Highbrow Magazine - barbie and ken https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/barbie-and-ken en It’s a ‘Barbie’ World and We’re Just Living in It https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/24083-it-s-barbie-world-and-we-re-just-living-it <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Thu, 08/03/2023 - 17:46</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1barbiefilm.jpg?itok=OnBNzzXt"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1barbiefilm.jpg?itok=OnBNzzXt" width="480" height="240" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>AT A GLANCE</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>“Barbie”</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Directed by: Greta Gerwig</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, and Will Ferrell</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Rated: PG-13 for suggestive references</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> The main trailer for writer-director Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” proclaims that the movie is for both those who love and hate Mattel’s iconic doll franchise, and it is a rare case of truth in movie advertising. Gerwig’s film is bold, flashy, clever, melodramatic and thoughtful … and it, indeed, should play to everyone.  </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">I will hazard a guess that most in my demographic (55-year-old male) haven’t owned a Barbie and haven’t spent considerable time weighing the merits of characters like Midge and Skipper, but Gerwig’s film is so delightfully fleshed out that it seems made for us. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2barbiefilm.jpg" style="height:366px; width:650px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Does that mean it bails on the core demographic (women and girls who have doted on the dolls for years or even decades)? Absolutely not. This is a film that embraces Barbie’s iconic status while gleefully poking fun at the franchise’s missteps, and – as Gerwig points out on screen – there have been many of the latter. This is a tough line to walk, and viewers should give Mattel credit for signing on. When folks in the executive branch decided not only to allow the film to comment on some of the troubling representational messages Barbie has sent over the years … but to open commentary on them, it was brilliant. In a world where, too often, cultural critique is taken out of context and the players involved act dumb, “Barbie” is a breath of fresh air. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">More than anything, the film is about female empowerment, an agenda that commentator <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ben-shapiro-sets-fire-barbie-dolls-he-slams-woke-movie-1814723" target="_blank">Ben Shapiro has apparently been ruffled</a> by. The controversy is bizarre since the movie simply dares to point out what anyone paying attention already knows. The rules for men and women are different and – historically – men have had it easier -- at least when it comes to career advancement, wages, and attaining political power. How someone like Shapiro could be so troubled by the mention of such well-established facts is strange, but one doesn’t burn Barbies unless their world has been rocked. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Interestingly, “Barbie” pushes its equality agenda by demonstrating that the namesake doll franchise is one of the rare places where men (or at least plasticky, genital-free representations of them) have no power. In Gerwig’s “Barbie,” the Kens exist only as accessories. They are trophy boyfriends designed to please the female gaze and reflect the splendor of their companions. Sound familiar, ladies? </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3barbiefilm.jpg" style="height:315px; width:659px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">When Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) has an existential crisis due to unrelenting thoughts of death, the appearance of cellulite, and a sudden flattening of her feet, she is forced to transition from her world into our own. We learn this when the heroin visits Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), who isn’t what she used to be because her owner played with her too hard. The brutal play regimen resulted in chopped hair, a marker-tatted face, and legs bent into eternal splits, but Weird Barbie is as wise as beat up. She knows that Stereotypical Barbie must face her crisis head on by finding out who’s playing with her. Because he is happy only when next to Barbie, Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling) tags along. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">What the two dolls find in the real world is shocking … to them. In an astonishing reversal, people actually pay attention to Ken (he is in heaven when somebody asks him the time), and many of the men treat Barbie as a sex object. After the two are arrested (a second time) for minor infractions related to cultural misunderstanding, the male police officers note that Barbie looks even better with more clothes on because it leaves something to the imagination. Scenes like this are funny while making important points. The real world also makes an impression on Beach Ken who – after so many years as an afterthought – is thrilled that he actually matters.  Without giving away too much, I can say that Beach Ken’s character arc is every bit as powerful as Barbie’s --  perhaps even more. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">As the movie progresses, Barbie meets her owners – a young girl named Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) and her mother, Gloria (America Ferrera). Because the film is a broad comedy, it takes no time for these real-world counterparts to accept the fact that Stereotypical Barbie is a doll come to life and not a doll-convention cosplayer having a psychotic break. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Also, Mattel execs, the CEO played marvelously by Will Ferrell, learn that Barbie has entered the real world, launching a nifty subplot that makes Mattel look both thoughtful and sinister. Again, kudos to the company for realizing that audiences (most at least) aren’t made up of dolts. The company’s willingness to become the butt of a few jokes goes a long way, especially when (let’s face it) the entire picture is a massive product-placement ad.  </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4barbiefilm.jpg" style="height:315px; width:661px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The biggest knock on the film is that it’s talky. It is funny to hear dolls wittily discussing the importance of representation and the follies of womanhood, but there are numerous scenes where the philosophical banter outlasts the depth of the material. One needn’t give 15 examples of the ways women have it rough, when the point was well established at five. This, however, is a relatively minor complaint. These moments do bog the film down and create a lurching rhythm, but they are infrequent and more than offset by the excellence of the overall picture. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The art direction and sets in Barbie are breathtaking. When Robbie, Gosling, and other members of the Barbie family are in their world, it looks like a toy wonderland. The Dreamhouses are massive recreations of the real thing. The beaches don’t have water, the food is plastic. It’s glorious. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The color palette is beautiful throughout, and the performances are what you expect from such a talented cast. Robbie and Gosling steer the ship and each is wonderful, but they never upstage their costars.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">There is a strange subplot involving Allan (a doll marketed as Ken’s buddy). The doll, as portrayed by Michael Cera, is funny, but also seems queer coded. While that isn’t automatically problematic, it’s not entirely clear what Gerwig hopes this representation will say. It could be a subtle attempt at inclusiveness, but Allan is an odd duck, embraced by neither the Barbies nor the Kens, and that leaves a lot of possible interpretations. This is especially true since the movie seems to indicate that, while the dolls take gender roles, they do not engage in sexual relationships. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Foibles and all, “Barbie” is a success. In a world where mass-market blockbusters are often little more than thoughtless cash grabs, Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach have turned the story of a children’s toy into a meaningful romp that is as thought-provoking as it is fun. