully advocated for it to be made a musical number in the film. It was amazing how much Gosling's interpretation of the song improved upon his original intent.

Barbie's friend Midge in the film was first introduced in 1963 as her redheaded companion. Her appearance in this film is specifically based on the 2003 Pregnant Midge & Baby doll from the Happy Family line. This doll is infamous for having been controversial back when she was released, as the doll was accused of promoting teen pregnancy (even though Midge was an adult in this version) and for seemingly being an unwed single mother (even though Midge had gotten married to Ken's friend Allan in 1990 with the Wedding Day Midge Giftset, and Allan was a part of the Happy Family line as her husband). The box for Midge & Baby lacked a cutout of Allan in the back, making it seem like she was unmarried and pregnant, so Walmart pulled the doll from shelves and Mattel replaced it with a new box that had a cutout of Allan in the corner of the box to make it more obvious she's married, her silver wedding band on her hand was also painted to be thicker to make it more noticeable.

Issa Rae in the film plays a Barbie for President doll. Her appearance is based on the 2004 Barbie for President African American version that had a red pantsuit. Barbie for President is a Mattel doll line that first appeared in 1992 depicting Barbie as a presidential candidate, and the line reappears every presidential election year.

Barbie is 23% larger than everything in Barbieland to mimic the awkward, disproportionate scale that real Barbies and Barbie activity sets are produced in. This is why Barbie sometimes appears too large for things like her car or why ceilings seem to be too low in the Dreamhouses.

Simu Liu plays an Asian variant of Ken in the film. Though he's not based on a specific Ken, the first Asian Ken doll to be released was in 2011, with the collector edition Japan Ken (also known as the Samurai Ken) included as part of the Dolls of the World series. Not only was he the first Asian Ken, he was also the first (and so far, only) Ken to be included in Dolls of the World, which was previously a Barbie-only line.

When Barbie and Ken are first seen in the car going to the real world, the odometer on the dashboard reads 031959, a reference to the first Barbie doll launching in March 1959.

The shot of Barbie stepping out of her heels on her tippy toes is a nod to the body mold of the traditional Barbie. We have noticed, until about 8 years ago, with the introduction of Barbie Fashionista dolls with feet molded to be flat so that they can wear flat footwear, nearly all Barbie dolls were molded to only wear high heels, even if the doll had no shoes as part of the gimmick or accessories (like the beach-themed Barbie dolls for example). Such a relaxing and welcome change!

Though not directly based on a specific doll, Emma Mackey's Barbie is inspired by the Scientist, STEM Leader, and Astrophysicist Barbie dolls that Mattel has released prior as part of Barbie's various careers.

So much fluorescent pink paint was used for the set construction that it caused international shortages! However, according to information from Rosco, the paint company clarified - while the production did indeed use as much paint as the company had, the shortages were connected with the supply chain problem during the Covid-19 pandemic.

There’s also a Barbie, the Diplomat. Though there hasn't been a Diplomat Barbie doll released specifically, the Australian Diplomat Julie Bishop was honored with a Barbie doll by Mattel in 2021, as she was the first woman to serve as Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs. Ritu Arya plays a Pulitzer Prize winning Barbie in the film. She's not based on any specific Barbie but there was the commemorative release of the Ida B. Wells Barbie released in 2021 as part of the Inspiring Women series, who herself is a Pulitzer Prize winner. Numerous Barbie-affiliated celebrities and public figures were used to promote the film. Rapper Nicki Minaj's fans are commonly referred to as "Barbz," after Barbie, and Minaj contributed a track to the movie's soundtrack. Drag queen and comedian Trixie Mattel, whose drag persona is modeled after a Barbie doll, was also invited to the movie's premiere. Azusa Sakamoto, who is a nail artist, Barbie lifestyle influencer on YouTube, and a collector with at least 1,000 dolls in her collection, was invited to the Barbie premiere as well. The doctor Barbie in the film, is inspired by the historically important Doctor Barbie released in 1973, depicted as an M.D. with teal blue scrubs, surgical mask, and a stethoscope. The doll had actually received a commemorative reproduction by Mattel in 2022. Margot Robbie's Barbie never wears any rings on her fingers, a nod to the classic toy doll having fingers that are connected so rings would not fit.

Barbie at 60

Barbie Millicent Roberts is celebrating her 60th birthday. She is a toy. A doll. Yet she has grown into a phenomenon. An iconic figure, recognized by millions of children and adults worldwide, she has remained a popular choice for more than six decades – a somewhat unprecedented feat for a doll in the toy industry.

She is also, arguably, the original “influencer” of young girls, pushing an image and lifestyle that can shape what they aspire to be like. So, at 60, how is the iconic Barbie stepping up to support her fellow women and girls?

When Barbie was born many toys for young girls were of the baby doll variety; encouraging nurturing and motherhood and perpetuating the idea that a girl’s future role would be one of homemaker and mother. Thus, Barbie was born out of a desire to give girls something more. Barbie was a fashion model with her own career. The idea that girls could play with her and imagine their future selves, whatever that may be, was central to the Barbie brand. However, the “something more” that was given fell short of empowering girls, by today’s standards. And Barbie has been described as “an agent of female oppression”. The focus on play that imagined being grown up, with perfect hair, a perfect body, a plethora of outfits, a sexualized physique, and a perfect first love (in the equally perfect Ken) has been criticized over the years for perpetuating a different kind of ideal – one centered around body image, with dangerous consequences for girls’ mental and physical health.