Ms. Greta Gerwig, director of the Barbie movie, transported moviegoers to Barbieland this summer. The film premiered in theaters July 21, conveying a message to viewers about the significance of women taking action to defy gender roles and societal expectations in order to advocate for their rights. Mrs. Olivia Kolenberg, Upper School Librarian, spoke to the King Street Chronicle about the movie and its lesson and emphasized the importance of women applying it in today’s world.
Ms. Gerwig’s record-smashing movie brought in $155 million to domestic box offices in its first weekend alone, making it the biggest opening weekend for a female-directed movie, according to forbes.com. The movie shines a spotlight on the controversy of the Barbie doll, addressing societal pressures and beauty standards women face today, according to The New York Times.
The beginning of the film highlights female empowerment and women in leadership roles. However, as the movie progresses, it also presents the downsides of an intensely feminist society as the Barbies do not treat the men in Barbieland, the Kens, with equal respect, forcing the Kens to live in their shadows.
Actors Ms. Margot Robbie and Mr. Ryan Gosling star in the movie as Stereotypical Barbie and Stereotypical Ken, respectively. When the pair journeys from Barbieland to the Real World, they encounter gender constructs that oppose Barbieland’s feminist norms. Ken develops a passion for patriarchy and travels back to Barbieland to implement this Real World social system. Mrs. Kolenberg discussed the key themes of Barbie and the importance of female leadership and empowerment.
“The crux of what the movie is getting at is being aware of issues of discrimination and oppression,” Mrs. Kolenberg said. “The movie covers issues that all women face, even if it doesn’t get into specifics of women in under-recognized minorities.”
When Barbie returns to Barbieland shortly after Ken, she brings back a mother and daughter, Gloria and Sasha, the humans she meets in the Real World. Barbie is horrified to discover that Ken’s new patriarchal ideas have brainwashed the other women, inspiring Gloria to reimplement feminist ideas and lead other Barbies to reclaim their positions of power.
Mrs. Kolenberg discussed the connection between the way Gloria inspires the other Barbies to reclaim their independence to the way women in today’s world feel about defying the expectations that are put on them. She stressed the importance of community effort when it comes to challenging gender roles.
“Once you start seeing more and more people remember that [it is acceptable to defy the social expectations of women],” Mrs. Kolenberg said. “It’s like there’s more power in more people acknowledging it.”
Featured Image by Juliet Lannamann ’26
