My brief thoughts on the Barbie movie 🎬💗

Thank you, to Dustin F, for commenting under my last article that you love how I was inspired by the Barbie movie, and saying that you'd love to hear me yap about my thoughts on it! I love your energy, and I'm grateful for your support! 😘

Now, let's begin!

Do I think the Barbie movie handles its themes well?

Including, but not limited to:

— Feminism

— Patriarchy

— How it affects both women and men

— Its damage to the self-worth and image of women and girls

— How men and boys have their identities distorted

— Gender roles

Hmm…yes and no.

Feminism vs patriarchy

Feminism is a women's liberation movement, and its end goal is to free all women and girls from the vicious shackles of the patriarchy — from exploitation, abuse, enslavement and dependency on men for survival. It aims to grant us back our rights; the rights that have been withheld from us for centuries. Rights to bodily autonomy, freedom, education, work, and so much more. The rights withheld by a cruel, brutal, patriarchal system that thrives on the subordination and subjugation of ALL women and girls. A system that treats men and boys as superior, and us as inferior, in every single way. It was feminism that granted us many of the rights we enjoy today. Without it, we would still be imprisoned by men, more than we still are.

The Barbie universe's original state is women empowered and women as the leaders, intentionally set up to be the complete opposite of the real world. Only the difference between Barbieland's matriarchy and the real-world patriarchy is that when the women are in power, everyone is happy, but when the men are in power, no one is. This is not because of any gendered differences, this is because of the difference in the ways the systems are structured.

Barbieland's matriarchy might centre women (the Barbies), but it is NOT built off of the backs or exploitation of men (the Kens). The Kens are respected. The Kens are valued. They may not be the main focus for the Barbies, but they are still treated and viewed as equals. The Barbies form a cohesive society, where everybody matters and everybody takes care of each other — a loving, homely society. What the world should be. Whereas, in the real world, the men are very clearly in power — but their power revolves around disempowering women and girls. Distorting our images of ourselves, degrading us, beating us down and making us feel as small as possible. Misogyny.

This is the difference between a matriarchy and a patriarchy. One is a circle of community; the other is a ladder of hierarchy.

And I liked the way the Barbie movie successfully showed the contrast between the two. That the idea of patriarchy — a destructive mechanism built on male insecurity (as shown through Ken's, and then he spread it) was the problem.

How the patriarchy effects both Women and Men

Patriarchy very clearly benefits men and boys, at the devastating expense of women and girls. This is why they often resist the idea of dismantling it — even when it very clearly hurts them too. Because NO one is truly thriving under a violent, unfeeling system built on arrogance, oppression and power struggle. Only it should be enough that it hurts women and girls — and hurts us MOST. Men still have themselves to blame for setting the system up, and continuing to enjoy the benefits of it; the fruits of our labour.

A theme well-portrayed in the Barbie movie, I believe. But despite the fact that the patriarchy benefitted the Kens SO much when they brought it to Barbieland — they were still more miserable than they were before it. Because despite the fact that they were in control, they were lonely. They were unhappy.

Patriarchal standards brainwash us all. Force both men and women, girls and boys, into boxes of what we "should" and "shouldn't" be. Gender roles. We are all shamed, made to feel insecure if we don't fit perfectly into them. Defiance or deviation is punished; ESPECIALLY in women and girls. But then again, aren't we simply punished by men for our existence? As I said, male insecurity is at the root of the problem. But under patriarchy, neither men nor women feel happy with themselves. They are always chasing a standard, struggling to meet the rigid expectations for their specific "role". What is expected of them.

The Barbie movie conveyed female insecurity through the shame we are trained to bear towards our OWN bodies; for example, Barbie hating her cellulite. The powerful speech about the impossibility of being a woman and all the weighty expectations and criticisms placed on us for our "imperfection" (humanity) really moved me. I LOVED it!

Ken's insecurity and inferiority complex was greatly explored, too. Men created patriarchy because of ego; inferiority complex. They felt inferior, so they had to make US feel — and "be" — inferior in turn. How DARE we have the audacity to exist, and to "make" them feel that way? They had to force us to our knees to feel powerful. If women were inherently "submissive", it would not have taken so much to beat us down. So much effort, exertion, threats, stripping of rights.

Also, I loved the way the Kens brainwashing the Barbies into feeling inferior mirrored the way our patriarchal world indoctrinates women and girls (and men and boys) of our "inferiority".

All of this, I LOVED about the movie.

But let's talk about what I did NOT like

Thematically, the movie does an amazing job at sending the message. The metaphors work, the messages work.

Where it falls short, I believe, is the movie's structure.

Starting at the beginning and a recurring cycle up until the end of the movie, is the idea that Barbie is at fault for Ken's tantrum, because she didn't pay enough attention to him from the beginning. I understand that Ken had a right to feel ignored, and that Barbie was a little neglectful towards him, but it was never malicious, only because she wanted to maintain an identity outside of him. So what if she wants to spent quality time with her girls ONLY, or focus on her career sometimes? She still loves him, and he can always communicate if he feels unsatisfied with her contribution to their relationship. And it was not Barbie's fault that Ken was overly clingy at times, and clearly never had much of an identity outside of HER, and being her boyfriend. As shown in the song "I'm just Ken" — he doesn't know who he is without her. Male insecurity; he has an inferiority complex. As I've said before, I love how beautifully this theme was explored.

