Barbie

“Tookie,” “RavensRoost,” and “Bluheron” (left to right) went with me to see Barbie this afternoon, each of us in as much pink as we could find in our wardrobes. The movie is certainly a cultural phenomenon: every seat in the theater was filled—for a matinee! I’ve never seen that happen before. 

It’s a more intelligent movie than I expected. It does an excellent job of exposing the absurdity of male dominance, a less successful job of subverting conventional Hollywood beauty standards, and (Sue’s prediction) it will effectively boost Mattel’s sales of Barbie and Ken dolls. What I liked best is America Ferrara’s speech about why it’s “impossible” to be a woman. In the world of the movie, that speech is what “de-programs” Barbies that have been brainwashed by patriarchy. The speech is quoted in full (spoiler alert) in this article. It ends, “I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us.”

The movie is dense with allusions to pop culture of the 80s and 90s, and I’m sure I missed three-quarters of them. I might go see it again with Bella and her mom if they haven’t seen it yet. 

Speaking of that family, they arrived home from Greece last night. I haven’t talked with them, but they’ve texted me photos from the trip, and I think they must all have had the time of their lives. The heat was intense, but less than they feared. There was no smoke where they were. They learned, they ate, they swam, they appreciated, they played…everything they had imagined and then some.