The dark side of ‘Barbie’: It’s not all pretty in pink amid plastic surgery craze

As many predicted, Greta Gerwig‘s “Barbie” cleaned up at the box office this past weekend, with the film sitting just under $500 million worldwide. Will it break the $1 billion dollar barrier like star Margot Robbie predicted in her studio pitch? It certainly looks like it, and in such a tumultuous time for Hollywood, many people are happy about that.

While many are questioning the sexual identity of Ken in the new “Barbie” movie, there’s one studly disco-era male doll whose sexual identity has never been in doubt, a very gay male doll name Gay Bob. The Gay Bob doll came out of his closet in 1977 much to the displeasure of the right-wing culture warriors of the time, not just because Bob was out and proud but also because he came with a penis. Photo: Museum of the City of New York

There's a turning point in the movie, when Margot Robbie's Stereotypical Barbie realizes that the human influence that's been causing turmoil in her perfect Barbie Land life — flat feet, thoughts of death, and, worst of all, — is not a child at all, but a nostalgic mother.Mattel employee Gloria, played by America Ferrera, has been playing with the doll in the Real World and reminiscing about happier times with her now-sullen tween daughter, Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt). But as her adult-level worries took over, they also crept into Barbie Land, making things far less perfect then usual.When the trio return to Barbie Land to find that the Ken-led patriarchy has taken over, Barbie's existential crisis begins in earnest, but a rousing, epic monologue from Ferrera's character helps break the spell of masculine brainwashing and motivates the Barbies to take back their lives.The film was co-written by director Greta Gerwig and her partner, Noah Baumbach, but the monologue has Gerwig's signature style all over it.

Barbie movie is packed out with plastic characters, but one in particular is very much based on a real-life person.The satirical comedy, which is adapted from the popular Mattel toy franchise, was released on Friday (July 21). It stars Margot Robbie as the titular doll and follows her journey from Barbie Land to the real world.

Barbie director Greta Gerwig has responded to the right-wing backlash against the new film.Various right-wing commentators have criticised the film around its release. Among them was Texas senator Ted Cruz, who described it as “Chinese communist propaganda” due to its depiction of a disputed region in the South China Sea (via Business Insider).Ben Shapiro, meanwhile, branded it “one of the worst movies I have ever seen” and “angry, feminist claptrap that alienates men from women” in his YouTube review.In a new interview with The New York Times, Gerwig was asked whether she expected “the degree to which rightwing pundits are bashing the movie as being ‘woke’ and burning their Barbies”.The director responded: “Certainly, there’s a lot of passion.

Barbie fans love more about the hottest movie of the year – aside from the pink, the cast, the vibes, and the pink – than spotting its hidden references and subtle Easter eggs sprinkled throughout.Fans have been poring over every pink detail of the highly-anticipated Greta Gerwig flick since the first trailer dropped, going into a hot pink frenzy with every “genius” tid bit uncovered.But since the film’s record-breaking release weekend, once Barbies and Kens had a chance to take in Barbieland’s full pastel glory, theories are swirling about the more subtle pop culture nods.One particular theory speculates that the film features a subtle cameo by Barbie’s biggest rival: the Bratz dolls.Fans have taken to social media to unpack their theory, honing in on the scene where Barbie (Margot Robbie) travels to the real world and goes to a high school while searching for the girl she believes is responsible for her existential crisis.At the school, she comes across a teenager named Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) and her three friends who give the cowgirl-dressed Barbie a brutal reality check about her problematic history in the real world.“We haven’t played with Barbie since we were, like, five years old,” Sasha tells Barbie.“You’ve been making women feel bad about themselves since you were invented.”One TikTok user, Ivan Mars, posted a video saying it took him three trips to the cinema to realize the group of teens bear an eerie resemblance to the original four Bratz dolls named Yasmin, Sasha, Cloe, and Jade.And though the three friends – played by McKenna Roberts, Sasha Milstein, and Brylee Hsu – being unnamed “Junior High Friend” characters, their apparent ringleader Sasha shares not only a name, but a nickname with one of Barbie’s

