Unraveling ‘Barbie’: Symbolism and Real-World Connections

If we were to draw analogies, "Barbie" is more akin to Le Bon's "The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind" or Harari's "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" – popular works that have managed to simplify and popularize complex social issues or historical problems. Their greatest strength lies in their ability to outline vast problems with just a few strokes, providing unprecedented clarity. In short, they find the lowest common denominator that resonates with ordinary audiences, offering pleasure without resorting to cheap tactic - they are accessible yet have the potential and capacity to provoke deep reflection.

The most significant value of Barbie (2023) lies in its clever Hollywood-style depiction of a popular contemporary ideology, namely feminism. It has both the sharpness of political commentary a distinctly middle-class sense of introspection and derision. It unabashedly ridicules male vanity and weakness without going to extremes, avoiding becoming a sort of dump for extreme emotions.

The movie uses a fable-like story to cleverly expose the plight of women. Barbie was once a symbol of female beauty, and the movie's opening highlights the progressive nature of this image. Before her, female dolls represented only infants, perpetuating a playacting of motherhood and domestic life. Barbie, however, signifies a certain awakening among women, an awakening which is manifested in Barbie's universe by women are not only beautiful but also wise and powerful. They can be Nobel Prize winners or even presidents. They are no longer confined to motherhood or mere beauty; they embody anything and everything in this world.

But this awakening is also a trap - one they set for themselves. In the end, all that Barbie represents are stereotypes and unattainable ideals that can never be reproduced in reality, and thus what Barbie stands for remains a mere fantasy. This endless pursuit of perfection becomes a stifling force that represses the uniqueness of real women. It's nothing more than a toxic idealism, a delusional self-hypnosis.

And so, the Barbies bathe in non-existent water, brush non-existent teeth, and drink non-existent wine, celebrating non-existent joy by an imaginary seaside. Everything is fake.

The existential crisis of Margot Robbie’s Barbie is, in essence, a reflection on the values represented by Barbie: a mere sedative, a pink soap bubble that would pop far too easily if ever it came in contact with the real world.

In the Barbie world, there are no pregnant Barbies because pregnancy represents the most significant difference between women and men in our own dualistic world and has historically imposed the greatest restrictions on women. To forget pregnancy, though, is to erase many of the most fundamental female experiences. The Barbie world becomes a refuge from menstruation, menstrual pain, and childbirth – an escapist celebration. This dream of escaping is not simply a demand women place upon themselves, though; it’s also subtly encouraged by our patriarchal society in collusion with consumerism.

In the movie, the producers of Barbie are all seemingly incompetent yet controlling men, a clear indictment of modern patriarchy. The role of the creator of Barbie, Ruth, is further evidence of Barbie's ultimate subjugation and exploitation by the patriarchy and consumerism. The true creator, in the end, is frozen in time and exiled by men to a distant, forgettable place. Men saw the demand of women and played into it, catering to it and turning female independence into one of the most successful businesses of this era.

In this sense, then, the seemingly female utopia of Barbie is still, in fact, one designed and controlled by men, a rebellious imitation of a patriarchal society on full display. This is where the movie surpasses typical popular feminist rhetoric. Barbie's dilemma is, to some extent, the dilemma of men in our real world, and Ken's representation of male problems is, in some way, reflective of real women's problems.

In Barbie's universe, everything is pink and happy, and real-world predicaments are never mentioned, mirroring the rigid stereotypes imposed on men in real life, where they must be strong and not show emotion. Ken, the “secondary sex” of Barbie's universe, never questions what he wants; his sole human goal is to please Barbie, and for that, he agonizes and broods, reminiscent of how some women in real life treat pleasing men as the ultimate value of their lives. Ken's affectations and emotionality demonstrate that so-called masculine and feminine traits are largely products of cultural conditioning: when a ‘s existence is reduced to that of a vase, a mere decoration, his apparent feminization seems like a perfectly logical conclusion.

As such, the movie is not merely a critique of patriarchy, it is also a reflection on feminism itself. This duality allows the movie to transcend mere ideological preaching and adopt a more speculative tone, playfully and ironically narrating the predicaments and limitations of humanity.

The movie also features a minor but crucial role, Allan. While Barbie’s female camp and Ken’s male camp clash intensely, Allan represents the minority that exists outside this binary, with repeated attempts to express himself constantly ignored. This can be seen as a subtle reminder from the moviemakers: the world is not only about men and women, and the battle of the sexes is not the only battle being fought. Focusing excessively on a particular issue ignores the richness of a more diverse world and only serves to conceal more complex contradictions.

Towards the end, the movie moves beyond the male-female confrontation and points to a deeper problem, a more elusive trap:when we no longer prioritize our true selves but place an unrealistic ideal or discourse as our goal, that ideal and discourse become subtle restraints and betrayals of the self.

This is why Barbie ultimately visits the gynecologist. It signifies that true growth for women requires moving from fantasy back to reality, escaping the exaggerated symbols meant to secure male approval and acknowledging one's existence as a biological woman. Ultimately, genuine independence can only be built upon recognizing one's true existence and genuine imperfections.

All movies are metaphors for the world, and the quality of a movie fundamentally lies in whether this metaphor is appropriate and accurate. From this perspective, this movie holds value. It uses Barbie to construct a simple yet persuasive metaphor for the real issue of male-female relations, but it doesn't limit itself to that alone， further delving into the eternal contradiction of liberation and bondage. The movie addresses the limitations of both patriarchy and feminism, pointing out that true liberation comes from recognizing one's authentic self behind the veneer of any socially-defined concepts.