“Barbie” (El Cerrito Theater)

Since the 60’s–not long after she was introduced in 1959– she was a symbol of misogyny and excessive consumerism . In 1970 one mantra of women’s marches was “We are not Barbie dolls”. Gloria Steinem has said that Barbie “was pretty much everything the feminist movement was trying to escape from.”(As a result my daughter never got one). In 1988 Todd Haynes made “Superstar: Karen Carpenter” using Barbie and Ken dolls to portray the tragic story of Carpenter’s anorexia. In the 90’s a version of talking Teen Barbie was withdrawn because of outrage over her saying “Math is hard”. At the same time artists like Reg Case received “cease and desist” letters from Mattel. (He photographed Barbie and Ken in mildly porn poses.) But then less than ten years ago The Andy Warhol foundation teamed with Mattel (Andy Warhol!!) to make a limited edition Andy Warhol Barbie. Art Collector Barbie went to Art Basel in 2016. Fast forward to 2023. Barbie Enlightenment has trickled down to mass media. I am sitting in a darkened sold-out 5:15 show, feeling lucky to have scored a ticket. On screen is Barbie–tons of them, in fact, since they are all named Barbie–singing and dancing in a pink feminist paradise. She’s everything we told our daughters: “you don’t need a man to buy a Dream House or a pool or a sports car. You can buy your own!”

How did I get it so wrong?

That answer would involve a complicated discussion of 60’s media theorist McLuhan’s “the medium is the massage”, a dialectic inappropriate for this platform, etcetera.

Is it worth the price of a ticket?

Yes. With a couple of caveats. It’s frothy, fun, with great acting and wonderful costume design. I would have preferred a tighter editing. It’s a little too long and occasionally confusingly fragmented. The film ticks off the list of feminist doctrine but this is a comedy–is it tongue-in-cheek?

if you can toss aside the notion that you are being manipulated, that Mattel et al are making probably billions and that you just contributed money to that cause, none of the above will bother you that much and you will have a pretty good time.