gentlemen beside themselves when they see Barbie

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Barbie breaking records this summer. After a publicity tour that would be regarded as one of the best marketing campaigns, its premiere became – on the 21st – the highest-grossing filmmaker in history, signed by a female filmmaker Greta Gerwig. Ten days after its release in theaters, the comedy that brings the Mattel doll to life has already grossed $770 million worldwide, a figure that only superhero franchises have achieved in recent years.

With Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling at the head of the cast, Gerwig’s approach to the icon (as controversial as it is popular) is a snarky and funny film with a very clever script, a collaboration between Gerwig and his partner Noah Baumbach. . References, jokes or pop feminism on pastel scenography, from which it is impossible to take your eyes off from the first minute of the projection. A pink universe that has already become a phenomenon and has made a leap into the theaters themselves and into the cloakroom of the audience in an unexpected communication.

Barbie

Barbie in Barbie Country. Photo: Alami

Called an enemy to be defeated by feminists in the sixties for perpetuating sexist stereotypes, Barbie doll also taught girls to “be whatever you want”. Today it is a complex figure due to its history or meanings. Emblem of consumerism, its arrival in theaters prompted a predictable (but no less entertaining) turn in the scenario, in which numerous far-right media figures in the United States summed up the argument in which Barbie This is a movie that hates men. The alt-right in North America, like the extreme right in Europe, has chosen the fight for equality and women’s rights as one of its main achievements.

Without bringing up any of the many layers of Gerwig’s story, some of them saw the need to flee to their social media to share outrage. An explosive rage that resulted in several dolls being burned at the stake by men in their forties. Their guilty verdict stated that they wanted to implement a “feminist agenda” or turn Ken into a “low testosterone” character.

Ryan Gosling as Ken

According to many tweeters, Greta Gerwig’s feed turns a plastic Ken doll into an example of what feminists want to do with men. Photo: cordon press

“There is a lot of passion here,” the director of the film herself said in an interview with the publication. New York Times after the premiere. “Did you foresee the amount of criticism the right-wingers are throwing at the film for being awoke, burn your Barbies?” they asked, alluding to a term that has evolved from a definition of socially conscious people into a throwing weapon of the right; what the creator Lady Bird She replied, “I hope the film is an invitation for everyone to join the party and put aside what doesn’t serve us, women or men. I hope that all this passion, if you see it or take part in it, can give you some of the comfort that it has given to other people.”

But finds little consolation youtuber A critical drunk who, in front of his nearly two million followers, admits he felt betrayed by the trailer: he didn’t expect 114 minutes of “rage and hatred of men.” He had a bad time, he says in the video, in which he shows his genuine concern about how this story will affect the girls. “Watching this film was one of the most frustrating and demoralizing experiences I have ever had as a film critic. It really made me think about where we are going as a society,” he concluded.

Without getting into rhetorical questions, Elon Musk offers a game to shoot, clearly annoyed by the number of times the word “patriarchy” is spoken on the tape: “If you shoot every time Barbie says the word “patriarchy”, you will pass out. until the end of the movie,” tweeted the man who replaced the bird on Twitter to replace it with a symbol that could very well decorate his Mojo Dojo Casa.

Ben Shapiro also doesn’t like to talk about patriarchy: “All you need to know about #BarbieTheMovie is that he uses the word ‘patriarchy’ over 10 times without irony,” he tweeted. The reactionary commentator was one of the first to position himself with two videos in which he gives free rein to his hysteria. In the first, he burns several dolls on the grill, and in the second, Barbie is trash but you can’t talk about it (and despite not being allowed) he is sent with an hour of complaining on camera. The writer does not understand, for example, that Hari Nef, a trans actress, has a lower voice than his. Twitter users reacted with memes of him wearing outfits straight out of Barbie’s Dream House.

Shapiro is not the first to rush to burn witches. The far right has already made it a habit to set fire to anything they consider an emblem. awoke and before Barbie, Nike sneakers, Gillette razors and even beer have already succumbed to fire.

Unlike the usual scenario of any genre of film with female characters, Gerwig takes Ken’s journey as seriously as Barbie. But that’s not enough for Republican Congressman Matt Gatz’s wife, Ginger Gatz: after posing in pink on the red carpet at the premiere, she took to her Twitter account to call for a boycott of the film because “the 2023 Barbie movie unfortunately it doesn’t touch on any notions of faith or family and tries to normalize the idea that women can’t cooperate positively with men (disgusting).” Additionally, Gaetz finds Ken’s low testosterone “disappointing”.

Piers Morgan, known for his misogynistic and xenophobic comments, also couldn’t miss this party, to which he adds a disturbing article in New York Post titled If I made a movie that treats women the way Barbie treats men, the feminists would want to execute me, in which he shows his surprise at the concept of “patriarchy” being “kidnapped and corrupted by feminists”. Demonstrating that he gave the film his full attention, he concludes that its clear message is that “the only solution to this terrible patriarchal state of affairs is for women to rule the world.”

For his part, Senator Ted Cruz, Donald Trump’s 2016 rival for control of the Republican Party, went ahead even before the film’s premiere. The scene of a few seconds of Margot Robbie in front of the map was enough for him to decide that the tape was “Chinese communist propaganda”. The politician developed a theory, joined by others such as the George W. Bush Foundation, that the map would show a nine-dot line (or U-line) that China uses to claim its territory as the South China Sea. It doesn’t matter that the film only scores eight points, or that the production company Warner Bros. settled the dispute: “The map is a child’s drawing with crayons. These doodles mimic Barbie’s journey from Barbie Country to the real world. Diversity in a statement that would be difficult for any adult to read aloud without chuckling.

Barbieland Map

Controversial real-world travel map from Barbieland, taken by some to be “Chinese communist propaganda”. Photo: cordon press

In Spain, the fact that Yolanda Diaz chose the film to spend an afternoon of reflection automatically made the feature film a target for the most reactionary, outraged that everything is being politicized. “Adjust him to a new religion without a god or any faith, just turn something as simple and innocent as a doll into a symbol of postmodern feminism and the digital age,” it was published after the election.

Barbie

“The feminist agenda will kill us all,” reads one of the intervening posters reviewing the film. Photo: Twitter @TechnicallyRon

Although, perhaps, the best reaction to the criticism of the film on the net. rotten tomatoes, where despite hate the title has a score of 8.9: “The heeled Trojan horse that all feminist nonsense is protected from” or “Barbie is a Barbie movie made with the doll’s political conscience, consistency and intelligence.” Twitter user @TechnicallyRon selected some of the best from the Letterboxd app and used them to tamper with a promotional poster; I’m sure some of them are good for getting people to go to the movies: “Repulsive, dangerous and perverted film”, “The feminist agenda will kill us”, “They won’t be happy until we’re all gay”. or “an acid pink trip that feels like a slap when attractive people confuse.”

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Greta Gerwig, 'Barbie' director: 'My mom didn't like it, she looked at it with suspicion, but eventually gave in and gave me one'

Greta Gerwig, ‘Barbie’ director: ‘My mom didn’t like it, she looked at it suspiciously, but eventually gave in and gave me one’

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