To be honest, I anticipated Barbie to be a cheesy, Disney-like film. I was pleasantly surprised with the smart, insightful, well-rounded core messages. I cried while seeing myself in so many of the characters. I absolutely adore the movie and encourage anyone to see it.
Below are a few personally meaningful moments from Barbie:
- America Ferrera’s monologue. I wept as it cut deep and is so real. No matter your gender or identity, read this. It’s chilling. The script is at the end of this post.
- Ken’s enlightening description of the ideal woman. “Long Term, Long Distance, Low Commitment, Casual Girlfriend.” Yes, it gets laughs. But sadly, it’s a thing that is all too familiar for single woman. Men – if this is your intention, be upfront like Ken and disclose it to the person you are dating. I keep wondering why these men don’t want to be the man they’d want their daughter to be with?
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Weird Barbie is the best! Growing up, I created weird Barbie and damn I looked like her (See photos). Little did I know at the time the blessings of being weird, and how it encouraged my creativity, individualism and ability to deal with mean spirited individuals.
- You can be anything you want to be! I understand that the world isn’t fair and likely never will be. Yet, I was told by my high school counselor that I should skip college because I’m not smart enough. My parents didn’t go to college, so why should I? I wasn’t privileged, I worked full-time while in college to pay tuition, and I didn’t attend the most prestigious university. Yet I have GRIT and emotional intelligence. You can’t buy that. Regardless of your personal circumstances, you should strive to be anything you want! If you need a mentor or a nudge of encouragement, please reach out to me.
The monologue:
"It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow, we’re always doing it wrong.
"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 damn time. You have to be a career woman, but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining.”
"You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood. But 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. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.”
"I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don’t even know."