#i think barbie 2023 is using barbie as a framing device for feminism and it makes me feel weird

[nono-bunny]

I have yet to watch the Barbie movie, but the more I hear about it the more convinced I'm becoming that I'm probably not gonna like it, and it sucks because I LOVE Barbie but... That's just the thing.

The Barbie movie was made for the people who dislike Barbie as Mattel's way of reclaiming her as a the feminist icon she was literally ALWAYS meant to be from her very conception... And also serving as like, their most visible way of fighting the weird "Barbie promotes unrealistic beauty standards" thing that's been attached to her for forever

Like. The Barbie movie feels like it's literally meant to make people that hate Barbie reevaluate their opinions on it to boost the brand image, which? Yeah, it's probably actually doing a good job at that as far as I can see from the reactions, and I for sure am happy to see more love and less hate towards Barbie!!!

But also... At the same time it very much feels like it's not gonna be a movie for people in my position- those that grew up playing with the dolls and/or watching the CGI movies. I don't need to be convinced that Ken is Kenough or whatever, I don't need to see Margot Robbie as Barbie cry for me to know that Barbie has been unfairly hated... I don't need that movie to tell me that it's OK to love Barbie despite all the very real issues it encountered along the way, because fr the "unrealistic beauty standards" thing is infuriating to me, fUCK OFF WITH THAT SHIT IT'S NEVER BEEN A REAL THING, AND ITS THE WRONG THING TO FOCUS ON WHEN CRITICALLY EXAMINING THE BARBIE BODY MOLDS and anyway....

That movie isn't for someone who already loves and appreciates Barbie now, but it's also like. Literally not even targeting the core audience of the Barbie brand in at attempt to introduce new kids to it, because it's all just. A weird, bloated and way overdue stunt of damage control, but it's also the first one I've seen to have such an impact so I can't even like? Hate it because it DOES do what it's meant to, it's just... Kinda focusing on the completely wrong thing? Current fans aren't overly impressed with it the way a lot of newcomers are, and it doesn't attract new young fans because it doesn't even attempt to appeal to them... So in the end, rather than serving as a big ad campaign, it feels much more like those long Youtuber apology videos using receipts to disprove a rumor and regain positive public sentiment

2023 Barbie isn't for the Barbie people, it's for all the people who looked down on them for liking it, and... Yeah, while that's still important and satisfying to see in it's own way, it also definitely very much stings to have the biggest Barbie thing in forever very deliberately focus on pleasing everyone who DOESN'T like Barbie rather than those of us who DO.

I feel like I might enjoy/appreciate the Barbie movie on it own if I manage to detach it from the Barbie I already love, but... It's almost certainly not gonna be like, a fun "Barbie Movie" for me to watch, because everything I've seen points towards it using the cool aesthetics, the unfair and bad criticism of it and the historical circumstances of Barbie to deliver a feminist message rather than being like... A movie fully about Barbie, for Barbie, by Barbie... Which is what I would expect from a "Barbie Movie"

Anyway, everyone go watch Barbie in The Diamond Castle, it's very lesbian cottagecore, it's good shit