Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023)

[therewillbeblus]

Am I blind or is anyone else struggling to spot Hari Nef’s version of Barbie in the trailer? Maybe they’re trying to withhold how that device will be used for satire (as if it’ll be much different than the introduction scene)?

[The Narrator Returns]

I'm not sure where in the trailer this is, but here she is.

[colinr0380]

I just hope that the Michael Cera performance will match up to the one in This Is The End!

[thirtyframesasecond]

Greta Gerwig must've watched a lot of Sex Education and Derry Girls during lockdown, right?

[The Narrator Returns]

A Vogue profile on Margot Robbie with some good quotes from her, Gerwig, Baumbach, Gosling, and others about the making of Barbie.

[Black Hat]

This looks absolutely awful (obviously not made for me) but I do hope this country's lunatic fringe does not latch on to this as part of their "anti-woke" crusade. I can definitely see the Florida guy all over this.

[therewillbeblus]

I dunno, never underestimate a myopic crowd with an agenda but this film feels like it’s being so transparent about the aspects that this fringe will attack that I imagine any “discourse” will fizzle with boredom. I have no doubt Gerwig and Baumbach have crafted a film with more reflexively clever satires embedded here, but the obvious stuff like casting people of color as alternative Kens or Hari Nef as a version of Barbie to challenge archaic standards of beauty is just… there. What do you even say to that, or rather, what could you say to create a long-standing argument? I feel like online wars tend to escalate when there’s a misinterpretation on what is happening or what the content is insinuating (i.e. Levinson showing sex equated to an assumption that he’s sexualizing people with a power differential without their consent; Levinson directing a black love story being racist not accounting for Washington and Zendaya as co-writers/producers/creators/owners), but here both sides are going to more or less completely agree about what’s happening and being insinuated by the artistic choices, they’ll just have opposite viewpoints on if it should’ve been done or not. Yawns for everyone around

[Black Hat]

I checked out of Levinson back when we debated him some time ago so, I'm afraid I have to disagree with you there but, I will someday attempt to revisit his work to see if I'll waver. As for Barbie, there is so much to unpack, a really good NYRB... no, a LRB essay is more apropos, maybe Harpers (The Baffler too), is right there to be written. That trailer alone is a 5000-word layup.

[therewillbeblus]

I was just using him as an easy example of online conflict where interpretations over the material is being debated, versus Barbie where both sides would probably agree with what is being done and why. I'm sure people on Twitter can argue over anything for days, but I can't imagine the actual conflict being multifaceted. People either agree with what is getting satirized or they don't, are progressive or not... of course the "anti-woke" crusade will react to it, but who will actually care for long enough if what they're objecting to is the central conceit of the film acknowledged by all, rather than a misperception of the intent?

I'm not on social media. I'm not trying to be naive, and I'm sure this will be a 'thing' getting airtime. But I also think that unidimensional arguments lose steam fast.

[ntnon]

DeSantis is already losing to Disney, would he have enough hubris left to take on Mattel as well..?

[Black Hat]

Is he really losing? I'm pretty sure he's going to keep doubling down and I think going after Barbie would win more of the "would never admit it in public" mom type.

[ntnon]

Is he really losing? I'm pretty sure he's going to keep doubling down..

Point 1.1 - Continuing to doubledown is both the loser's and losing position.
Point 1.2 - You don't get in that position without being put on the back foot.
Point 2 - His crusade began as revenge for a company taking a stand, and while his supporters will support such revenge (and dislike the stand), it's not a great look. It's thin-skinned and petty.
Point 3 - He keeps getting out-manoeuvered, hence Point 1.
Point 4 - The whole farcical situation is pitting a staunch Republican against a business. Republicans are supposed to be pro-business - the big thing a few years ago was treating businesses as people, and the perpetual refrain is lower taxes and less oversight - this is the opposite of that.
Point 5 - His petty vindictive crusade will - if he actually manages to do it without being trounced - cost the Floridian taxpayers money! Again, a bad move for a politician, and a potentially lethal one for a Republican..

But, as you note, it allows him to be perceived as vhemently pro-bigotry. Sorry, "anti-woke".

The world is getting very weird... it used to be that the 'left' were unhappy that Disney was not feminist (Princes and marriage and daydreams and girliness) and Barbie was promoting an unhealthy body image. But now the 'right' are unhappy because both are all about "grooming" and Gay Propaganda or something.

[Black Hat]

Is he really losing? I'm pretty sure he's going to keep doubling down..

Point 1.1 - Continuing to doubledown is both the loser's and losing position.

