FINALLY, someone talks about that. I've always been confused, like the kens didn't take over just because they "didn't who they were", they weren't even given houses or any role in society
agreed, but I would argue that some toxic traits skew heavily towards one gender or another. Unrelated to that point but a lot of people confuse toxic masculinity with masculinity is toxic. I think part of that is that the recent feminist wave has failed to identify or talk much about toxic femininity which just made the the public discourse around toxic masculinity feel like an attack on men rather than constructive and fair criticism. I'm really glad Georgia did this video as it helps to break down that wall.
I think she and maybe you too, mixes up toxic behavior with toxic femininity and toxic masculinity. Toxic femininity or masculinity isn't a person being toxic, it's toxic ideals being forced on a person based on their gender. Gloria's speech calls out toxic femininity. You aren't a real woman if you don't do this or that. You aren't a real man if you don't do this or that. It's not weaponizing your gender against someone as Georgia talks about Barbie using against the Kens. It's your gender being weaponized against you.
You and Georgia are correct. It's just toxicity, no other nouns or pronouns needed. Masculine and feminine are added from our upbringing and culture. One day my hope is we can see everyone as human and that we're all in the same boat.
@@Pomerable Toxic masculinity and toxic femininity are completely different from just being toxic. A person weaponizing their gender IS just plain toxicity as Georgia Dow said, but toxic masculinity or toxic femininity is having restrictive boundaries of gender expression forced on a person. It's gatekeeping gender. It's not the same thing as Georgia is analyzing.
This movie was a great 2 sided coin. Depicting both a matriarcal and patriarcal world, both genders had a mix of healthy and toxic feminine and masculine traits EACH, it wasn't all pure feminine vs pure masculaine whatsoever. Definitely a rewatchable movie, a lot of thoughtful AND satirical material in here simultaneously.
Yeah I agree and it leaves a lot to the watcher to decide everything. It doesn't exactly comment on whats moral and not it just plays out and we need to decide whatts what. So much to debate about and you can see peoples minds... some people think its a feminist piece and have its ideology attached to it (eg Ben Shapiro doesn't like this film because he thinks thats what its about)... theres also other people that think its very patrirachal and also capitalistic. Idk its so different, every person has a different perspective on what this film is trying to say while it actually doesn't say much just plays out its part and lets you decide what its about. Also mimicking childplay which is genious!
In practice, it's not possible to seriously discuss a society where both patriarchal and matriarchal principles are equally and simultaneously dominant. Toxicity is another matter. One shouldn't have to deeply analyze such a concrete film. It doesn't parody woke-reality. Throughout, it flounders with quite obvious intentions. Moreover, it was released at a time that reflects exactly what the message is; the toxicity is unbalanced here too.
Its funny when she said "he took your house and is trying to take over the government" as justification for taking him down when the Barbies never even gave Kens houses and wouldn't let them in on the government at all but its only becomes bad when the Kens do that. The Kens probably would have backed off if they were just given equality in Barbieland, the only reason they took to toxic masculinity was because it was their only option given to them that was a change from the status quo, not because it was the thing the Kens actually desired.
Came here to say this basically, while I loved the video it kind of kept bothering me that Georgia kept referring to “two wrongs don’t make a right” when there very clearly was a reason why the Ken’s responded as they did.
@@alienSlugKing It’s more the lack of acknowledgement that there was a prior history of neglect from the Barbie’s towards the Kens in this video. Felt like the scenes were a bit too simplified into Ken stole Barbieland therefore Barbie’s actions should be viewed from a far more sympathetic lens (towards Barbie), when it’s quite a bit more complicated than that.
Its not a conscious Barbie decision not to give Ken houses. In this case thats how their world was created from outside and they never questioned it. Barbies are in comfort and don't see, Kens are silent. Ken's never even tried to say their piece. They took it all and made barbies subservient. And in the end they start seeing they can do better. Kens are not villains, they are just really bad at comms and they all got chomped by horseless patriarchy XD
“It doesn’t matter what gender you are, it matters what personality you are.” BOOM NAILED IT! That is a mic drop moment. Toxic behaviors are bad no matter where or who they are coming from, PERIOD.
