How ‘Barbie’ Takes On The Patriarchy

*Spoilers below*

On July 21, moviegoers were treated to one of the most culturally significant and financially successful films of the year, with the release of Barbie. Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and directed by Greta Gerwig (whose previous two movies have perfectly captured the nuances of both girlhood and womanhood), it’s almost difficult to overstate the mountains of hype the film had garnered leading up to its premiere. But despite (or perhaps because of) that hype, viewers likely wondered how serious a movie about life-sized dolls could really be. Well, many were surprised to find that Barbie hinged its focus on reality just as much as fantasy; for all the dance numbers, absurdity, and mojo dojo casa houses, it’s impossible to enjoy Barbie without also being made to grapple with the throes of our real world.

The movie follows Margot Robbie, who portrays “Stereotypical Barbie,” as she enjoys her life in the vibrant, pastel Barbieland, a fictional dimension entirely run by different iterations of Barbie. There’s Physicist Barbie, Doctor Barbie, and even a Supreme Court comprised of Barbies; Barbie holds every position of power and influence. The Kens, the male counterparts to the Barbies, exist in Barbieland too, but as little more than glorified accessories. All’s well until Barbie begins having thoughts of existential dread, ultimately culminating in her first thoughts of dying. She discovers that her emotions are tied to whoever is playing with her in reality, so she leaves Barbieland to get to the bottom of her newly formed anxieties in the real world. Her hapless Ken (Ryan Gosling) joins her on the journey and inadvertently becomes the conduit for the film’s central conflict.

Barbie and Ken split up shortly after they arrive in the real world, with Barbie heading off to find the young girl she assumes is playing with her. Meanwhile, Ken is left to his own devices, which results in his immediate discovery of the concept of patriarchy. The Kens aren’t taken seriously in Barbieland or given any purpose other than existing to serve Barbie, so when he discovers that, in the real world, men hold positions of power, he’s immediately imbued with a sense of entitlement. Ken decides to return to Barbieland with his newfound knowledge.

On the other hand, Barbie remains in the real world until she finds the girl who is playing with her — who turns out to be a mother. She eventually returns to Barbieland with the mother, Gloria (America Ferrera), and Gloria’s daughter, Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), in tow. However, she finds that Ken has upended her dream world and implemented a patriarchal society. The Barbies no longer think for themselves nor govern their own society but are subservient extensions of their Kens.

It’s immediately clear that the introduction of patriarchy is bad for the Barbies, considering they’ve lost all ambition and autonomy. In fact, the film makes it abundantly clear just how frustrating it is to be a woman under patriarchy. As Gloria explains, the double standards that women are impossibly expected to live up to are excruciatingly taxing; under the patriarchy, Gloria explains, everything from sex appeal to ambition to tone of voice is interrogated in a way for women that it is not for men. It’s a revelation that throws Barbie for a loop, as she once believed that the real world operated under the same systems as Barbieland.

And yet, Barbie does not just make the ills of patriarchy clear for women but also issues a warning for men. The patriarchy, Barbie suggests, makes it easier for men to succeed than women, and in doing so, creates an expectation for men that they’re entitled to the success that the system of patriarchy promises; where patriarchy teaches women that their dreams are conditional, it teaches men that their dreams are ensured. In fact, before Gosling’s Ken goes back to Barbieland, he attempts to become a CEO, a doctor, and even a lifeguard in the real world, despite having no qualifications beyond his Barbieland job of “beach.” However, his introduction to the patriarchy makes him believe that he’s entitled to respect and upward mobility just based on being a man. And when Barbie returns to Barbieland and attempts to reason with Ken, he’s incensed at the notion that he and the rest of the Kens should have to relinquish any of their power.

Thankfully, the Barbies mastermind a plan that takes advantage of the Kens’ entitlement to regain their power. They employ Gloria to help wake the patriarchally indoctrinated Barbies up through her speech of feminist revelations about sexist double standards. They then play on the Kens’ insecurities to push them into all-out war, complete with dance numbers and beach brawls. When the dust settles, the Kens realize the Barbies have retaken their society, and Gosling’s Ken suffers a breakdown. Stripped of any influence, he has essentially no idea who he is; he’s not a leader, he’s not in charge, and he’s certainly not a romantic option for Barbie — he’s just Ken.

Ultimately, Ken’s frustration is a direct byproduct of the patriarchy he introduced into Barbieland. The introduction of said system made him feel as though he was owed affection and importance, and when that system was stripped away, he was left with nothing but frustration and a wealth of neglected emotions. It highlights how patriarchy can create entire scores of entitled men who neither fully understand their own entitlement nor know how to respond when the foundations of patriarchy don’t serve them in the way it does other men.

As the film concludes, the overarching lesson is that we are all enough as we are. Barbie realizes that she can simply just exist as she is and that perhaps she shouldn’t have subjugated Ken as much as she had in the past. Ken finally understands that he doesn’t need to be a quintessential masculine figure or settle for a life in Barbie’s shadow. He is also enough (or “Kenough,” as the movie states) just as he is. And Ken’s acceptance of himself also rejects the expectations and assumptions of power that patriarchal systems too often assign to men.

Whatever one might think of the movie, however, there’s no denying its impact. As of August 6, Barbie has earned over $1 billion at the global box office, making it the first movie solely directed by a woman to cross that benchmark. It’s impressive for any movie, let alone one that follows sentient, life-size dolls. But perhaps more impressive is that the movie was able to do so while delivering a story that relies on fabulous clothes and glitzy sets just as much as it does illustrate the social and gender inequalities of the people who are watching.