There are quite a few examples out there of doubling down being a successful pr strategy. There are other little things to quibble over like, I'm not sure the going against business thing hurts him with anyone besides the donor class, but the bigger problem Meatball Ron has is his swaggerless personality. His folly in going after Disney is that it put a spotlight on him which revealed massive dork loser energy (that voice!). I think where he lands on Barbie depends on if the world's worst twitter personalities make hay out of it. His team doesn't get that twitter isn't real life.

[colinr0380]

To return back to discussing a figure with more personality, sex appeal and only 10% less plastic, I never knew the world of Barbie collecting went so deep! (I guess it is not just Criterion collectors who get obsessed! But the world of Barbie collecting is getting to Pound Puppies speculation mania levels in that video!)

[ntnon]

To return back to discussing a figure with more personality, sex appeal and only 10% less plastic, I never knew the world of Barbie collecting went so deep! (I guess it is not just Criterion collectors who get obsessed! But the world of Barbie collecting is getting to Pound Puppies speculation mania levels in that video!)

And the age/sex/anything range of the (nominal) collectors is arguably more diverse than most other collectible areas that spring to mind.

A 60-year old male colleague collects Hot Wheels, and somehow at one point stepped sideways and now has a tonne of limited edition Barbies. Toys used to be collectible because they were played with and thus scarce - now they (like everything) are manufactured to cater to people who may not even display them, let alone open a box..

[spectre]

Is he really losing? I'm pretty sure he's going to keep doubling down..

Point 1.1 - Continuing to doubledown is both the loser's and losing position.
Point 1.2 - You don't get in that position without being put on the back foot.
Point 2 - His crusade began as revenge for a company taking a stand, and while his supporters will support such revenge (and dislike the stand), it's not a great look. It's thin-skinned and petty.
Point 3 - He keeps getting out-manoeuvered, hence Point 1.
Point 4 - The whole farcical situation is pitting a staunch Republican against a business. Republicans are supposed to be pro-business - the big thing a few years ago was treating businesses as people, and the perpetual refrain is lower taxes and less oversight - this is the opposite of that.
Point 5 - His petty vindictive crusade will - if he actually manages to do it without being trounced - cost the Floridian taxpayers money! Again, a bad move for a politician, and a potentially lethal one for a Republican..

But, as you note, it allows him to be perceived as vhemently pro-bigotry. Sorry, "anti-woke".

The world is getting very weird... it used to be that the 'left' were unhappy that Disney was not feminist (Princes and marriage and daydreams and girliness) and Barbie was promoting an unhealthy body image. But now the 'right' are unhappy because both are all about "grooming" and Gay Propaganda or something.

And Disney are long-time Republican Party donors, too. They've never been on the front line of any social issue, and even now (twenty or thirty years after it might have meant something) their treatment of LGBTQIA+ characters is cowardly and wishy-washy. So the supposed liberalism of their recent movies is the thinnest of thin veneers, and it makes far more sense to see this DeSantis/Disney thing as an intra-right-wing dispute.

[ntnon]

And Disney are long-time Republican Party donors, too. They've never been on the front line of any social issue, and even now (twenty or thirty years after it might have meant something) their treatment of LGBTQIA+ characters is cowardly and wishy-washy. So the supposed liberalism of their recent movies is the thinnest of thin veneers, and it makes far more sense to see this DeSantis/Disney thing as an intra-right-wing dispute.

Not even that - Disney, like any big employer, donate(d) to whomever was best positioned to advance their pet issues. In a largely Republican state, they often donated to Republicans. His idiotic war on allegedly suspect elements in education demanded pushback. And then he successfully turned a statement into a war, and then proceeded to underestimate his opponent and overplay his hand, forcing them to actually fight.

A smart person would have ignored the statement and let Disney's opponents on the left tear them apart for being all talk. Now, they're heroes - and better than that, on the right side of history..

[ntnon]

I enjoyed it, largely. It's essentially exactly what everyone would expect - a film aimed at children with references and jokes for the accompanying adults; GIRL POWER!!!; a discussion of how the world treats women, dolls and the changing role and intersections of both; a reflection on Barbie and Ken; notions of feminism and bias; a mild indictment of Mattel and corporate mandates and commercialism; a long commercial for toys; pink fluffy nonsense - and whatever your expectations going in is likely to be what you take away from it.

It is so shallow and all-surface that it occasionally gives the appearance of actual depth. The morals and speeches and head-hammering life lessons are trite, obvious and unnecessary.. but also accurate, reasonable and necessary. The digs at the Supreme Court and the overturning of Roe vs. Wade are not subtle, but tangential enough to fly past unnoticed amidst the rest of it.

