While women go out of their way to defy the odds put against them, their efforts are still not being recognized. Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie, released during the summer of 2023, exhibits this phenomenon. Gerwig goes above and beyond presenting a film on feminism and misogyny within our society. Through “Barbie,” she can show a larger, unfamiliar audience how she and many women see themselves within the world. Gaining much positive attention from critics, Gerwig is still not praised enough for it systematically.
“Barbie” gained a lot of publicity and attention upon its release. While showing in theaters, many people across social media got together to dress in all pink, preppy outfits. It became a trend to see waves of pink in the seats of the cinema rooms. “Barbie” earned over 1.4 billion dollars at the worldwide box office. This is grand for the film compared to its release day companion, “Oppenheimer,” which only made $926 million at the worldwide box office.
Yet, this is not represented in the nominations at the 2024 Oscars. “Oppenheimer” led the Oscar nominations with 13, while Barbie only had eight despite being the biggest movie of the year. One of those nominations for “Oppenheimer” was Best Director, which Gerwig was not nominated for. In a film based on feminism, Margot Robbie, who played the lead character Barbie, was left out of the Best Actress category despite being the face of its meaning and press tours around the world. Ironically enough, Ryan Gosling was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The women behind the movie were not credited enough. The film left the Oscars winning only one award, Best Original Song.
Two months prior, the Golden Globes host, comedian Jo Koy, made insensitive remarks about the purpose of the film. During one of his bits discussing the made-up rivalry between “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” he stated that “Oppenheimer” is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and then proceeded to make an inappropriate and sexist joke regarding Barbie’s appearance. His statement on the film disposes of the film’s entire critique, which is that women are seen for their bodies and not their skills and occupations. Many actors could be seen cringing, others not even laughing. Meanwhile, Gerwig looked disappointed. This caused many people online to discuss that despite its success in popularity and money, the meaning is still underlooked.
That same night, actor America Ferrera discussed her character in the movie. Ferrera played Gloria, a real-life woman not from Barbie Land who has a distant relationship with her teenage daughter. Through her character, she provides Barbie comfort and guidance through the real world. In an interview with CBS, Ferrera said, “I had to be on the journey with Gloria, my character, and like really connect to those words that are painful truths, you know?” So why are Barbie, Greta Gerwig and the women actors not credited enough? That’s because it called out men while simultaneously doing better.
The film’s Barbie Land showed a dramatized allusion to women in society. In this imaginary fantasy world, men were the accessories to the women and bowed down to them, while the women held high powers in government, holding some of the most skilled jobs offered. In our society, those same occupations are male-dominated, while women are still constantly expected to raise children and clean the house.
In contrast, Ferrera’s character Gloria shows the realistic side of society, showing Barbie that women have challenges imposed on them just for being a woman. Her character is praised for telling the cold truth that “You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas. You’re supposed to love being a mother but don’t talk about your kids all the d*** time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people.”
The ending of the movie displays Barbie and Gloria going against the newfound patriarchy within Barbie Land. A movie displaying this kind of ending is controversial, but needed. Because of its great success, there is no doubt that many of those who disagreed with the take felt threatened, causing its lack of awards and nominees. Gloria’s well-respected monologue about women’s expectations sums up the entire situation pretty well, “…always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.”
