- Feb 5, 2002
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Creative and visually stunning, the Barbie movie suffers because it lacks an authentic vision of the human person.
As someone who played with Barbies more than any other toy as a kid—shout-out to my beloved Pioneer Barbie—I had high hopes going into the Barbie movie.
If nothing else, Barbie is a fun watch, creative, clever, and visually stunning. But I found that it’s missing a critical vision of the human person, leaving the audience with a surprisingly sad message.
*Warning: Lots of spoilers ahead.*
The film starts sweet, simple, and innocent, as if you’re playing with real-life Barbies. But then Barbie and Ken enter the Real World, and things get complicated.
In Barbieland, girls rule, and boys are an afterthought. When Ken gets to the Real World and discovers “the patriarchy,” he tries to bring it back to Barbieland and seize power.
Barbie’s discovery of injustice comes as a rude shock, like what a young girl might feel when she learns about these things.
But the film leaves this realization mostly unresolved, and that’s the problem. (As other reviewers noted, “one of the film’s weaknesses is too many underdeveloped ideas.”)
Brenda Rocha – Blossom | Brenda Rocha – Blossom
Continued below.
aleteia.org
As someone who played with Barbies more than any other toy as a kid—shout-out to my beloved Pioneer Barbie—I had high hopes going into the Barbie movie.
If nothing else, Barbie is a fun watch, creative, clever, and visually stunning. But I found that it’s missing a critical vision of the human person, leaving the audience with a surprisingly sad message.
*Warning: Lots of spoilers ahead.*
A film about growing up
Barbie is about growing up as a woman. The story shows what’s going on inside a girl’s head as she leaves behind childhood.The film starts sweet, simple, and innocent, as if you’re playing with real-life Barbies. But then Barbie and Ken enter the Real World, and things get complicated.
In Barbieland, girls rule, and boys are an afterthought. When Ken gets to the Real World and discovers “the patriarchy,” he tries to bring it back to Barbieland and seize power.
Barbie’s discovery of injustice comes as a rude shock, like what a young girl might feel when she learns about these things.
But the film leaves this realization mostly unresolved, and that’s the problem. (As other reviewers noted, “one of the film’s weaknesses is too many underdeveloped ideas.”)
Brenda Rocha – Blossom | Brenda Rocha – Blossom
A hopeless competition
Continued below.
The Barbie movie’s plastic view of human relationships
and visually stunning, the Barbie movie suffers because it lacks an authentic vision of the human person.
aleteia.org