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Author Bio:</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Forrest Hartman is</em> Highbrow Magazine’s <em>chief film critic.</em></strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/barbie" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">barbie</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/barbie-movie" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">barbie movie</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/margot-robbie" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">margot robbie</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ryan-gosling-will-ferrell" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ryan gosling will ferrell</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/greta-gerwig" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Greta Gerwig</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/noah-baumbach" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">noah baumbach</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/america-ferrera" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">america ferrera</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/barbie-dolls" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">barbie dolls</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/barbie-and-ken" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">barbie and ken</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mattel" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mattel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Forrest Hartman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">In Slider</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-videos field-type-video-embed-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <div class="embedded-video"> <div class="player"> <iframe class="" width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pBk4NYhWNMM?width%3D640%26amp%3Bheight%3D360%26amp%3Bautoplay%3D0%26amp%3Bvq%3Dlarge%26amp%3Brel%3D0%26amp%3Bcontrols%3D1%26amp%3Bautohide%3D2%26amp%3Bshowinfo%3D1%26amp%3Bmodestbranding%3D0%26amp%3Btheme%3Ddark%26amp%3Biv_load_policy%3D1%26amp%3Bwmode%3Dopaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> </div> </div></div></div> Thu, 03 Aug 2023 21:46:28 +0000 tara 12021 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/24083-it-s-barbie-world-and-we-re-just-living-it#comments Gallery 30 South Presents ‘Barbie: The Plastic Religion’ https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10320-gallery-30-south-presents-barbie-plastic-religion <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/photography-art" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Photography &amp; Art</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 12/20/2019 - 08:50</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1barbie.jpeg?itok=lYv0Bb9w"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1barbie.jpeg?itok=lYv0Bb9w" width="380" height="480" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>You have to have guts to mount an exhibition like the ones that the Argentine artists Pool &amp; Marianela (Marianela Perelli and Emiliano Paolini) exhibit these days across the globe.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Plastic Religion plays with religious iconography, with special emphasis on the Christian religion, disguising the popular Barbie and her boyfriend Ken as virgins, saints and Christs. Past shows have faced staunch criticism and controversy from right-wing factions who have applied their own agendas onto the artwork, but simultaneously this work has found acceptance from Pope Francis (who owns one of the couple’s loose Barbie figures), Mattel (the makers of Barbie), and the Palais du Louvre (which displayed four of Pool y Marianela’s boxed Barbie &amp; Ken dolls in their museum of decorative arts).</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2barbie.jpeg" style="height:480px; width:480px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>This current presentation at Gallery 30 South features some of the same striking pieces that were featured at the Louvre, and they’ve produced new unique versions of pieces both owned and beloved by the Pope.</p> <p> </p> <p>“More than bravery is taking on the commitment,” says Pool with energy. “We live in an increasingly ugly world where the extreme right threatens our freedoms all the time with artists frequently becoming unwitting collaborators.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Pool is resounding when it comes to talking about this. In his opinion, art of today that does not say anything (specifically that which is limited to pretty pictures with the sole purpose of selling), is a treacherous, empty art that only serves to bolster fascism.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3barbie.jpeg" style="height:480px; width:480px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Explains the Argentine artist, “We, Pool and Marianela, do not conceive art if it does not have rebellion. The enemy of good art is the artist who makes nice things in support of vapidness. That is unforgivable. They are occupying space in the zeitgeist that should go to someone who wants to shout a real message into the ether. We cry out by testing the limits of the nexus between religious mentality and consumerism.”</p> <p> </p> <p>But criticism is in the eye of the beholder and the duo count the Holy See among the owners of their work. “This exhibition, like all our work, focuses on the boundary between satire and homage,” says Pool, who speaks on behalf of both. “We move in duality; we are neither good nor evil.”</p> <p> </p> <p>“We try to make people think, to put their heads to work so that each time there is less authoritarianism and less preconception of thought – which is what allows dictators to operate unopposed. Always, for them, it will be more difficult to deceive when the public is thinking clearly.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4barbie.jpeg" style="height:407px; width:601px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The couple of Argentine artists does not consider, however, that Barbie is an icon of consumerism. For them, Barbie is more the representation of canonical beauty and an icon of feminism.  “We say hembrismo,“ qualifies Pool, since it represents a woman who does what she wants, as she wants and when she wants. So much so that her boyfriend, Ken, is simply an accessory.</p> <p> </p> <p>That’s why they chose these two pop icons. “We had been incorporating the most popular figures into our work, and Barbie was the number-one pop culture doll. This was in tandem with connecting the rite of play with the first things imposed on us: religion through baptism. Once we mixed the two, we knew we had a project with broad, international appeal. From this was born our oeuvre, which gets a bit of updating in this evolving but superplastic era.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/5barbie.jpeg" style="height:480px; width:480px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>The exhibition runs through December 29 at </em></strong><a href="https://gallery30south.com/"><strong><em>Gallery 30 South.</em></strong></a></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/pool-and-marianela" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">pool and marianela</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/barbie-exhibit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">barbie exhibit</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/barbie-and-ken" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">barbie and ken</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/religious-art" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">religious art</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/gallery-30-south" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Gallery 30 South</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/art-exhibits" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">art exhibits</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Editors</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Courtesy of Gallery 30 South</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 20 Dec 2019 13:50:53 +0000 tara 9234 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10320-gallery-30-south-presents-barbie-plastic-religion#comments