The B word
Barbie. Body Image. Brands. Bottom line.
*Potential spoilers below if you’ve not seen the Barbie film. I don’t discuss the plot; just a few themes in the film.*
This Barbie-mania has been interesting to watch from a marketing perspective, hasn’t it? Spend enough money, plaster it across buses and billboards, get Dua Lipa/Billie Eilish/Lizzo on the soundtrack, and you can reach everrrrryone and their dog.
I had conflicting thoughts after watching the film. I’m not the type of person who has a Big Opinion right on the spot, tied up in a neat little bow. My thoughts bounce around a bit until I land on the right cerebral lily pad. I’m a Gemini after all, known for my ‘two-sidedness’. Not in a bitchy way but more that I enjoy being open-minded in general (apart from the obvious things.) A lot of people don’t like this though. You’re meant to have solid opinions. You’re meant to commit. You’re meant to double down. You’re meant to chisel your opinions into stone. I think about this Malcolm Gladwell quote a lot: “That’s your responsibility as a person, as a human being — to constantly be updating your positions on as many things as possible. And if you don’t contradict yourself on a regular basis, then you’re not thinking.”
Anyway, on that note, here is a run-down of my contradictory thoughts on Barbie: