Description
Barbie (2023) was one of the blockbuster movies of last summer, which not only created a record box office but it also unleashed a pop-cultural ripple effect - from inspiring audiences to dress in pink for the movie projections, through the viewers using “This Barbie…” photo filter to express who they are and what they stand for, to multiple podcasts discussing feminism and the patriarchy beyond the movie itself. Furthermore, Republicans in the US have taken up issue with the motto “We girls can do anything”. Though there have been multiple journalistic articles, interviews and podcasts on the matter, we critically examine the feminism and masculinities represented in Barbie (2023) by carrying out visual analysis of the movie, focusing on the sites of image and audience. In our pursuit to understand how Barbie (2023) is questioning and challenging patriarchy through its representations of masculinity(ies) and feminism, we look into the scientific literature on feminism(s), gender studies and humor. The assumptions underlying this paper are that representations of ridiculed and grotesque masculinitie(s), coupled with an over-simplified feminism proper to mass-consumerism design, are tools deployed in the movie to counter narratives of patriarchy and challenge its ideological underpinnings.
