No Thoughts, Just Barbie
It's Greta Gerwig's Barbie World
TGIF programming is a collection of pop culture adjacency news that’s sincerely piqued our interest during these unprecedented times— only without the celebrity worship culture. Get into it below.
Barbie first captured my attention with Greta Gerwig about two years ago, and I quickly lost curiosity when Amy Schumer was attached to the project. Not that a humorous or dirty joke telling Barbie wouldn’t be fantastic, but Schumer’s comedy isn’t something I relish in or look out for, and other people’s business isn’t mine— but the second-hand embarrassment after learning she first named her child Gene Atell Fischer was enough.
Now, as the film currently ended film production, we saw real glimpses into what to expect somewhat. Produced by Margot Robbie’s company LuckyChap and co-written by one of my favorite cinematic couples— Gerwig and writing partner/husband, Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, Frances Ha). The film seems like the not-so-guilty pleasure of 2000s Life-Size with Lindsay Lohan and Tyra Banks. A plastic fish out of water story as they navigate their way onto ‘the real world’ and struggle to adapt.
Most recently, Ryan Gosling spoke with Entertainment Tonight to give some enigmatic insight, and it seems that Ken is a scrub with ‘no money, no job, and no house,’ this coincides with the few details we know.
Barbie centers around the iconic Mattel doll living in Barbieland— but coerced to leave due to her alleged imperfections, kicking off a thrilling adventure and rediscovering herself— and learning that ‘perfection’ is found within. With Gerwig’s undeniable charm and female gaze, which simply means humanizes women, it’s presumably going to be next summer’s big hit movie that we all deserve. Especially Barbie and her muddled legacy. In the same interview, Gosling seemingly adapted Lady Gaga’s unhinged interview promotion stylings for House of Gucci towards Gerwig’s Barbie, and it’s captivating. Celebrities that know their place in the absurdity are refreshing; that’s looking camp dead in the eye.
“Finally, it’s happening. This has been coming my whole life— I felt like I was seeing myself. I felt seen. I think a lot of Kens will feel seen when they see this. Gotta do it for the Kens. Nobody plays with the Kens.” Via Variety.
As a self-professed Barbie girl growing up, my parents allowed my sisters and me to indulge as an inexpensive little luxury. We had quite the collection before donating to family and friends in Mexico whenever my family visited. For us, Barbie wasn’t seen for her unreal body expectation or viewed as harmful— although we related more to Barbie’s friend Theresa, I digress. We saw Barbie as a badass who wouldn’t let one job slow her down— she could do it all and look good doing it.
Young girls have always compared themselves to Barbie, yet it wasn’t until the ‘90s when the crusade went in on harmful and unreal beauty expectations. Of course, young women and kids, in general, tend to absorb and take in adults' toxic, conditioned ways of thinking, and thus insecurity looms in our shadows. Taking this head-on, it seems that the film will address past controversies synonymous with the doll, as Robbie tells Vogue:
People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’ and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I don’t…’.
Also, tackling representation with multiple rumored versions of Barbie and Ken with GG’s Barbie multiverse. Other rumored Barbie and Ken’s include Hari Nef, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, and Ncuti Gatwa. The stacked cast includes Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, Dula Peep Dua Lipa, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, and Emma Mackey in a yet-to-be-revealed role— my money is on Emma Mackey playing one of Barbie’s sisters, most likely Skipper. To further entice, the film is set to feature other Mattel Lore and probably means a cameo by another Mattel icon, Polly Pocket. With the recently cast Lily Collins in the titular role and a directorial by the polarizing Lena Dunham. With so much to speculate over, Barbiecore is in full effect.
Gerwig’s been credited for the return of the Barbie aesthetic with the assistance of pink’s a state of mind in Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Valentino Pink PP autumn/winter 2022 and Valentino Haute Couture fall 2022— pink is a powerful color. So who but Gerwig can make Barbie relatable in ways we wouldn’t expect. Her directorial with Little Women and Lady Bird— which she also wrote along with Mistress America and Frances Ha— commands the viewer’s attention with earnestness and ease around identity and struggling to find a place in the world. Barbie’s live-action adaptation seems like it would’ve made the pink-hued film of my ‘90s childhood dreams.
We’re bringing back an old favorite with Jeremy Scott’s Moschino’s artistry with their 2015 Ready-to-Wear, which Kacey Musgraves wore during the 2019 Met Gala (pictured above). With so much heaviness and global horror, no more thoughts, just the bliss of pink-coated dopamine that is Barbiecore.
I’ve been behind on new releases in music and films, but I’ll see Jordan Peel’s latest, Nope, tonight. My current favorite is A24’s Marcel the Shell with Shoes, voiced by Jenny Slate, which is an absolute treasure of a movie. Almost like a soothing balm, Marcel the Shell carries prophetic energy that we can all channel.
Con Amor,
Naomi x