I think Mattel missed out on a marketing opportunity. At the end of the movie Ken still doesn't have a home of his own. They could have had blue and purple versions of Barbie's signature pink items. Not all girls love pink, and they could have opened up more sales to boys who would love to play as well
Yes! Thank you! Toxic/narcissistic traits could be applied to any person, not just a group. A toxic man or a toxic woman are just insufferable in the end.
I think she may be confused on what toxic femininity and toxic masculinity is. It's not a person displaying toxic traits, That IS genderless. Toxic femininity is the forcing of an ideal on a person just because they're a woman. Gloria's speech that snaps the Barbies out of their brainwashing is calling out toxic femininity. "Women need to be this, that and not the other." "Men need to be this, that and not the other." Essentially, gendered toxicity is gatekeeping gender. It's telling a person they aren't a valid man or woman unless they fill restrictive ideals of their gender. Toxicity is the person, regardless of gender, acting toxic towards others. Toxic femininity and toxic masculinity is toxicity towards the person from society.
Yes, the end result is basically the same, well said. Like they say, 2 sides of the same coin. However when you say toxic femininity or masculinity you're saying "Hey, that's not how to be a man/women." You have creepy alpha males, men in extremist religions (*key: extremist), overly conservative values, etc. You have feminist that never seem happy with men, like I've seen woman complain about a guy holding a door open and don't consider intentions and the fact this man might open the door for everyone anyway. We don't need to assert our dominance over dumb stuff and complicate our lives. Everything is already a mess. I don't feel that these are the majority of people but enough to still impact things in some ways.
The one part I HATED in the movie was the manipulation during the nighttime beach scene when Kens' are singing to barbie. It felt like it was giving the message that "toying" with someone's feeling is ok.
You are so smart and empathetic. The discourse around this movie honestly made me feel like the weird one for not enjoying the toxic parts of it as much as others. Even reading the comments gives me newfound faith that people can strive to be better to one another.
Everyone talks about toxic masculinity and how itcauses problems in both reality and media. But it's a lot more rare that we look at the other side of the same coin, even though toxic femininity is just as prevelent amd dangerous. I think this movie does a decent job at displaying both, while also having Barbie and Ken learn that neither is okay. You did a great job explaining it.
Just discovered you. You speak logic, facts and wisdom in a very kind and polite manner while remaining honest and humble. A mark of true feminism in my book. I dislike sexism in any shape or form from either side so I respect this point of view.
@@Jesses001 how silly of me to forget to add that to the list! Lol I was cracking up especially during the "was Ken abused" video where she would randomly pop up wearing the mink with the headband out of nowhere while continuing to just talk seriously about psychological aspects. Brilliant 😂
@@c.j.p.7607 And that is normal for her videos. It is wild the clothing she has. Very entertaining, and I get to learn more about how normal humans work at the same time, ha.
@@Jesses001 Yeah it's SO COOL when she's wearing something related to the piece of media she's commenting on! I love how far she goes to really connect with her viewers.
@@Jesses001 yeah these are the first and only 2 videos I've watched so far and I am intrigued lol I love the scarf she's wearing in this one! Her style is so feminine and somewhat kawaii and I'm here for it 😍
Hi! I find that toxicity in interpersonal relationships are now the norm. We have become such a self-absorbed, materialistic society . . . I’m not dumping on one generation over the other, it’s across the board. I’m also not focusing on gender, like you said toxicity isn’t male or female . . . though I would argue that past and still persistent power dynamics among the genders made male toxicity more pernicious . . . but this toxicity imbalance is certainly leveling-out as society is finally making some strides, though there is still some ways to go, towards women equality. Yet, sadly, in spite of this, toxicity, selfishness, and narcissism just seems to be ballooning exponentially. I’m a single father who has self-isolated to protect both myself and my daughter from rampant cultural toxicity. While isolation is my choice, it is not for me to make that choice for my daughter, so I encourage her to be as social as she wants to be and she is pretty darn social. However, it breaks my heart to see how often she comes homes in tears because of toxic behavior from her peers, both male and female. I just hope that supporting her unconditionally gives her the ability to be resilient in the face of so much interpersonal toxicity without her succumbing to it.
