Barbie’s feminism under the eye of investors

Lately, Barbie has been on the verge of obsolescence. The doll seemed to be on the wrong side of history, conveying a stereotypical image of women. So, Barbie’s manufacturer, Mattel, teamed up with Warner Bros to produce a film that would correct the situation, modernize the toy’s image and boost sales. Bingo.

A huge box-office success, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie depicts male-female relations with humor and a feminist message that reaches a wide audience. In Le Monde, academics Marjolaine Boutet and Hélène Breda hail the film’s « force of cultural impact »: « Never has female gaze, the way a woman looks at the world through the eyepiece of a camera, imposed itself on hundreds of millions of viewers with such force ». On France Inter, journalist Victoire Tuaillon believes that the film contains a « satire of masculinity » and a « feminist critique that hits the nail on the head ». For her colleague Albane Guichard, « the film advances the cause of women among the general public ». More…

Source: Covalence / Illuminem