Pop Culture | Imani Majors | April 23rd, 2023.
In recent years, feature films such as The Lego Movie and Transformers have had huge box office success capitalizing on toys, and this year, the most famous doll of all is getting her own blockbuster movie. Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, supported by a star-studded cast, will be released in theaters this summer. Directed by Greta Gerwig, known for her strong feminist movies, suggests that this film will not only tell an adventure of a doll and her boyfriend living in Barbieland but will also address the sexist critiques that have surrounded Mattel since the start of their company.
The first Barbie was introduced in 1956, with big blue eyes, blond hair, and a slim figure with exaggerated curves. It was released with the intention of teaching femininity but sparked the first Barbie controversy for promoting limiting beliefs on what it means to be a woman. In 1965, Slumber Party Barbie was seen with a pink scale that read “110 lbs” and a book labeled “Don’t Eat!”. The 1992 “Teen Talk” Barbie was programmed to say the phrase “Math class is tough,” which raised questions about the kind of role model Barbie was being. Barbie’s unrealistic body proportions have been blamed for hurting young girls' body perception and encouraging bad eating habits.
Flash forward to today, Mattel is working on creating not only more body-realistic Barbies but also more culturally diverse dolls so that every child can have a Barbie that looks like them. While the company is working hard to rewrite wrongs, its controversial past will always affect the image of Barbie.
Mattel has released a total of 43 movies in the span of 30 years, starring mermaids, fairies, rockstars, and dancers, each one with a perfect happy ending. However, we can anticipate that Gerwing has a much different journey planned for her Barbie. Some anticipate that Gerwing will frame Barbie in a light that will praise the femininity and girl power she possesses, or that she will criticize and mock the hyper-sexualization and gender stereotypes she promotes. The trailers and posters that are available leave viewers with almost no indication of what direction she is planning on taking, but it is imperative for the future of Mattel and the Barbie franchise that Gerwing gives the company and its dolls a stamp of approval.