America Ferrera says of the criticism of Barbie: "There are a lot of people, both women and men, who need an introductory course in feminism." - 2024.1.7
1)
Gloria, played by America Ferrera, empowers women and perfectly embodies the image of a larger-than-life woman in Barbie, the number-one film at the global box office in 2023. In an interview with The New York Times, Ferrera discusses the criticism of Gloria's famous scenes and her thoughts on them.
Barbie (Margot Robbie), who lives happily in the perfect world of Barbie's land, suddenly feels something strange about her body and travels to the human world. Gloria is a designer at Mattel who creates Barbie in the human world, and Barbie's abnormal changes are due to Gloria's psychological stress.
2)
At the film's end, Gloria speaks to all the Barbies about gender imbalance, pressure and stigma. The sequence, which lasted just over two minutes and unleashed what had been repressed, shocked audiences around the world, but some said it was "over-simplified feminism".
But Ferrera responds to this criticism by saying, "We still need to make it loud because it can be cathartic.
3)
"There are a lot of people who need an introductory course in feminism, a whole generation of girls who are just growing up and don't have the language for the culture they're growing up in. They also need time to think about feminist theory.
The same goes for boys and men who may not have had the time. If you're familiar with feminism, this may seem like an oversimplification, but for some reason, this work is banned in some countries.
4)
Even though "Barbie" was about to be released, it was banned in Vietnam. There were also attempts in Middle Eastern countries such as Kuwait and Lebanon to ban it on the pretext of moral objections (Lebanon later allowed it to be shown). Ferrera must be aware that even if it becomes a massive worldwide hit, there are some areas it cannot reach.
5)
"It's an oversimplification to say that maybe it's essential, or from one person's point of view, that critical feminism isn't what we want. Everyone has the same experience of being a woman. It's an oversimplification to assume that you know and understand it.
Add info)
The film "Barbie" is a powerful satire that turns reality on its head. What did Barbie, supposed to have empowered women, see in the human world?
A)
Summer in America ends with Labor Day, a national holiday on the first Monday in September. One thing I heard a lot this summer in America was the term "Summer of Women". Three women dominated the entertainment world: Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Barbie.
B)
Ticket sales for Swift's Era Tour are expected to exceed $1 billion (about 145 billion yen, equivalent to 1 dollar = 145 yen). If it does, it will be the highest-grossing concert tour in history, and CNN reported in August that it will generate $2.2 billion (about 320 billion yen) in North America alone. There are predictions that it will reach that level. A documentary about the tour will be released in October.
Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour has already surpassed the previous sales of all-time stars such as Michael Jackson and Tina Turner, making it the "highest-grossing concert tour by a black artist in history". At this rate, some predict that she could break Swift's $1 billion record by the time the tour ends in October.
C)
The film "Barbie" crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office less than three weeks after its North American release on July 21 (to date, only 53 films have grossed more than $1 billion). It is the first film in history to be directed entirely by a woman).
In September, Variety magazine reported that "Barbie" had grossed $1.36 billion (approximately 200 billion yen) worldwide, surpassing "Super Mario Bros, which had been in first place, and surpassing "Super Mario Bros." in 2023. It was reported to be the highest-grossing game in the world.
Writing for CNN, author Jill Filipovich analyses what the enormous hits of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Barbie mean.
Although they have different styles, these three women (Barbie is a character) are robust, beautiful and calm. Each of them represents the real feelings of joy, pain, hardship, difficulties and aspirations that women living in modern times feel every day, and they proudly send feminist messages, entertain and create an experience of empathy between women. It also provides an opportunity for unity. This is what has created such enthusiasm.
D)
It's a clever trick that doesn't look like a feminist film at first glance.
When she first heard that Greta Gerwig was directing Barbie, she thought she had made a mistake. The subject matter seemed too far removed from her previous work (Lady Bird, Little Women).
But then she thought about it for a moment and thought, she's probably trying to use Barbie dolls as a satire to tell a story about female independence. Her last two works are stories about a girl growing into a woman. I could even predict that "Barbie" would be a film like that.
E)
If all it wanted to do was sell Barbie dolls, the manufacturer Mattel could (the classic trick) make an animated film starring the doll character and aimed at children. But they didn't dare, leaving the project to a director called Gerwig, who had made a career out of live-action and indie films.
Reading various interviews after the film's release, it becomes clear that Barbie had a personal meaning for Gerwig. She was still playing with Barbie dolls, which the girls around her had long since grown tired of and which she was still playing with in middle school.
F)
As a former Barbie fan, she understood the commercial intentions of sponsor Mattel and the challenges the company faced (more on this later). Gerwig was fully aware of this intention and created a film with a strong message that was more than just a Barbie commercial.
A lot of so-called feminist films are too narrow-minded from the start, too selective about their audience, and too preachy (they don't look funny), so they only appeal to a certain number of people.
The marketing of "Barbie" was clever in attracting many people with its seemingly fun-looking, pop-packed packaging and piqued their curiosity by making them think, "This looks interesting." Besides, the most famous doll in the world is the "star".
G)
After watching the movie, I found that the plot was too short-sighted, had too much of a dualism of good and evil, was too white-centric (people of colour only played supporting roles), or was insensitive to discrimination other than sexism. There were several highlights.
But I thought it was a perfect introduction to feminism. In particular, it's a clever way of not tackling "what sexism is" head-on. Instead, it incorporates jokes and entertainment, letting the viewer's guard down, making them laugh, and weaving in a serious message. It would be a good idea to show it to middle school children and use it as a teaching tool when discussing discrimination and human rights.
America Ferrera says about criticism of Barbie: "There are a lot of people, both women and men, who need an introductory course on feminism." - 2024.1.7
https://theriver.jp/barbie-feminism-ferrera/
Men furious about the film "Barbie" lack perspective - controversial interpretation of feminist message
https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/693786
Queerness and feminism in Barbie. Reviewing a film as fascinating and problematic as Barbie Doll
https://www.cinra.net/article/202308-barbie_gtmnm
The film "Barbie" is a strong satire that turns reality upside down. What Barbie, supposed to have empowered women, saw in the human world.
https://www.businessinsider.jp/post-275040
Barbie (2023)
Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colourful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
All Releases
DOMESTIC (44%)
$636,231,384
INTERNATIONAL (56%)
$809,400,000
WORLDWIDE
$1,445,631,384
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1517268/?ref_=bo_tt_tab#tabs
Share of people who have heard of the "Barbie" movie in the United States in 2023 by generation
Share of adults familiar with the Barbie movie in the U.S. 2023, by generation - Published by Statista Research Department, Jun 16, 2023
A recent study in the United States revealed that half of the Baby Boomers' respondents (50 per cent) knew nothing about the upcoming "Barbie" movie in 2023. However, 26% of GenZers and Millennials reported learning much about the film, and 33% said they knew some of it.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1392754/barbie-movie-familiarity-generation-us/