There are some excellent and witty songs and references, lines and asides that struggle to standout amidst the shallowness and over-acting and arch knowingness, but.. they still hit and were amusing.

SpoilerShow

The narration is amusing - especially the mid-film casting indictment! - and the 2001 opening scene was witty and entertaining.

The Ken fight was suitably epic and ridiculous, but well-choreographed and smart. Breaking into a full West Side Story/Gene Kelly stripped-back dance number was inspired and inspiring.

The changing lyrics and fourth-wallery in several of the songs was smartly handled. And the use of the Godfather as a film to be watched while someone talks over it to explain it's value seemed like a good call.

I wonder if there were any issues over most of the credits just being "Barbie" and "Ken" a dozen times without differentiation..?

P.S.

SpoilerShow

It's hard to imagine how it could have been any more homo-erotic, but arguably the best balance was in making so many of male interactions seem 'just' friendly instead of 'gay' - while also allowing for and normalizing that. It's hard to put that feeling into words, but I felt that dichotomy was handled very well. Unlike the male/female divide which seemed a little too superficial, too buzzwordy and too lazy at times.

[hearthesilence]

The polarized exchanges between certain critics have been pretty amusing (mostly on Twitter). FWIW, Amy Taubin, Glenn Kenny and Farran Nehme are totally not fans, but Richard Brody, Stephanie Zacharek and Jonathan Rosenbaum were very much delighted.

[diamonds]

For what it's worth Zacharek's review is a bit less than positive overall.

[hearthesilence]

For what it's worth Zacharek's review is a bit less than positive overall.

Ah, should've read the review. She was pooh-poohing skeptics who seemed to "expect Citizen Kane," implying it was a film that lived up (or down?) to low expectations.

[spectre]

The polarized exchanges between certain critics have been pretty amusing (mostly on Twitter). FWIW, Amy Taubin, Glenn Kenny and Farran Nehme are totally not fans, but Richard Brody, Stephanie Zacharek and Jonathan Rosenbaum were very much delighted.

Do you have a link to Rosenbaum's take on it? I couldn't find anything on his Twitter or Facebook.

I hope Taubin actually writes a review – even if her response falls into the "unreasonably curmudgeonly" category, I have no doubt it'd still be a fun read!

(btw while Kenny and Nehme are trashing it, neither appear to have seen the film yet.)

[hearthesilence]

The polarized exchanges between certain critics have been pretty amusing (mostly on Twitter). FWIW, Amy Taubin, Glenn Kenny and Farran Nehme are totally not fans, but Richard Brody, Stephanie Zacharek and Jonathan Rosenbaum were very much delighted.

Do you have a link to Rosenbaum's take on it? I couldn't find anything on his Twitter or Facebook.

It was a brief response to a commenter's question on one of his Facebook posts - he said he had no desire to see Oppenheimer but he had just seen Barbie and was very delighted.

FWIW, here's the first Taubin-related tweet that came up.

Then this exchange came up:

Richard Brody: Gerwig made Barbie with artistic freedom and personal vision that's not interstitial or subtle but boldly manifest from beginning to end; selling out isn't entering the business (which she did), it's doing other than one's best, for the sake of money (which she didn't do).

Amy Taubin: strange that a critic who wrote a book on Godard is incapable of thinking dialectically.

Brody: The leftist who dedicated a film to Clint Eastwood and made Le Rapport Darty, produced by and about France's version of Best Buy? Strange that you hold "Barbie"'s source material and producer against it and are immune to its inventiveness; just a non-Godardian prejudice.

[spectre]

Thanks for the tip! Found it:

No engagements this weekend or next week. And I have no desire to see OPPENHEIMER, much less review it, but I loved seeing BARBIE yesterday.

[ntnon]

Richard Brody: Gerwig made Barbie with artistic freedom and personal vision that's not interstitial or subtle but boldly manifest from beginning to end; selling out isn't entering the business (which she did), it's doing other than one's best, for the sake of money (which she didn't do).

Amy Taubin: strange that a critic who wrote a book on Godard is incapable of thinking dialectically.

Brody: The leftist who dedicated a film to Clint Eastwood and made Le Rapport Darty, produced by and about France's version of Best Buy? Strange that you hold "Barbie"'s source material and producer against it and are immune to its inventiveness; just a non-Godardian prejudice.

Catty and erudite..

At the bottom of the linked Hoffman review - "Avoid if: You are one of those men's rights weirdos."