Relationship issues are one thing. Women are not perfect either. Barbie did not realise that she was hurting Ken until later on in the movie. HOWEVER, any way Ken may have felt mistreated by Barbie did NOT justify him turning around, degrading her, kicking her out of her house, and forcing the Barbies into subservience after the Kens took over. She did NOTHING to deserve that. No amount of ways a woman can "annoy" or "offend" a man will ever justify his OPPRESSION of her. OR his abuse, which is exactly what happened here. Ken turned into a villain, and the most infuriating part was that at the end of the movie, SHE was the one who apologised to HIM, not the other way around.

As if SHE is solely responsible for all his insecurities, and SHE is the one at fault for the patriarchy destroying Barbieland.

What kind of fucked up message is THAT, to send to the audience?

I understand if Ken's tantrum was meant to reflect the way many men in the real world can turn monstrous after any small rejection or perceived "insult" from women, because that's how insecure, egotistical and fragile they are. I appreciate that. HOWEVER, again, the fact that Barbie apologised to Ken but received NO apology for the damage he caused her and her fellow Barbies, shows that this is probably NOT what the movie intended to do.

The movie intended, here, to blame Barbie for Ken's faults, and Ken's mishaps. Which is fucking ridiculous considering it's supposed to be a FEMINIST piece, yet ends blaming a woman for a man's terrible thoughts, choices and actions, like that isn't such a patriarchal thing to do.

Where's the fucking male accountability? Nowhere in sight.

Fucking typical.

And I get that Barbie can own up to her mistakes. I also get that empathy can be extended to men and boys for the ways patriarchy affects them. But empathy is a two-way street. There is a difference between having compassion for a teenage boy struggling to find his footing as the expectations of "manhood" are enforced on him, and having compassion for a GROWN man who happily profits off of the backs of the women and girls he abuses.

Empathy can be extended to the men hurt by the patriarchy, but NOT to the men actively upholding it — like Ken was here. Yes, patriarchy makes men insecure, too. But insecurity is NOT an excuse for deplorable actions.

Barbie's Characterization In This Movie

Barbie's character development is another thing that slightly bugged me, structurally.

I thought it was realistic, the way she started off the movie as a confident woman and had her self-esteem slowly eroded overtime by self-comparison and the unrealistic expectations and criticisms of the world around her. I thought it mirrored a girl's transition into womanhood. (And she grew up with the little girl who owned her, they changed together. I thought this was BEAUTIFUL symbolism.) The way she starts off confident, feeling like a queen, carefree and like she can SOAR — only to be knocked down and picked apart by the time she reaches her teenage years. So much so that she develops self-hatred towards herself, her skin, her body, and feels unworthy (all things that Barbie experienced in the movie), and is finally left without a clear identity or understanding of who she is by the time she reaches womanhood (like Barbie, at the end of the movie). It was also realistic how the movie ended with Barbie still not managing to get back to the confident person she was before. How she was still finding herself, picking up the pieces again, but willing to try. I liked the agency. I loved the emotions Margot Robbie brought to her character — she is supremely talented! Love her! 😍

But then there was the way Barbie never truly got the chance to stand her ground against Ken. She fought back, yes, but she was always very vulnerable inside. She broke down, questioned herself, wanted to shrink. She was in a severe identity crisis. I loved how well-written it all was. I like what this mirrored about the tired women who just want to live in peace but are ALWAYS subject to the threat of abuse and violence.

But I didn't like the times where I felt she lacked agency. Like when she apologised to Ken, instead of the other way round. Or when she seemed like she was finally regaining her confidence back — telling a sweet elderly woman how beautiful she was, realising how stupid beauty standards are — only to backpedal and continue hating her own "imperfections". She didn't have to return to the confident person she once was. She was certainly irreversibly changed. That's not a bad thing. I just wish that she had more time to find her power, again, through the pain, before the end of the movie. She can be vulnerable AND strong, insecure AND defiant. Afraid AND brave. Human. Imperfect. A product of what the world made her into, but also rebellious towards a system that clearly hates her, instead of spending majority of the movie drowning under it. Like I said, it's realistic — her feelings. The way she feels pressure to conform, to be enough, to please people, meet their sky-high standards for her. It was very sad to watch her struggle through this, and SO relatable for far too many of us women and girls. But I wished she'd had more chances to shine. Weakness is important to portray in characters, but in Barbie's case, I felt she deserved to have it coupled with more strength, instead of just being a moping mess half the time. There's a time for crying and a time for fighting. You need to balance both in your strong, role-model characters.

Personally, I feel that it would have been structurally better if Barbie had complemented the elderly woman more towards the END of the movie, after the "it's impossible to be a woman" speech. After the climax. After she had perhaps broken up with Ken upon receiving HIS apology and a heart-to-heart, Barbieland restored to its former state, and Barbie, with more conviction and will this time, returning to the real world to find herself.

Conclusion

So, these are my thoughts on the Barbie movie!

Let me know what you think!

See you soon, gorgeous!

😍😍😘😘🥰🥰

© Zia Barti, 2026. All rights reserved.

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