Come on Barbie, let’s go party

Pink shelfie in honor of the new Barbie movie hitting theaters last week!

I saw the Barbie movie this week with my family. All of us, even my 5 year old, loved it! I went into it with some pretty critical eyes for various reasons: Barbie’s problematic derivation and history, along with the movie being surrounded by white writers and main characters. I knew it was trying to be inclusive and tell an important story, but I also knew it was the from the lens of 2 white women, and so, I was optimistic but critical. And I ended up so pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it. Truly loved it. I cried, multiple times. While not perfect, it was an open and earnest attempt at correcting the wrongs. It was unapologetically feminist and spoke boldly of the patriarchy. I was so thankful my sons were there, possibly even more than my daughter, because they are the beneficiaries of the patriarchy—not her. She’ll grow up seeing and hearing me trying to dismantle the patriarchy and march my own way in this world, and hopefully, she’ll be even bolder and unapologetic than me. But it’s my sons that need to see the patriarchy on display, the harm it causes, and it being directly called out. They got to hear someone other than their mom and dad talk about it and why it’s so problematic. And I was thankful.

I also absolutely LOVED the sets for this movie. I was obsessed with Barbie growing up; obsessed with the accessories, buildings, cars, clothes, and to see so much pink plastic on screen was SO fun. The inner me was so tickled to watch the Barbies ‘eat’ and ‘drink’ in the exact same way I made them ‘eat’ and ‘drink.’

Barbie is not perfect. She never was and never will be. And there is even valid criticism for why it’s become so inclusive since it’s derivation (looking at you, capitalism). But the beauty of Barbie is that she can be whatever she wants. Isn’t that the point?