When the BarbieTM movie came out in July of 2023, alongside Oppenheimer, most people seemed to enjoy it and the message that was shared about almost all women in the world today. During the movie, Barbie has to go through a lot of challenges in the real world that are similar to the challenges that women in today’s world deal with. The scene where the construction workers stare and catcall Barbie is something women go through a lot, but it shouldn’t matter what women are wearing because women aren’t objects. Once again it tells the truth about girls when Barbie believes that she isn’t pretty anymore because no one loves her for who she is and has sexualized her.

Even though a ton of important messages were shared throughout the film about the adversities women face, certain people weren’t happy with the movie’s ideas or plotline. A few of the people who didn’t think the Barbie movie was “good” or “wasn’t for men” were, obviously, men and it’s because the movie was designed for women. It shared the effect that the patriarchy (that men created) has on women.  The main reason that men seem to not enjoy the movie is because it is seen as “anti-male” because of “its exploration of a society where Barbieland is governed entirely by women” which most men don’t think should be allowed (economictimes.com).  The way Ken treats a female doctor during the movie is how a lot of men view women who are in charge. Women are viewed as not being able to be in a “man’s” position because they are just that: a woman. And for some strange reason, women aren’t seen as having power or the ability to be CEO’s or leaders. Most men seem to not like the movie because it calls out their behavior and why it’s wrong.

Taking into account what happened at the Golden Globes and the Oscars, this movie just proved the point it was trying to make. Not only did the host of the Golden Globes, Jo Koy, make extremely sexist jokes about the movie and Margot Robbie, but it showed the entire world watching that the movie was right about the reality of women and the way men treat them. He makes jokes about how Barbie’s appearance gets “ruined” throughout the movie only to end up missing the entire point of the existential crisis that she was having. Even if the jokes didn’t show the way he really felt about women he still shouldn’t have said them because it’s offensive. At the Oscars, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig did not receive any nominations for the movie while Ryan Gosling received an Oscar for being Ken. This whole award show reveals how, even though the two of them put in so much work to break the stereotypes, people will always pick men over women. Ryan Gosling explains that he was “grateful for the award but shocked that Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig were not nominated in their respective categories” (abcnews.com).

The BarbieTM movie is most known for the speech that Gloria gives to Barbie when she is depressed, thinks that everything is wrong, and that it will never be fixed. The entirety of the speech reveals the truth of being a woman in one scene. It makes note of the fact that women can lead but they cannot ruin other people’s ideas, they are allowed to be in charge and be a boss but they aren’t able to be “mean,” they can’t be too pretty but need to be pretty, can’t be too skinny or too thick, they aren’t allowed to point out other people’s bad behaviors, can’t complain, and need to make sure they are perfect nearly all the time. “I’m so tired of watching…women tie [themselves] into knots so people will like us” is the overall big picture of Barbie. Women will try so hard to fix everything, even if it isn’t their fault, just so people will like them which is something Barbie does during the movie.

In the end, the BarbieTM movie calls out men’s misogynistic behavior and the way society views women. There are so many different Barbie’s that show little girls they are allowed to do and be whatever they want but, society will set a limit to the things they think women should do. Barbie is a great example of female empowerment and the movie breaks the stereotypes that women have been given since the beginning. It brings attention to the fact that there is a lot in the world that is wrong, but there’s even more we can do to fix them if women and men are treated equally. In the words of Barbie, “You can be anything” so be something that can help the world, not hurt it.