The Barbie movie was released on July 21, 2023, and was just recently released to stream. The movie had a huge impact on social media, therefore causing a Barbie trend where people were wearing all pink to watch the movie.

“It took me hours to plan my Barbie movie outfit,” said Ms. Miller.

Images of Barbie fans wearing pink and dancing to Barbie soundtrack music were everywhere. The movie became even more popular because Billie Eilish and Ice Spice songs were featured in the movie. Audiences saw the movie for a variety of reasons. Children obviously love Barbie as an iconic toy, while adult women love to reminisce about playing with Barbie. Once the movie came out, viewers definitely had opinions about how womanhood was portrayed in the movie.

The Barbie movie left viewers satisfied, a lot of young girls enjoyed the movie because they were too young to realize the actual, deeper message behind it. On the other hand, older Barbie fans realized what the movie was actually about.  These older viewers knew there was no actual resolution to the inequality for women in the movie because the issue has not really been resolved in real life. Overall, the movie seemed to get pretty good feedback because of its message.

The Barbie movie highlighted women’s views and thoughts on womanhood and what challenges they face as women. But for some, it did not change their view- it just made them rethink it.

¨I would say it didn’t completely change my view, it made me re-think certain aspects of gender roles and societal expectations,”  said Susanna, a senior. The Barbie movie switches gender roles and expectations. In Barbie Land, women were empowered and pretty much ran things. In the real world, this was not the case.

The movie shows how women are treated. To some viewers, it didn’t dig deep enough into some of the issues it touched upon. “People’s reactions and the fact that there was so much backlash about the portrayal of Ken made me see that many people don’t have a full idea of what a woman has to deal with.  Ken was portrayed the same way women are typically portrayed in movies,”  said Ms. Skinker

Many found this movie relatable because of the situations that women face throughout their lives. Young girls could identify with Barbie’s journey of self-discovery and her dream pursuit because it is much like their own experiences growing up and exploring their potential. A lot of women found the movie relatable because it mirrored their own experiences in a world often defined by gender expectations. “I did relate to this movie because a lot of things and situations she found herself in are things women deal with way too often,” said Aylani, a senior.

For younger audiences, the movie showed Barbie as happy, colorful, and very sweet.

There are many things that are different between the real world and Barbie Land. such as Barbie faced catcalling and harassment in the real world. She got very weird looks from people when she was around lots of people because of how she was dressed. But in Barbie Land that would not happen.

“I think the movie made Barbie Land seem like an ideal place. It was happy and colorful and women felt empowered to succeed. The real world (in the movie) was the complete opposite. In the real world, people were more judgmental and made assumptions about females based on their appearance. This problem did not exist in the Barbie Land. I would totally live there,” said Ms. Miller.