Barbie (2023)

Trigger Warning!!! I have opinions that are solely my own. If you are willing to read them with an open mind and understanding that you don’t have to agree with me to respect my opinion please continue.

However, if you emotionally have a small penis, a crippling fear of strong women, and a need to tell everyone why you are right and the rest of the world is wrong; then go find a Field and Stream or find a book on Horses to read. This review is not for you.

Why a trigger warning??? I’ve never done this before and this is my blog so of course it’s my opinions. The movie has only been out a few days and at this point (July 25 at the time I wrote this), we have already seen crazy reviews of this movie. Mostly Men, saying this movie is pure feminist agenda. Female propaganda and making men weak. Pure Santanism… Really??? The reviews that get the most Social Media outrage have been absolutely crazy; but those are the few and far between. Overall the reviews are generally positive. Just look at the incredibly bias RottenTomatoes.com has given it a 90% and the fan reviews are at a strong 87%, even with the vocal male hate towards it.

This is a movie that predominantly has a female audience. Phillip DiFranco reported an article said 65% of the audience is women and it has crushed the box office the first week. This is HUGE because movies that have leaned towards a female audience like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel still had predominantly Male audiences.

I am not afraid to admit, I was excited to see this movie. Yes, I would have waited for streaming mostly because I don’t go to the theaters post COVID, but my wife really wanted to see this and was going to go on her own. She thinks she guilted me into it, but I was really glad she decided she was seeing it. I was just bummed I didn’t have anything pink to wear to the movie.

So where do I stand on this??? I loved it. Let’s get the rating out of the way 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃!!!!

Yes I’m a man, but I’m different. I mention this from time to time in previous posts where I have mentioned things like I never fit in, I’m an introvert with crippling social anxiety, and I suffer anxiety and depression. However, I also have the privilege of being a Dad of an amazing 10 year old girl and that changed my life and a lot of how I look at the wold.

Let’s be honest, not all Dad’s are open to these changes, there are tons of toxic masculinity examples of Dad’s who control their household and make their daughters feel their purpose is to serve men. Don’t deny it, we all have seen the memes. I have plenty of strong women in my life and yet it wasn’t until I had a daughter that a whole new perspective came into my world.

My daughter deserves to be independent, believe and achieve her dreams, and know she has the strength to navigate this difficult and scary world. This caused me to look at what the world is and change to an open mind. All this was the reason I got to really love everything this movie accomplish.

The trailers did their job. The movie looked funny, and gorgeous with amazing visuals, even though they were mostly pink, and has a cast that is very impressive even with the cameos. The marketing was good, but not nearly as effective as the Barbenheimer memes and just pure social media buzz. I really want to see Oppenheimer too, but the 3 hr run time makes me want to wait for streaming. In for no other reason to pause the movie so I can use the bathroom. These movies show that even though social media can be a toxic dumpster fire, it still brought separate audiences together and possibily gave both movies audiences that might not have seen gone to see the other movie.

Now, for a very nauseating moment I will give the toxic men their due and admit that I can see why they didn’t like this movie. Barbieland is completely women led and the Kens are nothing more than unimportant filler because Barbie is all about helping girls see their place in the world. Women hold all professions and seats of power in Barbieland. If this is all you focus on and don’t keep watching, then those mens’ pride will feel attacked. What you also have to see is the strict contrast in the real world. The real world is what we are dealing with and is shown as a mostly Patriarchal structure. Again, you have to pay attention because the movie still allows for the truth that women are gaining ground, through clever and funny dialog that can be hilarious.

That being said this movie isn’t about Men vs Women, but really just about equality and the crazy stereotypes that we live it. This movie points out the need to be unique, to know who you are, and to know what you want in life. It shows that the wold is better when we work together instead of fighting against each other.

The plot also allows for growth of character for both Barbie and Ken. It wrestles with the insecurities we all have, as well as calling out the difficulties women deal with everyday. The difficulties that are shown women face are not just with men, but with themselves and other women and society. I cannot stress enough this was such a great movie with a very positive message.

As a final thought I want to mention that before the movie, during the pre-show entertainment, movie news talked about when Margot Robbie read the script sh loved it, but was so upset that no one would let them make this movie. Look at the male control over Hollywood. The difficulties of actors and writers and crew in general to be treated well by big studios, no wonder she never thought this movie would see the light of day. I’m so glad it did and it is my wife’s favorite movie of the year.

This was very well done, but you have to look at the whole picture from both points of view to really get what this movie is about in my opinion. I could be wrong and missed something myself. Please, let me know your thoughts. Tell me what you saw. I love talking different points of view as long as it is respectful.

After all of this, and I could go on longer, I want to tell you to ignore my review and go see this movie. Make your own opinion on this and decide for yourself. I loved this movie and I can’t wait to watch it again. Already pre-ordered it on iTunes. Link Here for iTunes but go find it wherever you buy media!!!