A Barbie is described as “a doll representing a conventionally attractive young woman”. In the summer of 2023, this definition was proved wrong. Girls and women across the world were shown that you can do anything and be anything. When the most anticipated film of 2023 hit theaters in mid-July, it did not take long for it to become the most-watched movie of the year, earning a total of $1.45 billion worldwide.
Barbie quickly started taking the world by storm, not only flooding every store, cafe, and mall with pink but dominating the theaters as well. But the global takeover didn’t stop there. The collab of the century happened when Director Greta Gerwig and Producer Margot Robbie teamed up to bring the amazing Barbie vision to life. Gerwig was previously known for her role in directing Little Women and Lady Bird, while Robbie has won several Critics Choice awards and has had multiple Academy Award nominations.
Margot realized Greta’s strong theme of women empowerment and knew that’s what the movie needed. And it’s safe to say that Gerwig hit the nail on the head yet again. Taking into consideration every detail down to the tee when it came to Barbie Land. For example, making Barbie (Margot Robbie) elegantly float into her car because when you play with your Barbie you won’t take her down the stairs. You simply pick her up and bring her to her next destination.
But this movie wasn’t made just for a female audience. Margot and Greta wanted everyone to experience and enjoy it. In one interview, Gerwig expressed how she wanted everyone to experience the movie and be able to have fun with it saying, “ We ask ourselves — not just as women, men too — that we walk this impossible tightrope of being perfect,” Gerwig explains, “Barbie has always been a symbol of this thing that you could never reach because she physically couldn’t stand up if she were a human being. So I wanted it to almost invert that formula and find a way that it gave you permission to just be yourself and know that that’s enough”
This movie was filled with tons of laughs, cries, satires, and amazing speeches that impacted and touched the lives of many. Gerwing and Robbie put their minds together to break barriers not only in the film industry but also to prove to people all over the world that they can do anything they dream of.
