The Thread Between Barbie and Birthdays
Plus, Britney vs. Christina and Barbie's relationship to food.
My mom and Barbie share the same birthday. She always liked to remind me this whenever she saw me playing with the 50s Barbie from her childhood. I completely forgot that we had an OG Barbie until I saw a life-sized version of the 50s version embodied by Margot Robbie in the opening scene of Barbie.
The film follows Barbie’s jarring journey from Barbie Land to the real world to resolve her malfunctioning perfection (think: persistent thoughts of death and suddenly flat feet). When she gets to the less sunny and fluorescent Venice Beach, she’s disappointed to find a role reversal of the sexes: unlike Barbie Land—where women are in power and shine in every kind of profession, in the real world—women are mere objects under the patriarchy (much to Ken’s delight). I won’t spoil it for you but there is a powerful scene where America Ferrera’s character Gloria gives a speech on the contradictions of being a real woman:
“You have to be thin, but not too…