The ‘Barbenheimer’ reign has no end in sight!

the New York Times.“Certainly, there’s a lot of passion. My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men,” said Gerwig.“I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people,” the director said.Gerwig was responding specifically to the interviewer’s question as to whether or not the “Lady Bird” director anticipated “the degree to which rightwing pundits are bashing the movie as being ‘woke’ and burning their Barbies.”Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro flamed the feminist themes in “Barbie” by lighting Barbie dolls and a pink toy car on fire at the start of a 43-minute YouTube review.

Barbie” has been the year’s biggest hit. The success of the film has shocked the world, and comes after a stunning marketing campaign from Mattel which resulted in people from all over the world attending their theaters while dressed in pink.

Barbie movie.The broadcaster recently shared his thoughts on his TalkTV show Piers Morgan Uncensored, and in an op-ed for the New York Post.In the former, he shared a tweet stating: “I thought feminism was about equality…Why does empowering women have to be about trashing men?” along with clips from the show featuring his thoughts.In his op-ed in the latter, he added: “If I made a movie mocking women as useless dunderheads, constantly attacking ‘the matriarchy’, and depicting all things feminist as toxic bullshit, I wouldn’t just be canceled, I’d be executed.”"I thought feminism was about equality…"Why does empowering women have to be about trashing men?"Piers Morgan questions the Barbie movie's 'anti-patriarchy' message.@piersmorgan | @TalkTV | #PMU pic.twitter.com/Z66NlbjNYp— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) July 24, 2023.@piersmorgan: If I made a movie that treated women the way Barbie treats men, feminists would want me executed https://t.co/arlrTRyK91 pic.twitter.com/6jCInWDUUw— New York Post (@nypost) July 24, 2023Morgan continued: “Head Barbie rides to the rescue by seizing back control and driving the hapless Kens back to being subservient saps to the women again. To which my response is: Why? I thought the whole point of feminism is that women wanted equality with men, not a complete reversal of the perceived unequal social power structure.“I don’t know any woman, other than perhaps US female soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe, who wants a world where women dominate absolutely everything – and men are reduced to dim-witted doormats barely capable of changing a light bulb.”His comments drew criticism on Twitter with one user writing: “Lol.

Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" opened to a $155 million debut, but the movie – which received accolades for breaking the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman – has had its fair share of on-screen and off-screen controversies. Gerwig's tale, which was co-written with husband Noah Baumbach, follows Margot Robbie as the dream doll living in a dream world until she suffers a sudden existential crisis that leads her to question everything about her life.The movie has not been without its controversies though, from Ryan Gosling being deemed too old to play Ken, to the film ignoring its "core audience" to focus on LGBTQ stories, according to one faith-based review site.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from “Barbie,” now playing in theaters. “Barbie” Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer reckon that by this time next year, there will be a pendulum swing and no one will want to go near the color pink. But for now, it’s Barbie’s world and everyone, everywhere is obsessed. Greenwood says Greta Gerwig, Mattel and producers Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley gave her and Spencer a free hand when it came to building the world.

Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu, share an awkward moment while posing for pictures during the press run. The video was captured on June 28, during the Toronto press day — which took place ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike that began July 14.In the clip, Gosling and Liu stand next to each other for photos. When Liu places his arm behind Gosling, the actor looks down at his hand and takes a step back, causing Liu to drop his hands.

