Was I the only one who left the theater and didn’t think that Barbie was the best movie I ever saw? I wasn’t filled with thought-provoking ideas, and I didn’t have a new approach to feminism either. Sure, I loved the aesthetic and the songs and I recognize the unprecedented effect it had on theaters, but I have seen many more movies that have had a much more profound effect on my womanhood. But why does it feel like no one else has that same take?
When Jo Koy made his failed appearance at the Golden Globes, he joked that “‘Oppenheimer’ is based on the 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is about a plastic doll with…” People were outraged and brought so much attention to how offensive his joke was. While I agree that the joke was offensive, the whole point of the movie was to bring attention to women living in a man’s world and how we are still allowing it to happen. Why are we giving Jo Koy the platform to make his joke our reality? This is not what feminism is about.
In the movie, I could hardly grasp the message myself, and while I am a huge fan of Greta Gerwig, the director, and the work of Margot Robbie, the actress who played Barbie, I found myself extremely confused regarding what exactly I was supposed to take away. I was uplifted by the female empowerment, but I felt a gap between what I was supposed to do next with what I had watched. Now that the Oscar nominations have been revealed, my questions have become more apparent. The movie has 8 nominations, and people are still beside themselves that the movie did not receive a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actress and Best Director.
Critics are saying that this is a snub for women in the Best Actress category, but how can it be when it is a category for women? Are we supposed to take away a nomination from the other seven talented women who worked just as hard? Rather, I feel it was a snub for the Best Director, as it is evident that each detail was designed with so much heart and precision. However, is not meant for Best Picture because I don’t think anyone walked away with new thoughts or with the feeling “that was the best movie ever.”
If Barbie could have taught anyone something, it would be that women must support other women, and while fans may think they are doing so by claiming that Robbie deserved the nomination, they are taking the value away from those who truly did. All I can say is that the reaction from fans is not how women who watched the movie and who want things to change should act. If we want respect and admiration, our time will come when it is deserved, and if we have to whine to get the Oscar nomination, then why would we want it?
