Barbie: Pink Via Green

by Jeff Salzman | Aug 7, 2023 | Media, Post-modernism

Hey folks,

Barbie tells the story of the cultural evolution of women in three stages. In the traditional world girls play with baby dolls, practicing the sacred roles of domesticity and motherhood. The Barbie doll, introduced in 1959, represents a modern sensibility, first as a fashion doll with which girls could express themselves, then as a feminist trailblazer who could do anything and go anywhere, including the moon and the White House.

A billion dolls later, Barbie, the movie, tells this developmental story in a thoroughly postmodern way. It’s a frolicking, hot-pink, meta-mishmash of feminist critique, teenage angst, existential dread, gender-fluidity (asexuality featured), power-dynamics and a perpetual war on the patriarchy. All of which gets us … not very far. Margot Robbie is perfection in the role. More in the episode – enjoy!

Jeff Salzman