The Barbie movie craze is sweeping the nation. When the movie came out in July 2023, huge crowds flocked to local theaters to view the film. In the beginning, when Barbie was released, many children came to see it, but as the movie gained more popularity and recognition for what it was, the crowd turned more adult. The film discusses many important issues of gender, race, and sexism. However, there are theories that Mattel, the creator of Barbie and her movie, may have ulterior motives.
Mattel created Barbie in March of 1959, and she was a big hit. She was perfect- maybe too perfect. As she gained popularity, a lot of women began to see her as this role model for looks, and she created a standard that women had to aspire to. However, this made many women hate themselves for not looking like the perfect woman- not looking like Barbie. And so many women stopped buying Barbies from Mattel to give to their daughters, and Mattel lost many customers.
Now, in recent years, Mattel has tried to correct this problem by coming out with new Barbies- an African American Barbie, a tall Barbie, a short Barbie, and a Barbie with autism, but it wasn’t enough. Women still felt like Barbie represented an unattainable beauty standard.
Many people believe that Barbie is more than just a movie- it’s a way for Mattel to improve its reputation and increase sales, and the movie has done just that. The film has also justified all the damage that Mattel caused- but in a bit of a roundabout way. In the film, all the Barbies in Barbie Land believe that Barbies have been inspiring women for generations- telling them they could be whatever they wanted and be strong, independent women. This signifies that Mattel believes that Barbie has been helping women instead of hurting them.
Barbie also brought a ton of revenue for Mattel, with ticket sales making over 1.3 billion dollars on the movie alone and Barbie doll sales increasing to an immeasurable amount.
Overall, Barbie is a great movie that brings up a lot of important issues, with stunning photography, plot, and cast. There are many fans of Barbie, and it’s done a lot of good since it came out. Even if Mattel is using it for profit and to reshape its reputation, it is still a good watch I would recommend to anyone.
