Pink discomfort zone

"Barbiland" as the history of a totalitarian society

Without a doubt, the film Greta Gerwig is the main event of the season for the industry.

Of course, the film owes the unprecedented marketing campaign with record cash fees ($ 330 million for the first weekend). More than 100 collaborations with various brands: Barbie Burgers in Burger King, Barbie Odidem, Barbie Cobility, Barbie-suction, candles with the smell of the Barbie house ... There is also a collab with Airbnb, through which you can remove the Barbie house in Malibu. Billy Ailish song, finally ...

Even in Russia, where the pirate version of the film will appear no earlier than autumn, Google explodes pink salutes when a film is requested or its creators.

But despite the advertising scope, Barbie is an author’s movie shot by the leading representative of independent cinema Greta Gerwig, a witty satire on the topic of gender inequality, the drama about the unbearable of joint existence, when there is all, and the other “just Ken”. About how painfully and stupid to be “just ideal” to exist in a fictitious pink world, because one day you will have to meet with reality.

As actress Greta Gerwig, known for the films “Cute Francis”, “Maggie plan”, “Greenberg”, as a director, she shot “Lady Berd” and “Little Women”, for which she was nominated for Oscar, Golden Globe, Bafta.

By the way, Greta is just a fifth woman in the history of the prestigious Oscar, nominated for directing.

The co -author of the script was Noah Baumbach - Oscar winner for the “marriage history” and the civil husband Gervig, with whom they made more than one film.

The story begins with a prologue (a parody of the “cosmic Odyssey” Kubrick), in which they tell us that in the old days the girls always played with dolls-daughters (raising the maternal instinct in themselves), and then appeared ... Barbie !!! -Blonde beauty with an ideal figure, makeup, a furnished house, a machine and a boyfriend. Barbie became not a daughter, but a girlfriend.

And gradually began to impose unattainable beauty standards to the girls. In the prolon, we see this most ideal Barbie, which Margo Robbie perfectly embodies (does not even play). Her heroine is the “stereotypical barbie”, the embodiment of the ideal, the soul and decoration of the barbilend, inhabited by many different Barbie. Here is Barbie President, and Barbie-Advocat, and even Barbie-the Nobel laureate. There are Barbie Black, there are body -positive ones. For every taste! The most diverse. There is even a “depressive barbie”.

And everyone has some professions (the puppet industry is developing rapidly, meets the challenges and requests of time). And Margo seems to be the main, but “stereotypical”, she is just a beauty ... And one day at a party with dancing, she suddenly thinks about death and the meaning of life. Yes, she was not created to think, but she no longer wants to be just a plastic beauty, for some reason it is important for her to be a person, even if not perfect.

And then Barbie notices that she had cellulite, and a leg, always raised under the heel, suddenly became flat - like ordinary people. And then the “strange Barbie” - a doll that was broken but not broken, shows our Barbie a road to the real world. “Stereotypical Barbie” goes there in search of a girl who played with her. And Ken is linked along with Barbie, because where is she - there he, without her, who is he? Nobody. And in the end, he loves her, and what else remains for him? After all, no girl will play Ken without Barbie, no one needs him without Barbie. He is just part of her world, her interior.

In the role of “stereotypical Ken” - the magnificent Ryan Gusling: a press, a tanned body, he lives on the beach (only Barbie has a house, he is not laid for Ken), it also works on the beach (although he has no work). And on a date with Barbie, he has no idea what to do with her. Kenov in Barbiland is also a lot, outwardly they are different, but in fact everything is equally meaningless. And Barbie and Ken are in the real world, where Ken finds a training manual about Patriarchate, realizes that the main ones are actually the main ones, and decides at all costs to remake the pink world in the male one - to “enlighten” all Kenov and assert himself as a leader. Barbie, on the contrary, will see the real “male” world, without pink glasses.

So the gender struggle for power in Barbilend will begin - Barbie against Kenov - using all possible manipulations and even falsification of voting results for amendments to the Constitution.

So, the struggle of the heroes for the right not to be “stereotypical”, for gaining their own personality, their “I”.

“Barbie” - a comedy, witty and original, laugh in the hall. But at some point it becomes clear that the story is not funny at all. And in fact, this is the drama of people who are used to living in an artificial world with many imposed stereotypes that are not related to reality. And this world is absolutely totalitarian and control (of course, there is no question of any democracy in the pink country), and mass manufacturers of girls pink ideals are boring age-old men in gray costumes (there are not a single woman in the leadership of the Matel manufacturing company). They create a world in which there are no problems, because well, what are the problems of pink dolls? When Barbie meets her girl, she will call her a generation of the fascist capitalist regime and accuse of imposing unattainable beauty standards.

The film is funded by Mattel, and there is a lot of self -irony multiplied by a commercial calculation in such representation of the company, because self -irony is a reputation plus, which means an increase in profit. Sales of dolls will increase one hundred percent, and it will be interesting to trace which dolls will be more willing to buy: the president, writers or beauties with thin waist and perfect breasts. It is possible that the actualization of Barbie will provoke a return of fashion to a traditional femininity, which has shaken in fem-battles.

Be that as it may, it is recommended to watch the film to all girls, girls and women, regardless of whether they played Barbie or not. Barbie is not a role -playing model and not a standard. The film presents a lot of different barbie trapes, because “there is no only way to be Barbie,” Margot Robbie said to the Mattel leadership to discuss the project. So to some extent, Barbie is the anthem of feminism, but also the anthem of humanism and tolerance.

It would seem, Barbie is a children's movie, but no, the halls are full of women of different ages.

The film is not about dolls. He is about the fact that there are neither ideal worlds nor ideal people.

And do not make them perfectly composing them - the blows of fate will only be more painful. In the final of the film, Barbie will replace the heels for Birkenstock sandals-probably Product Placesment, but Birkenstock did not release a barbie collection, because most women after this film would want to abandon elegant pink heels in favor of convenient casual-sandals.

Elena Slatina