Hi Emma, I so appreciate your emails and the wealth of information you share with us about sustainable graphic design. 🙏
I watched the Barbie movie this week and absolutely loved it. Honestly, it's one of the most powerfully feminist, uplifting and delightful films I have ever watched. As much as I completely agree that capitalism is a key reason we are destroying this beautiful earth of ours, I think that this movie's message far outweighs the consumerist side of things. I think it's a pity that there has been so much criticism for this film while all the immense waste and consumerism that is created by male directed Marvel films and any other big budget action movies goes unnoticed.
Please do send us an update with your thoughts after watching the film - it wasn't what I expected at all. :) Feel better soon!
Thank you so much for your well wishes! I got antibiotics (again) and am feeling better finally for the first time in 3 weeks!
I understand what you're saying and am really glad you enjoyed the movie! But I don't think I agree with you about your comment about Marvel (which, also notably has had several female directors for different films too so this isn't really a critique of the gender of directors or Greta's work as a whole. I know there's some shitty men out there claiming Barbie is too woke or being misogynists and that's just bad faith). The critique is really leveraged at Mattel and Barbie as it exists as a brand. Barbie is a ~ billion dollar toy brand, much the same as Marvel, and both started producing toys around the same time in the early '60s. I don't think that it is unjustified to critique Mattel's brand of plastic Barbie toys especially when the film's popularity will cause a surge of purchases of the toys. It creates an opportunity for discussion around a popular topic that will reach people as they're interested in reading about Barbie!
I also think that enjoyment and critique of anything are not mutually exclusive: you can love something and still hold a critical lens to where it's needed. I personally find it offputting that the film has messaging directly around how aging naturally is beautiful and that cellulite is okay and normal but then turns around and sells Barbie-branded partnership anti-cellulite product and anti-aging creams, amongst other things. Or that Mattel as a brand actively is on record saying that Barbie as a brand is not "feminist", instead uses other words to have the same marketability of Barbie but without being political. For me, it's too much cognitive dissonance to feel the messaging deeply, but that's just my own opinion not The Correct or Only Opinion. :) And isn't a judgment of your enjoyment of the film and its themes and messaging.
I'm really glad you enjoyed the film! A lot of these critiques are through the lens of Barbie and Mattel not as a film in isolation or viewed solely through Greta's catalogue of work and achievements as a female director, but Barbie as a corporate entity moving through the world and role the movie might be playing in Mattel's marketing for the brand as a whole. I believe all corporate entities are worthy of critique! Hope that makes sense: none of this is trying to say that Barbie BAD and if you enjoy the film you're WRONG. It's just valid I think to tease apart these conversations and ideas to explore grey areas and messaging mismatches to see the full picture!
Thanks for sharing and feel better soon! I watched the movie and aside from the movie itself being fun, I have to admit the whole marketing and memes around it have been the most light-hearted thing in my life recently and I loved it. I also want to support one of the only female directors in Hollywood 🥲 But, yes, at the same time it's all so capitalist and consumerist, and also very white American, it's hard for me to really go crazy for the film. However, I think those feelings might be fertile ground for someone to create eco friendly dolls! I can't deny how I loved to play with babies when I was young, so I think some smart designer is going to want the same for future generations, with a responsible doll. What if you could bury an old barbie and a flower grew from it or something?
I'm honestly super glad you enjoyed the memes and the movie! I think the memes have been some of the most fun parts honestly. I got a kick out of people putting Taylor Swift's album era's into different Barbie memes lol. Greta's a fantastic director and I think she was probably pushing the Mattel brand as far as they would let her with the messaging too! I think it's totally okay to love and enjoy something and also like think about criticism where it's valid. And all the people *men* screaming about how it's too woke or like being misogynists can fuck right off lol. They aren't welcome to this discussion table XD
Barbie has created Barbie's made partially from recycled plastic but then that means they can't be recycled themselves and the different types of plastic used to create Barbie are also difficult to recycle in the first place so it didn't get them very far. It would be cool if they took an approach more similar to Lego! I also don't inherently have an issue with dolls: children absolutely deserve toys. But how many Barbies or dolls does one kid need? Mattel encourages consumption of many Barbies with different outfits or jobs. I think then it's once again the age old question of consumption and what the 'right' amount is to achieve balance for everyone :) It would be super cute if the dolls were legitimately compostable!