Former Love Island star, Chris Taylor has revealed that he got "told off" for playing a ball game during his time in the villa. Chris, 32 quickly caught the attention of viewers during his time on Love Island back in 2019, famously known for inventing the iconic 'salmon' pool dive and becoming one of the funniest stars of all time. While he was only in the villa for 15 days, he certainly made an impression and went on to keep his almost 1 million Instagram followers updated with humorous videos and is now starring in the new Barbie movie after speaking to Margot Robbie about "small penises and big balls." But his bubbly and energetic character didn't come without warnings after a ball game led to a "proper telling-off" from the Love Island producers.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Chief Correspondent After dominating the box office and breaking records with “Barbie,” Mattel has officially arrived in Hollywood. In 2018, after a tumultuous period of declining toy sales, Mattel brought in a new CEO, businessman Ynon Kreiz, who had a vision to turn the storied toy company into an IP-driven machine, essentially creating a Mattel cinematic universe. Now, with the immense success of “Barbie,” the path is clear for Mattel to make whatever they want — and they already have a ton of projects in the works with A-list partners attached.

Whoopi Goldberg is taking her love to the next level. The host of ABC's showed off her quirky footwear on Tuesday's broadcast, wearing white boots with a clear platform heel that was filled with decapitated Barbie doll heads.The style statement came as Goldberg, 67, was engaged in discussion about recent criticism of Greta Gerwig's blockbuster film, defending the movie against judgment from conservative columnist Ben Shapiro and Senator Ted Cruz.«It’s a movie!» she declared on the show. «It’s a movie about a doll!»She continued, «I thought y'all would be happy.

WARNING: Minor spoilers for “Barbie” ahead.Barbie is beautiful at any age.TikTok users are seeing themselves and the incredibly popular “aged” filter in a new light after a scene from the brand-new “Barbie” film released last week.In the film, Barbie (played by Margot Robbie) is forced to journey to the real world after she begins to “malfunction” by developing cellulite and having thoughts of death while living in the utopian Barbieland.While sitting on a bench in LA, the doll encounters an elderly woman (played by the film’s costume designer Ann Roth) and the duo engages in a brief but important conversation.“You’re so beautiful,” Babie comments to the woman. Roth, 91, then replies, “I know it!”The exchange left several viewers emotional due to the fact that Barbie — who has no concept of mortality or old age — finds the senior citizen beautiful.Since viewing the film, several social media users are reconsidering the filter while attempting to keep up the appreciation and confidence of the character.“Revisiting this filter after seeing Barbie, thinking of the ‘You’re so beautiful’ scene, and realizing this face isn’t so bad after all,” read the in-video text of a video posted by a woman named Savana.“I have a newfound appreciation for this filter after seeing the Barbie movie,” wrote another user adding that “aging is a privilege.”A third user said that she wanted to use the filter “right” after explaining that she once reacted to the filter in a negative way.“After watching that one Barbie scene I remembered my original reaction to this filter and decided I would do it right,” said TikToker Hazel.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Barbenheimer” fever continues to sweep the box office. After five days of release, the inextricably linked “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have reached notable theatrical milestones, with ticket sales for Greta Gerwig’s fantasia romp crossing $200 million and Christopher Nolan’s somber, three-hour biopic “Oppenheimer” surpassing $100 million. “Barbie” added another $26 million on Tuesday, bringing its North American tally to $214.1 million.

Barbie director Greta Gerwig has a graceful approach when it comes to handling the blockbuster’s biggest critics.

To say Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” is a hit is a gross understatement. Not only did the film wow critics, with a great 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the comedy has connected with the general public in a massive way, earning a huge $162 million in its first three days.

released a massive version of the iconic Mattel doll wearing her black and white bathing suit and sunglasses on Monday.The video, which has since received nearly 410,300 views, shows the doll ripping open the plastic cover of her box as she climbs out and strikes a pose in front of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which has been dubbed the “world’s tallest building” standing at 2,722 feet.The virtual doll, the latest in several marketing ploys for Greta Gerwig’s highly-anticipated film, is pulled from the teaser trailer released in December 2022 featuring Margot Robbie, who plays the title role, in the same suit.“The reason people think we spent so much is that it’s so ubiquitous,” Warner Bros. president of global marketing Josh Goldstine told Variety. “Because it pierced the zeitgeist, it has the impression that we spend so much.”“In fact, we spent responsibly for an event movie,” continued Goldstine.The Post reached out to Warner Bros.