Girls all over the world flooded the theaters on July 21, to watch the blockbuster Barbie movie. Not only did this movie represent the life of Barbie, but it also represented girls and how they are so oftenly put down by today’s society for simply being a girl.
Modern issues deal with women commonly being belittled and overlooked by men. This was portrayed in the movie when Barbie traveled from “BarbieLand” to “the real world.” When Barbie went into the “real world,” she saw how men are on the podium in everything, which shows how women do not have high roles in society. Barbie saw that there is an expectation in today’s society where women are ‘supposed’ to act and fall under a certain category.
At the beginning of the movie, viewers see how women are the head of society in BarbieLand. Men relax in the background, which is a flip from how the real world society is set up. When the women stepped up and the men relaxed, there was not much complaining from men, since women treated the men with utmost respect. In “the real world,” it is quite the opposite. Most of the men, not all, treated women with pure disrespect, causing women to crave higher roles in society. The movie then focuses on how Barbie struggles with the way men treat women and even how society looks down on women, causing Barbie to feel like she is unimportant. Not only are these issues prominent in society, but they are also common in many high school girls’ lives.
”Guys have higher expectations for girls to be more put together because there are things such as makeup. Girls are expected to have their hair done, while, for guys, it’s simply not like that. Girls can never talk about their weight or appearance because it will seem like they are trying to seek attention.” Sophomore Reese Neely said.
Towards the end of the movie, it shows how women support women, proving that even though the media may bring womanhood down, women are always supporting each other. The end brings to light that, even if women do not have the highest roles in society, they still contribute to society.
Although this movie represents what a large majority of girls have to go through from the media, it also is a major breakthrough in the movie industry. The director, Greta Gerwig, became the first woman to have produced a movie that surpassed one billion dollars at the United States Box Office. This was a large achievement for women in the movie industry. This movie was an achievement for all women in general, because it finally brought to light what it is like to have to go through life as a woman.