Barbie Life

I didn’t own even one single Barbie growing up. I like to think it’s because I shun trends. (Who wants to be trendy when you can be you?) But it’s mostly because I was completely uninterested in growing up.

While my sister played with the Barbie Dream House, I tucked my book into the waistband of my shorts, climbed our backyard tree, and read of worlds and lives I would never have to live.

And yet, still, the draw of the Barbie movie was strong. Somehow, I found myself at the theater on opening weekend, my husband and two teen boys in tow.

My expectations were surprisingly high and I was worried, but I needn’t have been. I laughed nearly the whole movie through, except for that moment when America Ferrera gives her soliloquy and I, just like Barbie, found unexpected tears rolling down my face. (Cue actual eye roll from one of said teens.)

During one scene, and I promise this isn’t too spoiler-y, Barbie looks at an older woman in the Real World and tells her, “you’re so beautiful.” Barbie, the epitome of beauty, gazes in awe at a wrinkled wizened old woman. “You’re so beautiful,” she says of the woman that most of us are frantically trying to avoid becoming. We hide our grays and retinol our faces, afraid that once our youth is gone, our beauty is lost. But even Barbie knows better. A life lived is beauty at its finest.

This movie is about more than a doll and her friends (although this doll and her friends show us a great deal about how friendship should work). It’s even about more than the patriarchy (although the Kens nearly stole the show when they tried to do patriarchy “right”).

This movie is about what it means to live the life that you want to live. Greta Gerwig managed to bring to the surface the struggles every woman faces when she chases her dreams while also revealing the struggles every man faces when trapped by the titles that define him. Somehow she does this without angst or anger. On the contrary, laughter and joy, with a few scattered “been there” tears, filled our theater.

And because faith is inextricably intertwined with life, Barbie even gives a nod to the biblical creation story. In the movie, Ruth Handler’s creation of Barbie and Ken mirrors God’s creation of Adam and Eve. (See the Vox article linked at the end of this post for a more thorough comparison.)

For a non-religious movie, Barbie’s themes felt like going to church. Barbie reminds us why we were created by God in the first place: to foster genuine relationships with ourselves, with others, and with God, while living our purpose to the best of our ability.

As much as we may want to be perfect, we know, and Barbie learns, that life with one another is worth any sorrow. Right, Barbie?

For a read on Barbie movie’s biblical themes, visit: https://www.vox.com/culture/23800753/barbie-review-bible-eden

Photo by Mo on Unsplash