‘She’s Everything, He’s Just Ken.’ We’re Living In A Barbie World, But Will Greta Gerwig’s New Movie Bring The Party Doll Lovers Are Looking For?

April 4 marks a day that Barbie fans and critics have been waiting for–the trailer and promotional posters for the movie starring the world’s most iconic doll have been released, and the Internet is already abuzz with memes, hot takes and hopes for what the summer movie has in store for the girl who can be anything.

As Margot Robbie’s Barbie is launched into the real world (unenthusiastically with Ryan Gosling as Ken by her side), children and adults alike will finally have an answer to the long-held question, “What would Barbie be like if she were a real person?” Over the years women and men alike have spent thousands of dollars sculpting their bodies, emulating the lifestyle of and dedicating their hobbies to everything Barbie. For some, Barbie’s tenacity, style, bubbly personality and acting chops are something to aspire to.

"This is my Avengers," tweeted one enthusiastic fan in a since deleted post. But since the doll’s debut in 1959, Barbie has been met with criticism. Some say Barbie is racist, promotes unrealistic body standards, is gender exclusionary, undermines the potential of young girls, is classist and even a danger to heteronormativity. Those who disagree with such condemnations argue Barbie paved the way for girls’ representation in work and school, was a blueprint for more diverse doll options and continues to evolve with societal expectations and trends in a way that embraces global change. No matter what side of the fence you’re on, this film will be holding a mirror and a magnifying glass to what Barbie was before, and what she is today.

Over the past decades these pros and cons have grown well beyond the confines of a Barbie Dream House. Amy Shumer, who was originally cast as Barbie for the movie back in 2016 opted to drop out of the film due to some of the above mentioned concerns. Schumer, known for challenging stereotypes about what it means to be beautiful, funny and a white woman in Hollywood, already would have broken barriers as an actress for bringing live-action Barbie beyond her less-than livable body proportions. Not only this, but she wanted to make sure Barbie had the body and brains of today’s modern woman: according to Buzzfeed, Schumer wanted Barbie to be portrayed as an inventor, but as part of the concept the movie studio felt that Barbie’s invention should be a high-heel made of Jell-O, proliferating the idea that Barbie is just a pretty face. Schumer says one of the earliest signs of conflict for her in the role of Barbie was when the production company creating the film sent her a pair of Manolo high heeled shoes as a congratulatory gift.

“The idea that that’s just what every woman must want, right there, I should have gone, ‘You’ve got the wrong gal,’”

she said of the gesture at the time. Just seven years ago, she looked to dismantle the idea that all women and girls only care about shoes, clothes, looks, and boys.

Barbie is a household name but also a challenging business concept to wrap one's head around. She’s arguably Mattel’s signature toy, but things weren’t always that way. The company, founded in 1945, was responsible for toys like the Magic 8 Ball, Mickey Mouse Club advertising, and Fisher-Price toys before the doll hit the market. Company co-founder and engineer Ruth Handler was inspired by her daughter Barbara's paper dolls and decided to create a 3-D toy in her namesake. While child’s play was the motive for the doll, Barbie’s features were based on a sexy German doll targeted at male customers called Bild Lilli. Shortly thereafter, Ken dolls, named after Handler’s son, came into production as well. Thanks to the company’s relationship with Disney and the Mickey Mouse Club television show, Mattel became one of the first companies to market toys to children on television.

As a result, the toys became as synonymous with U.S. culture as Coca-Cola, and over the years Barbie and friends became the focus of clothes, food, movies, interior design, gaming and collecting. But from the start, the toy had garnered a lot of attention: while Barbie was a departure from traditional 1950s gender roles, her body shape and swath of clothing, cars and houses was seen as oversexualized and too materialistic for children. As Barbie took on roles that reflected the 1970s counter-culture, technology boom and professional shifts for women, her likeness and storylines continued facing backlash. Critiques aside, Barbie sales topped $1 billion in 1993 and more than 1 billion dolls have been sold worldwide. As Mattel’s Barbie success and controversy grew, so did its portfolio. Since Barbie’s debut, the brand has also created Hot Wheels, Uno, He-Man, Thomas & Friends, Little People and Polly Pocket. However, in 2020 the Barbie brand saw a 20% dip in sales–executives saw it as a sign that try as they might, Barbie girl’s Barbie world might not be the same one we’re all living in after all.

Now, in 2023, filmmaker Greta Gerwig is faced with a challenge: bringing the feminist legacy of her work like Lady Bird and Little Women to one of the most widely critiqued consumer products of all time, while touting a star-studded cast that not only embodies, but even toes the line of satire on conventional Barbie beauty standards. While Amy Schumer’s brand of Barbie is off the table, Issa Rae, Dua Lipa, Kate McKinnon, Will Ferrell, Helen Mirren, America Fererra, Michael Cera and other A-Listers will be tasked with addressing these long-contested issues within the Barbie universe. The trailer foreshadows these topics, showing snippets of awkward tension between the ideal toy couple, comments and quips on sex and sexuality, and a breaking of the fourth wall that playtime and storytelling often lend themselves to.

Promotional posters and material tackle these ideas as well, with captions like “Barbie is everything” and “He’s Just Ken” that prompt viewers to reconsider what their 62-year-old relationship dynamic would be like in today’s world.

me describing my best friend and her boyfriend pic.twitter.com/lyRow5R1dV

— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) April 4, 2023

Is Ken only valuable as an asset or accessory to the world-famous persona of Barbie, or will we see him–and all his iterations–grow into their own along the way? While the new movie is already being lauded for its on-the-mark fashion choices, sense of humor and breathing a new life into the Mattel franchise, it’s got a long way to go before its July 21 release date.

Photo by Elena Mishlanova on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/OwFURNr9NW0