Hi Emma, I so appreciate your emails and the wealth of information you share with us about sustainable graphic design. 🙏
I watched the Barbie movie this week and absolutely loved it. Honestly, it's one of the most powerfully feminist, uplifting and delightful films I have ever watched. As much as I completely agree that capitalism is a key reason we are destroying this beautiful earth of ours, I think that this movie's message far outweighs the consumerist side of things. I think it's a pity that there has been so much criticism for this film while all the immense waste and consumerism that is created by male directed Marvel films and any other big budget action movies goes unnoticed.
Please do send us an update with your thoughts after watching the film - it wasn't what I expected at all. :) Feel better soon!
Thank you so much for your well wishes! I got antibiotics (again) and am feeling better finally for the first time in 3 weeks!
I understand what you're saying and am really glad you enjoyed the movie! But I don't think I agree with you about your comment about Marvel (which, also notably has had several female directors for different films too so this isn't really a critique of the gender of directors or Greta's work as a whole. I know there's some shitty men out there claiming Barbie is too woke or being misogynists and that's just bad faith). The critique is really leveraged at Mattel and Barbie as it exists as a brand. Barbie is a ~ billion dollar toy brand, much the same as Marvel, and both started producing toys around the same time in the early '60s. I don't think that it is unjustified to critique Mattel's brand of plastic Barbie toys especially when the film's popularity will cause a surge of purchases of the toys. It creates an opportunity for discussion around a popular topic that will reach people as they're interested in reading about Barbie!
I also think that enjoyment and critique of anything are not mutually exclusive: you can love something and still hold a critical lens to where it's needed. I personally find it offputting that the film has messaging directly around how aging naturally is beautiful and that cellulite is okay and normal but then turns around and sells Barbie-branded partnership anti-cellulite product and anti-aging creams, amongst other things. Or that Mattel as a brand actively is on record saying that Barbie as a brand is not "feminist", instead uses other words to have the same marketability of Barbie but without being political. For me, it's too much cognitive dissonance to feel the messaging deeply, but that's just my own opinion not The Correct or Only Opinion. :) And isn't a judgment of your enjoyment of the film and its themes and messaging.
I'm really glad you enjoyed the film! A lot of these critiques are through the lens of Barbie and Mattel not as a film in isolation or viewed solely through Greta's catalogue of work and achievements as a female director, but Barbie as a corporate entity moving through the world and role the movie might be playing in Mattel's marketing for the brand as a whole. I believe all corporate entities are worthy of critique! Hope that makes sense: none of this is trying to say that Barbie BAD and if you enjoy the film you're WRONG. It's just valid I think to tease apart these conversations and ideas to explore grey areas and messaging mismatches to see the full picture!
Thanks for sharing and feel better soon! I watched the movie and aside from the movie itself being fun, I have to admit the whole marketing and memes around it have been the most light-hearted thing in my life recently and I loved it. I also want to support one of the only female directors in Hollywood 🥲 But, yes, at the same time it's all so capitalist and consumerist, and also very white American, it's hard for me to really go crazy for the film. However, I think those feelings might be fertile ground for someone to create eco friendly dolls! I can't deny how I loved to play with babies when I was young, so I think some smart designer is going to want the same for future generations, with a responsible doll. What if you could bury an old barbie and a flower grew from it or something?
I'm honestly super glad you enjoyed the memes and the movie! I think the memes have been some of the most fun parts honestly. I got a kick out of people putting Taylor Swift's album era's into different Barbie memes lol. Greta's a fantastic director and I think she was probably pushing the Mattel brand as far as they would let her with the messaging too! I think it's totally okay to love and enjoy something and also like think about criticism where it's valid. And all the people *men* screaming about how it's too woke or like being misogynists can fuck right off lol. They aren't welcome to this discussion table XD
Barbie has created Barbie's made partially from recycled plastic but then that means they can't be recycled themselves and the different types of plastic used to create Barbie are also difficult to recycle in the first place so it didn't get them very far. It would be cool if they took an approach more similar to Lego! I also don't inherently have an issue with dolls: children absolutely deserve toys. But how many Barbies or dolls does one kid need? Mattel encourages consumption of many Barbies with different outfits or jobs. I think then it's once again the age old question of consumption and what the 'right' amount is to achieve balance for everyone :) It would be super cute if the dolls were legitimately compostable!