Today was the first day that both our kids are in day-care all day. Effectively the end of our parental leave. Me and my SO decided to treat ourselves to a movie and saw Barbie. We figured if the conservative sphere was getting pissy about it, it must be good.
Anyone else see it?
I wasn’t expecting much. I have to say, I don’t think I could have ever expected this movie to be what it was. It’s campy, funny, colorful, and steps on your throat with it’s message and hardly let’s it off. I say that as positivity as someone can.
It’s amusing to me that some people think the movie is anti-man. It did make me feel mournful for my daughters inevitable loss of innocence. A corporate, big budget toy advertisement of all things. I think that’s the most surprising part. In some ways Barbie is the most unlikely and perfect vehicle for what the movie has to say.
I don’t know. It’s conflicting because, at the end of the day it’s a huge corporate puff peace, but also… What else could deliver it’s message to so many people?
Haven’t seen it, don’t plan to, don’t care to tbh.
But having talked to some people about it, this is my takeaway: “Messaging” is simply a new tool of marketing, especially “subversive” messaging. You’re not buying a car - you’re committing a revolutionary act of activism against climate change and fossil capitalism. You’re not buying an ethically farmed, grass-fed, local steak, you’re fighting animal cruelty and big farming lobbies with your consumption. You’re not simply dressing up skandidly in pink to watch a multi-hundred million dollar Hollywood production of Barbie produced and approved of by its parent company, giving new legitimacy to that old rubber toy franchise and boosting sales numbers. You’re totally subverting gender roles and criticizing capitalism by doing so.
Imo you’re not. You’re just buying a new car, munching another steak and going to the movies again promoting one of the most famous IPs of all time. It’s the same thing we’ve done our entire lives. Changing the messaging around the act without changing the act, doesn’t change the act. You’re just doing the thing.
There can’t be anything really subversive coming out of the hegemonic culture industry. By the very nature of its production, via the commodification it undergoes, it has already become toothless and assimilated. Neoliberal anti-capitalism is just the newest sales-pitch. It’s along the lines of “diverse” CIA targeting officer recruitment ads. Just like capitalism can’t produce true anti-war movies, it can’t produce anti-capitalist or real anti-gender-role movies. It would be self-defeating if it did.
That being said, if you enjoy it more power to you. Nobody needs a grand narrative of subversion and messaging to go see and enjoy a movie at the theater. If you get something deeper out of it, even better.
I agree, those who wanna watch it and enjoy it should do so without feeling bad about themselves or feeling especially accomplished for doing so
I could not have said it better myself. We need to be much more critical especially of media that purports to have some kind of “radical” or “subversive” message because i guarantee you, if it’s made it to the mainstream it most certainly does not. Products made by big corporations may carry superficially anti-corporate messages but in reality they just serve to reinforce consumerism by getting people to believe that by consuming they are doing something radical.