BARBIE lives up to the hype! When a rural NH movie theater had sold out for the 7 PM show on a Monday night, I realized we may be in for more than entertainment. Fortunately, we found tickets at another theater and were happy to make a longer drive to get there.
I had yet to read anything about the movie, but the trailers prepared me for a nostalgic, clever take on the history of Barbie and Ken. My high expectations were blown away. The thought-provoking plot took us on a humorous and riveting tour with familiar childhood toys as our guides, who then introduced an unexpected but greatly necessary conversation. No matter where the viewer stands on gender equality, this movie challenges the viewer to reconsider their perspective. I have been thinking about and reading about BARBIE since I walked out of the theater. The all-star cast (including Robbie, Gosling, Ferrara, McKinnon, Ferrell and many more) take us where we never expected to go.
My favorite scene is a monologue by Gloria (played by America Ferrara). Some of you have heard me speak about the idea of Compliance Training for Girls. Ferrara delivers the following monologue that FULLY captures the impossible expectations placed on girls and women of all ages. Interestingly, Ferrara had written about these expectations in a notebook years before and shared them with director, Greta Gerwig who remarked how similar Ferrara’s words were to what was in the script. In an interview with Yvonne Villarreal of the Los Angeles Times, Gerwig said: “We’d been, each in our way, coming to this moment. When she gave that speech, it was coming from such an unadorned true place inside of her.” Read the LA Times FULL ARTICLE.
Here is the monologue delivered by Gloria to Barbie:
“𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘕.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴.
𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘐𝘕𝘚𝘈𝘕𝘌, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨!
𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘈𝘓𝘞𝘈𝘠𝘚 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘖𝘜𝘛 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘓𝘞𝘈𝘠𝘚 𝘉𝘌 𝘎𝘙𝘈𝘛𝘌𝘍𝘜𝘓. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘈𝘓𝘚𝘖, 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭!
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘭𝘥. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘦. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧𝘧. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘖𝘜𝘛 𝘖𝘍 𝘓𝘐𝘕𝘌. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥! 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 ‘𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶!’ 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵.
𝘐’𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.”