There is nothing in Mattel’s look system that a woman can’t do. Who, in the early 70s, proposed an articulated doll intended for the male world, Big Jim: with a symbolic effect, however, of a different, less significant sign. Thus, it is an intriguing topic: but with a very strong uncertainty about the end result of the project. And also because the stated intention was to make this product suitable for adults, not just girls. The film’s promotional campaigns spoke openly about the feminist film: Greta Gerwig has two directorial credits under her belt that should be read from that perspective: Lady Bird2017 and remake Small woman2019.
Barbie this is a popular movie that is certainly based on the nostalgia and curiosity of girls and women about their present or past games. But this is also true for the ability to deal with such a topical topic as female identity, which causes non-trivial questions and reflections. There Stereotypical Barbie she leaves her Barbieland, populated by characters played by flesh-and-blood actresses/actors anthropologizing toys, to enter the real world, where a little girl playing with her simulacrum causes her anxiety, thoughts of death, physical changes. Her search for who this little girl is, who, by changing her attitude, could regain her calmness and restore things to their original harmony, will involve events of various kinds. What may interest the reader of Patria Indipendente is the talk, often very clever, about feminism, patriarchy, and how the world of women is in any case more interesting than one dominated by men. Barbie is a toy that promotes female autonomy: girls could (and can) think that when they grow up they will do whatever they want, they should not set limits. In addition, the Mattel universe is marked by political correctness: Barbie has friends of every ethnic group and living conditions, and various characters around her also experience a state of disability, non-stereotypical physical forms (this also follows from the controversy of whether the doll contributed to anorexia, since the physical ideal is too far from various physical conditions of real women), occupations were usually considered only by men.
Is this toy really capable of giving women a tool for their self-promotion, or was it just a semblance of autonomy (all of Mattel’s top executives in the film are male) that carried with it the poisoned lure of consumer capitalism, an economic model for educating girls? Is this supposed independence really effective in getting girls out of a subservient and purely aesthetic mentality, in any case subservient to the male? Is it really a product conceived in the West that allows it to free itself from the logic of dominance imposed on what is culturally different from the United States? It is this accusation that costs Barbie the accusation that she is a fascist (and she suffers greatly from this). Of course, the political subtext of the film matters. In the male chauvinism – even a little grotesque – of various Kens, we can read a non-automotive reference to Trumpism, which, unfortunately, still prevails. It is no coincidence that many US conservatives have been highly critical of the film, accusing it of (apparently) self-praise feminism and the inclusion of many LGBT+ actors in the cast. Moreover, at one time a number of Islamic countries banned the sale of the doll, accusing it of being a sign and a dangerous model of Western decline.
Andrea Bigalli, professor of cinema and theology at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences of Tuscany, contact person for Libera per la Toscana
Published on Saturday, August 26, 2023
Printed on 08/27/2023 by user independent homeland to URL https://www.patriaindipendente.it/terza-paagina/red-carpet/antifascista-come-fossi-una-bambola/
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