Since we are in awards season and one of the most important awards is approaching, that is the Oscars, it is the perfect time to do what this author likes most: criticize the system and the academics. If you saw Barbie and understood the movie this article will seem very obvious to you, if you are a Ken from Oliver Stone‘s team you will probably continue trying to change Barbieland to Kendom. Some still think that Barbie is a children’s movie, that infantilizes the film industry, and the actors who participated in it and is a brainwashing for radical feminists who want to put an end to the Kens.
That’s exactly what happened to Oliver Stone, who with a tweet shared his opinion not only of the film but of Ryan Gosling‘s participation in it. I think that the director, producer, and screenwriter did not pay enough attention to the film since from Ken’s mind, he mentioned that Ryan should stop participating in those types of movies just for money, that he only wastes his time and that he should dedicate himself better to making more serious movies.
Well, from the beginning everything was bad, to begin with, Why mention only Ryan Gosling and not the entire other team that participated in it? Why do you think Barbie is a children’s movie? Let’s go into parts, Barbie is not a movie for children, I think that is very clear in several scenes such as the street harassment that the protagonist receives, the mention of genitals, and slight sexual insinuations from Ken to Barbie, which for an adult they may even be fun but they are not suitable for minors.
The reasoning around patriarchy… that explains it all, my dear Oliver, it is a parody of patriarchy in the real world! If it’s not clear to you, I do see it as quite serious. Although the film does not mention stronger issues that women suffer every day, the simple idea of feeling insecure, something that Barbie mentions when they arrive in the real world, is quite serious. If you didn’t understand it, maybe it would be good to see it again and put yourself in Barbie’s flat-footed shoes.
This is a criticism of Oliver Stone’s comments, but it is not against him specifically, his words only demonstrate how the system is, and how the industry is in Hollywood that if we do not see a man shirtless, sweaty, and saving a girl in heels and thin, it is a movie that is not worth it, and that is just another piece of shit to make money (I only use Oliver’s words) Why is it so easy for us to extend parodies to political and social systems and not when we criticize the patriarchy?
Patriarchy is so intrinsic to us that we even see it as boring, intense, toxic, and just one more criticism of the world where we live, the real world.
Ironically, even though it is nominated for several awards, we still see it as trash cinema or purely commercial cinema, and not as what it is: a CRITICISM. I don’t see anyone complaining about Orwell for writing anti-system books, or Stanley Kubrick for making such a violent film that criticizes the system like A Clockwork Orange, or Jonathan Demme for raising awareness with the film Philadelphia, and what all these works have in common? The protagonists are men.
In conclusion, open your mind, we are already in the 21st century, the color pink is no longer a reason for weakness or infantilization, a woman can make a film that is about a woman and still be a social critic, the words of a respectable man of the industry are not the definitive opinion. Please leave us your opinion in the comments.
