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Friday, July 28, 2023

Thoughts on Barbie Movie 2023!!

 

This won't be about a critique on the movie and I won't be giving out any spoilers, hopefully, but more so about my thoughts on what the movie represented to me and growing up playing with Barbie dolls as a child of the 70s. 

My daughters and I went to see Barbie the movie, 2023 at our local Regal Theaters yesterday. When, I first heard there was a movie coming out, I was like "Oh boy, great another Barbie movie!" So Yeah, I had little to no interest in seeing it. Then I heard that Margot Robbie was in it, and thought "Hmmm, really?" Well, in the end, after hearing from fellow collector friends on Instagram posting they saw it and that it was funny and a tear-jerker... I was like, "Okay, I will go see it." We did!

After seeing the movie, Taby, Sara and I had a discussion on it. We loved how funny it was and also the truth behind a lot of what a 'mans world' is like. Not to get political or anything. But our world is what it is sadly. I'll stop there. Taby remembers playing with her Barbies, and the memories of the toys shown in the movie. Sara on the other hand never played with Barbie. I remember some of the vintage Barbie's shown and talked about. 'Growing Up Skipper' being one I had as a little girl in the 70s. My mom bought her even though I always asked for a Barbie. She said it was because Skipper is a little sister, and I was a little sister was her explanation for me getting her instead. Ugh, was my thoughts, but I did love my Skipper doll. Just glad my sister gave me her Barbies to play with. Ha!

I was telling Sara on the ride home afterwards, that I noticed that Taby played with her Barbies and she didn't get any type of complex or worry about body shaming from playing with them, at least I thought. Instead it was quite the opposite effect, Tabytha is very proud of her body and dresses the way she wants and is very independent and has a drive or passion for what she does at work and as an adult. Sara played with cars and the only doll she really had was "Jessie" from "Toy Story". So even with Sara, she doesn't have any issues with body image or felt less as a person. In fact, she has her own sense of style and is very proud of what she can accomplish when she sets her mind to it.

So what am I talking about? Well, I grew up with Barbies and the stereotype that came with her. I wanted to look like my doll growing up, and noticed what men expected us women to look like. My sister and I had those dreaded complexes that psychiatrist talked about when you allowed a girl or boy to play with Barbie. We had the body shaming complex, and what we thought an ideal woman was supposed to be or look like in a mans world. 

What is difference here... 

Well, my guess is that Mothers of the later generations of the 90s and so on, allowed their daughters or sons play with Barbie, but told them the positive aspects of playing with them and not the old adage of the some 50s Moms, where you had to be or look like this when you grew up. Later generation Moms allowed their children to imagine and take from Barbie what they wanted to become versus them being forced to become this ideal image of a woman.

Barbie dolls can be what you want them to be, not what we expect little girls or boys to become. So I guess it just depends on the Moms or Dads who get them for their children and what they instill in their child from the dolls. Either way, it is just plain dolly fun and maybe I am being to critical of Barbie and children. Haha!

If you haven't seen Barbie 2023 Movie, go see it and let me know what you think?

I loved this song most from the movie!!

Thank you for stopping by! ~ ggsdolls

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