The Road to Rose

There is an ephemeral idea of what the “perfect” woman is. Girls grow up in a society that shows them what is acceptable for a woman and what is unacceptable. The movie Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, is a tale of self discovery. We see a perfect Barbie in a perfect world experiencing the reality of the world outside of Barbieland, her home. At the end of her journey, she has a new perspective on what it means to be a woman. This movie cohesively takes the viewer through a journey. We explore the qualities of the “perfect” woman, we learn how Barbies are an unrealistic portrayal of a woman, and then we come to the conclusion that there is no perfect woman. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie uses the color pink, the Barbie toy, Barbieland, and the Barbie dreamhouse as symbols to add to the overall message that paints a picture of one dimensional femininity in western society.

The color pink is an important motif in the Barbie movie. The color pink is used to represent femininity in the film. There are multiple times in the movie where the set and wardrobe are pink. This makes the majority of the screen pink. Shoes, slides, uniforms are some of the many pink things in this movie. Most of Barbie’s belongings are the color pink. Even the street is pink. Only the sky, the plastic water, and the plastic grass on the lawns are not pink. The movie would not have the effect it does if not for the immense amount of the feminine color. Using objects of any color would have been better for the budget instead of getting everything in a custom pink color. The director chose to commit to the majority of objects in the movie being pink because that is the difference between being in Barbie Land and being in the real world. Even though the use of pink is so ubiquitous, it is also limiting because it suggests that pink is the only color for girls. In the real world, every color can be worn by a woman without canceling her femininity. 

The most important symbol of the movie is the Barbie as a toy. This is the clearest representation of how the idea of an ideal woman will fall short of encompassing what it means to be a woman.

In the beginning of the movie, we are shown the many different Barbies. They all have careers, money, and a house. They also have perfect skin, teeth and are thin. Not every woman has the qualities of a Barbie. The movie continues to highlight Barbie’s unrealistic portrayal of women. When Barbie steps out of her heels, feet remain in the shape of a high heel. In the movie, we see Barbie’s tame, blonde, hair seamlessly switch from hairstyle to hairstyle. These hairstyles were long, short, tied up, and down. There was no limit to the amount of hairstyles she had. Real women playing the part of a toy highlights the limitations of a seemingly limitless toy. It is convenient for a toy to have an arched foot to fit different high heels, but it is contrary to the natural design of women. A girl might look at a Barbie doll and see that the doll’s legs are long and slender. Because she is a child, when she looks down to her own legs, they are proportionally shorter legs. The child might look at her hair next. Her hair might not be blonde and perfectly styled in a multitude of designs when she wakes up. She might think that her hair has to be perfect like her doll’s hair. This comparison is unhealthy and might not stop at noticing the lack of “ideal” features. She might start a pattern of attempting to change herself into an unobtainable version of herself. Ultimately, Barbie is a product. And when a real woman tries to emulate a product, she will fall short of a toy just as the toy will fall short of representing what it means to be a woman. In real life, you don’t need to fit into a defectless box to be a woman. 

Barbieland is the place all of the Barbie dolls call home. Only artificial beings can survive in such an artificial land. If you pay attention, there is no water fire, water, or other elements in Barbieland. Their world is fake and made of plastic. The weather is always sunny, lawns never grow out of control, and nonexistent trash is immediately disposed of by garbage collector Barbies. Every day is a perfect day in Barbieland. This world is an artificially beautiful imitation of the real world. The fact that the Barbie dolls thrive in a land with no elements speaks to their plastic nature. If a child is playing with a doll, she obviously does not need fire, water, or a real grass lawn to have fun. No child needs to play with fire because fire is a hazard. However, in the real world, fire is a necessity of people around the world. Fire is used for heat, for light, and for turning inedible raw meat into food that is safe to eat. Placing real people into the rational design of a toy house really highlights the differences between a world that sustains life and a world that is designed to emulate that world. According to this world, women are expected to thrive in a world that lacks basic necessities.

The Barbie Dreamhouse is a pink, ideal house where Barbie lives. This house made of plastic is a shallow representation of everything a woman needs to survive. The house has no walls. Any Barbie can see inside. The Barbie Dreamhouse also has no stairs because a child is able to move the doll from floor to floor. In the movie, Barbie majestically floats to the ground. Printed images are all around the house from the refrigerator to the oven. A two dimensional representation of eggs, soda, and yogurt are printed onto the flat inner wall of her refrigerator. Barbie pours a stream of nonexistent milk into a cup for her breakfast. In the movie, this is more than enough to sustain her. This is the clearest example of how the concept of Barbie lacks depth. Women in the real world obviously eat food, but a concept does not need food to survive. Plastic is not alive, so of course she has no food. However, since we know that humans eat food, they have to play into that detail somehow. They accomplish this with decals. These are the flat representations of important things around the house. It is the ambiguous middle ground between not having food and having actual food. This makes sense for a toy, but what does it say about women? That we do not really need food? That food is not as important as we think it is? Flat details, such as the oven, are not necessary tools in the kitchen, but only design choices to make the space appear normal. 

As you can see, there is no perfect woman. Even if you try and compile all of the best qualities women can have into many diverse dolls, you will fall short of what it is to be a real woman. Barbie is a fun movie on the surface, but if you look a little deeper, you can see that a toy could never be a woman. A plastic world with no elements can not help a woman survive. In the grand scheme of things, Barbie is just a toy. Women can teach the upcoming generation that they should not be trying to conform to the ideals of a doll. I believe young girls will look to the women around them for guidance on the path to womanhood. Barbie will become a toy to play with, not a perfect woman to look up to.