On Barbie
Added 2023-07-28 17:29:11 +0000 UTC<figure>
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Talking about Barbie is always interesting since she's simultaneously is and isn't a character. She can be a personification - like the character in her own movie/s, or the article about "can we stop talking about my body" - but by her very nature as a brand she needs to be a tabula rasa so any girl can identify with her. When in her own movie Sasha talks about all the ways Barbie is problematic, she's talking about the Barbie as a brand, not Barbie as an individual, yet we are asked to not make that distinction by virtue of the main character being Barbie.
This is useful, because any criticism of Mattel's real life shday business can be played "you made Barbie cry".
To take a less cynical note, the movie is much like the Lego movie in that it's a genuine indulgence on what people enjoy about Barbie. Sure, a frank discussion on Barbie is never going to happen in an official product, but it came close, which is pretty impressive.
