Film: Are We Living the Plot of ‘Barbie’?
By • January 25, 2024 0 1393
If you’ve seen the Barbie movie (which most of us have, given its $1 billion-plus earnings at the box office and streaming) you know the plot: Barbie World is where women can be anything: doctors, presidents, Supreme Court justices, Nobel Prize winners, you name it. Kens are just their dim-witted (albeit adorable) arm candy. Once Barbie and Ken enter the real world, Ken is pleasantly surprised to see that men reign supreme from their “mojo dojo casa houses,” gulping beers and riding their horses.
When Oscar nominations were announced Tuesday, a glaring omission — and one of the biggest snubs in recent Oscars memory — stared us right back in the face: Greta Gerwig, director of the mega-hit of the summer, and Margot Robbie, who played the role of Barbie, were not on the list of those nominated for Best Director and Best Actress. Sure, Barbie the film was nominated for Best Picture, America Ferrera got a nom for Best Supporting Actress, and Ken himself, aka Ryan Gosling, got nominated for Best Supporting Actor (as did his song, the earworm “I’m Just Ken.”)
Gosling later released a statement that said: “There is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.” He’s not wrong — it’s a shame that Gerwig, who is responsible for critically acclaimed movies like “Lady Bird” and “Little Women,” did not get a Best Director nomination. As Ferrera’s character Gloria’s now famous monologue says: “Be successful, but not too successful to intimidate other men.”
You also can’t forget the travesty of leaving Robbie out of the running. Not only was she an executive producer of the movie, convincing Mattel to take a big risk with the film, she captured the unique ability to show us what it might be like to be a doll slowly experiencing life as a human.
Even Hillary Clinton spoke out in support of Gerwig and Robbie, posting a message on her Instagram page that read: “Greta and Margot, while it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you. You’re both so much more than Kenough.”
That being said, Gerwig should be proud of all she’s managed to do at just 40 years old. Not only was Barbie the highest-grossing global opening for a movie directed by a woman, but Gerwig is now the first filmmaker in history to have her first three solo features nominated for Best Picture.
In a perfect society, we’d be seeing more of Barbie World in the real world. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go until there are equal amounts of Barbie dream houses and Ken’s “mojo dojo casa houses.” For now, it looks like it will be another Barbenheimer Oscars on March 12.
