Barbie. 

It was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2023, bringing in $1.45 billion at the box office, according to Statisca.  

The movie spurred a tremendous amount of discussion in the world of social media. Whether it be the various storylines that are brought to life or the creatively developed characters that star in the movie, Barbie has left a huge impact in and out of theaters.

Yes, the movie did achieve a large number of great reviews, but with that came a flood of not-so-great ones as well. The perilous topics in the movie are handled with care, but people still took them out of context. 

 

People know the basic premise of Barbie is to support young girls in their journey to become the best versions of themselves. But, with that form of feminism, many people found issues in their delivery of the concept, the biggest issue being the role of Ken.

Although Ken has been and always will be such a significant part of the franchise, the viewers believe the male doll had too big of a part in the movie. Of course, the movie is meant to support the female population, but there is still bound to be an impact from a male character and it has always been that way. 

For instance, the crucial scene of Ken’s “Mojo Dojo Casa House.” That whole scene is supporting the “Kens” taking over Barbieland instead of the Barbies. This storyline happens so that the Barbies can make an even more significant rebound and run the land once again in the end. With the “Ken takeover,” as many call it, the movie would lack dynamic and the storyline would plateau, losing the interest of viewers. 

Sophomore Sofia Biagini stated, “The Barbie movie displayed feminism great, even with the presence of Ken. It empowered young women to think for themselves as people instead of being influenced by society.”

Contradicting the viewers' opinions on Ken's overuse, many are beginning to believe that the movie took it too far in hurting the perception of males. Ken was portrayed basically as a “slave” to Barbie for the majority of the film.

TIMES published an article titled, “Barbie Is a Movie about Male Fragility. Let’s Dig In.” The article gives an in-depth description of the depiction of Ken and how Ryan Gosling brought the character to life. But, as the title implies, there has become a unified view that the movie portrayed Ken in a gentile, fragile way, causing him to fall into the lure of the “Barbies.”

All of these differentiated opinions of the movie have brought one question to the minds of the public: Really, what was Barbie created for? 

Barbie was created to boost the internal and external confidence of the female population. With that came the creation of Ken, who is most known as the male version of Barbie. Ken was created for the male population, equalizing the support of both genders by Mattel, the creators of Barbie. Both characters have impacted the lives of people of all ages from all over the world. What would Barbie be without Ken, who is her biggest supporter, and all else that comes with her life? Without a support system, Barbie would have never known the true power she holds to create her own identity. 

The role of gender in the movie altered the overall view of the movie for many people. The movie was meant to be a feel-good comedy while also generating emotions from moviegoers. No matter what opinion people have formed, no one can walk out of that movie and say that they didn’t feel something. 

Barbie is meant to tell women who are as beautiful as others that they are just as good as anyone else and are beautiful in their own unique way.

Barbie isn’t meant to criticize genders. Barbie isn’t meant to criticize people’s opinions. Barbie isn’t meant to criticize people’s disabilities. 

Barbie was created to portray the message that no matter what a person says, does, or feels, they will always be good enough.