Barbie: who saw it?
Barbie: who saw it?
Today was the first day that both our kids are in day-care all day. Effectively the end of our parental leave. Me and my SO decided to treat ourselves to a movie and saw Barbie. We figured if the conservative sphere was getting pissy about it, it must be good.
Anyone else see it?
I wasn't expecting much. I have to say, I don't think I could have ever expected this movie to be what it was. It's campy, funny, colorful, and steps on your throat with it's message and hardly let's it off. I say that as positivity as someone can.
It's amusing to me that some people think the movie is anti-man. It did make me feel mournful for my daughters inevitable loss of innocence. A corporate, big budget toy advertisement of all things. I think that's the most surprising part. In some ways Barbie is the most unlikely and perfect vehicle for what the movie has to say.
I don't know. It's conflicting because, at the end of the day it's a huge corporate puff peace, but also... What else could deliver it's message to so many people?
I watched it a while ago and had fun, but the barbies literally vote patriarchy away, so it's just your harmless liberal "feminism" piece.
I'm going to see it this Friday at a local, independent cinema. I don't know how revolutionary it will be, but I have heard several men saying they had a reality check because of the movie. So it's doing something positive, I guess?
I did the same. I saw it at a local independent cinema. The audio quality could be better, but they have big comfy leather recliners so the tradeoff is worth it for this type of movie imo.
In order to be a success, this movie just had to be funny. It succeeds. They do try and shove a message in your face at the end. I found this to be awkward and it didn't really fit in with the theme of the rest of the movie, but it wasn't so egregious that it ruined it.
Haven't seen it, don't plan to, don't care to tbh.
But having talked to some people about it, this is my takeaway: "Messaging" is simply a new tool of marketing, especially "subversive" messaging. You're not buying a car - you're committing a revolutionary act of activism against climate change and fossil capitalism. You're not buying an ethically farmed, grass-fed, local steak, you're fighting animal cruelty and big farming lobbies with your consumption. You're not simply dressing up skandidly in pink to watch a multi-hundred million dollar Hollywood production of Barbie produced and approved of by its parent company, giving new legitimacy to that old rubber toy franchise and boosting sales numbers. You're totally subverting gender roles and criticizing capitalism by doing so.
Imo you're not. You're just buying a new car, munching another steak and going to the movies again promoting one of the most famous IPs of all time. It's the same thing we've done our entire lives. Changing the messaging around the act without changing the act, doesn't change the act. You're just doing the thing.
There can't be anything really subversive coming out of the hegemonic culture industry. By the very nature of its production, via the commodification it undergoes, it has already become toothless and assimilated. Neoliberal anti-capitalism is just the newest sales-pitch. It's along the lines of "diverse" CIA targeting officer recruitment ads. Just like capitalism can't produce true anti-war movies, it can't produce anti-capitalist or real anti-gender-role movies. It would be self-defeating if it did.
That being said, if you enjoy it more power to you. Nobody needs a grand narrative of subversion and messaging to go see and enjoy a movie at the theater. If you get something deeper out of it, even better.
I agree, those who wanna watch it and enjoy it should do so without feeling bad about themselves or feeling especially accomplished for doing so
I could not have said it better myself. We need to be much more critical especially of media that purports to have some kind of "radical" or "subversive" message because i guarantee you, if it's made it to the mainstream it most certainly does not. Products made by big corporations may carry superficially anti-corporate messages but in reality they just serve to reinforce consumerism by getting people to believe that by consuming they are doing something radical.
Yeah I saw it.
It's good. And worth watching. But there are so many people on social media saying this is going to be revolutionary for the feminist cause.
You're right about the corporate puff piece part. And the rehabilitation of Ruth Handler's image like she was anything other than a cynical capitalist whose creation played a huge part in calcifying the concept of gender roles in generations of children that came after her.
Mattel signed off on the movie. It exists with their permission and approval. They are not going to start or enable a cultural revolution against their own interests, and if they reinvent themselves so that it is in their own interests, they'll be doing it for profit, not for the liberation of women.
But fuck if anyone will listen to the skeptic's take. This thread is the first discussion I've come across where saying negative things about the movie (not even saying it's bad, just criticizing) doesn't result in a dogpiling of misogyny accusations.
The face of feminism in 2023 is a fictional character and it's copyright belongs to Mattel.
Imho, the Barbie movie is the biggest trojan horse in cinema history. It has nothing that resembles anything "barbie" done previously. For good or bad, it is a success and noone can argue but just think about how many mothers/fathers didn't even think of the age rating of the movie and took their kids to watch a highly politicised story. As it is with many things in life, there's a time and a place for everything, imo, and this sort of approach to ideologies is becoming more and more like religions, where they target the young. Aside from what I personally think about the movie, I don't want my kids to have to worry about politics or anything other than living their lives as kids, innocent and joyful and that we as parents will keep on working in the background to keep them safe and fed and loved, that's it. Being a parent is hard, I tell ya...
if you have a kid you're doing an absolute disservice to them with that attitude. like if u have a girl you're gonna be like nah that wasn't sexism dont worry ur pretty little head? everything is political. especially parenting.
e from what I personally think about the movie, I donโt want my kids to have to worry about politics or anything other than living their lives as kids, innocent and joyful and that we as pare
wow, the white liberal MLK was talking about ๐ธ
This isnโt a liberal. This is literally the take that Ben Shapiro and a whole lot of brain dead stupid as shit right wing commentators had.
This is a conservative moron masquerading as them โcaring about the kidsโ.
A Trojan horse with neon lights announcing the hidden soldiers and surrounded by anti-Greek protesters.
Did you watch the trailers? Was there political cues in them?
Lol man, every women I know has a story about being sexualized by an adult man when they were a child. Every, single, one. None of these men were considering wether it was the time and the place to shatter their innocence. That seems like more of a real threat then the "ideologies" of the Barbie movie.
I havenโt seen it yet but my friends and I are planning on a Barbenheimer double feature, Iโm looking forward to it since Iโve heard a lot of good things.
You'll have fun, for sure. I'm interested in Oppenheimer but I have a strong feeling it's very revisionist and likely wreaks of character rehabilitation. I'm sure it'll be a gorgeous film.
Still waiting for a quality torrent. Not paying shit to Hollywood.
https://myflixerz.to/watch-movie/barbie-693.9766228 Its ok I guess, quality is in the eye of the beholder I suppose but here it is. Edit:make sure to X out the popups
this is where i watched it. i thought the music was a little hard to hear the lyrics but pretty good considering its a recording of the screen. the video quality was great.