Every year, The Brunel Writer Prize is awarded to the student with the highest graded article submission for the Creative Industries module on Brunel University’s Creative Writing Programme. This year’s winner is Krisi Georgieva who reviews the controversial contribution that Warner Bro’s Barbie (2023) film has made to feminism in society. Congratulations Krisi!

Reviewing the 2023 Barbie Film: Feminism 101

In a world where women are socially and systematically subservient to men, perhaps it is fitting that Barbie was one of, if not the most, popular film to be released in 2023. The film follows the iconic character and doll, Barbie (Margot Robbie), and her journey to the human world where, oh boy, men have taken over. Living a perfect, glamorous life, Barbie begins to malfunction; bad breath, cold showers, burnt waffles, flat feet, and uh-oh, “thoughts of death”. She begins to experience an all too real existence rather than a plastic one: the beginning of the end. The film also portrays Ken (Ryan Gosling), who travels to the real world with Barbie in order to fix this malfunction, only to become infatuated with the concept of patriarchy, and returns home to impart this revolutionary knowledge to all the other Kens. 

From there, it is Barbie’s mission to save Barbie Land from Ken and his new regime. But who will save us in the audience? Barbie is clearly intended as a feminist film which aims to empower young women, and for the most part, it does just that. It fails, however, to take any real responsibility for the damage the Barbie franchise has done to young girls and women for decades since its debut. This is repeatedly brought up by the character of Sasha – a young feminist girl who criticises Barbie throughout the film. 

Barbie can do, be, and say anything she wants; she’s an excellent representation of what women could be, in an ideal world. She’s also an excellent reflection of the unreachable beauty standards perpetuated by the patriarchy. The film offers no resolution here, not really. In fact, the anti-hero, the Mattel CEO, is not punished for his actions in any way. By the end, he changes his mind, only because he was swayed by the prospect of more money, but has no real character development, no growth. Another – unsurprising – point to capitalism. 

In some ways, I would say this film sets us back a little. Capitalism, patriarchy, and sexism reign in reality already; must they go unchecked in a fantasy world, too? It sets a terribly dangerous precedent. In the film, Barbie and her fellow Barbie friends present a lovely sisterhood which is spoiled by Ken’s insecurity because “Barbie has a great day, every day, but Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him”, which in fact Barbie apologises for by the end. The truth is, Ken spends the majority of the film feeling insecure and competing with the other Kens over Barbie’s affection when they all could have had a friendship just as lovely as that of the Barbies. This story fails to fathom that men can be more than just rivals and competitors. Even so, a narrative about Barbie in Barbie Land still, somehow, ends up revolving around Ken. Even a fictional world cannot procure a situation where a woman is the centre of attention: the dominant presence.

“Even a fictional world cannot procure a situation where a woman is the centre of attention: the dominant presence.”

Perhaps all this would be somewhat excusable had the film been targeted solely at feminist scholars and academics who would hopefully be more familiar with feminist theory than the general public, and be able to construct a critique more sophisticated than this one. Instead, this was seen by people of all ages and genders which in some ways is good and exposes the fact that women are not yet liberated and that there is much more work to be done. In other ways, not so much. Children, little girls, will see this film and think it is their responsibility to soothe a boy’s bruised ego.

The Barbie film has set the bar just a little lower, has set progress just a little farther back, and has set an unhealthy precedent for little people who are just starting to become aware of the world. Overall, the film is like a 101 Feminist Theory class; it covers the basics, but you still need to go higher. Low-hanging fruit and all that.

Krisi is an English student who plans to continue their studies with a Master’s in Gender Politics. Krisi has always been fascinated by the nuances of gender and sexuality politics, and this is reflected in their writing — and their coasting pronouns. True to the stereotype, Krisi has in fact had various shades of blue hair.