Barbie Bonus Page
Susanne & Ellen talk Barbie
This short segment shares our meander into Barbieland. I’d seen the movie; Susanne hadn’t yet. You’ll hear her set-up on what hit me as “the real world” for the first part. At 2:00 we shift into Barbie mode. Forgive my croonings toward the end – and my mis-take on the title of the song, which is correctly called “What Was I Made For?”
By the way, TIME Magazine took on Ken’s story as one of “male fragility” (or as Ken sings, “blond fragility”). Read it here. I’m not sure I agree with Ken “offering a searing social commentary on modern man’s insecurities dressed up in bubble-gum pink.”
To me, it’s deeper than that, and more egalatarian. What hit me was how both Ken and Barbie were trapped in their roles and only by letting go of the various embellishments (clothes, cars, ego trips) they called on as “identity” did they have a chance of perhaps actually making it in the real world. I agree.
Thanks for reading.
Ellen
The lyrics to this song (and Billie’s angelic voice)… is it me, or do they ask us to think about who we REALLY are as women, maybe even simply as people, in an eye-opening way?
“The Kens got the best dance scene” is the best critique I’ve heard yet of The Barbie Movie. Love the noogie, the Ro Sham Bo, and the Barbie Pink socks. Talk about being Kenough!
I (Ellen here) loved The Barbie Movie. I saw it several times with different groups of friends, and for a person who isn’t all that big on staring at screens that’s unusual. I could give my rundown on why, and I’ve appreciated critiques from friends who didn’t like the movie, tho this article, “You Might Have Missed This Important Detail From The Barbie Movie Ending” says it better than I could. Here’s a quote:
”Ruth (“Ruth Handler,” who invented Barbie) takes Barbie's hands and tells her to feel. Not analyze the past, not figure out the future, just to rest in the present.
Barbie takes a deep breath and behind the piano chords of Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?" comes the aforementioned most-important-detail: you can hear the faintest heartbeat (so faint, in fact, that you could take your own deep breath and miss it). And suddenly she's human.
Cue one of the most emotional movie sequences of the year, comprised of a home video montage against "What Was I Made For?" I absolutely cried throughout the entire sequence, not just because it was beautiful, but because of how simple it was.”