"I don't believe that there is such a thing as toxic femininity or toxic masculinity, there is just toxicity." Yes! Such a great thing to say! I wish more people came to this realization.
I think from the comments that I have managed to read, you have fostered a very.. dare I say, healthy and respectful community. The primary issue I see that others have with this movie and this segment that you manage to go over in the video proper, both in the comments and in the community at large, is the fact that the Kens just wanted to feel important, useful, and strong. In the Barbie Society before, Kens were just an accessory and held no power, no purpose, and had an almost one-sided desire for their Barbie counterparts.. whom they were made for. And by the end, instead of the Barbies learning that Kens just wanted all of the above, not to rule over them, but to feel included, important-- you know, **more** than an accessory... The Kens are still in a lower position, by the President's own words. Why? I'm not saying the Kens are perfect by any means, but I feel as though, just as you stated in your video proper, that more peaceful solutions were not explored by Barbie, such as talking to them. Instead, they went STRAIGHT for the manipulation tactic, even though -- from what we saw in the movie, minus some more questionable things like the skimpy outfits, the Barbies appeared happy to have the Kens be competent, willing to take charge, and overall being helpful instead of, doing nothing.
Agree. I just wanted to write how different is Kens' behavior towards Barbies and Barbies towards Kens. Kens were always on the side and no Barbie cared about them and they had no other purpose than to wait around for Barbie to show up. (If rhis was different genre, Kens would be the killers with an axe because they would go crazy in this world that had nothing to offer them than Barbies who don't care.) They didn't even know where Kens live (Probably on the beach) which is strange because shouldn't the president Barbie give Kebs some place to live? Even The wierd Barbie has more rights than Kens and every Barbie hates her.
The biggest problem with this movie is that it doesn't explain how the Barbies were "brainwashed" by the patriarchy. It just shows that they were and could be snapped out of it. But it's not like the main Ken was trying to hurt the Barbies, though he did use the turned tides to show Stereotypical Barbie how bad she had treated him. But his primary goal was just to share a respect he had never felt before in Barbie Land with the other Kens. So, in that sense, Patriarchy is, in Barbie Land what Feminism is in the real world. So the message that the Barbies take back Barbie Land and only implement minor changes... Really sends a bad message. If it were to be reversed in the real world. So... While Margot Robbie and the director went on this press tour touting the strong feminist message of this movie... The message it really gives off is unfortunate. Because if we were to do a one to one reversal like they did in Barbie Land... It would mean men should take back control, and while letting women keep the right to vote... They should do it from their rightful place in the kitchen... Which is a terrible message.
Agreed. I think most men critical of this movie would be told that it's a role reversal in Barbie Land. Then, most of those men will still feel the same way. Shocker, I know.
I'm glad somebody else finally brought this up! How did the Kens "brainwash" the Barbies?? How did they even know what brainwashing IS and how to do it?? So, it's not that the Barbies believed in patriarchy, just like the Kens did, and helped institute it. They were completely "brainwashed"... It's the same problem I have with toxic online feminists. They completely blame men (modern men, mind you) for an ancient system that both men and women helped create and uphold. The thing is, if they dropped the brainwashing aspect, the movie wouldn't have that heist movie quality of constructing a plan and executing it. So they sacrificed theme for plot, which, artistically, I agree with.
The thing is that conflict with men usually don't feel that personal. But the way Barbies describe their plan, it just feels like they are taking pride in the cruelness of taking kens dreams to crush them. It's just that feeling of an intentional low blow.
Just wanted to say not angry and loved your take and videos. Just wanted to say I have never thought women are stupid because they need help. We help because we are taught that a man’s worth comes from our usefulness. And that’s what the Barbie’s used against the kens in beginning. The main issue I’m seeing is the Barbie’s had power because the kens had to compete for their attention, prove their worth, match the Barbie’s clothing, and do what they wanted to do. This is considered right, normal, and just. But when the Ken’s turn the tables it is wrong, unjust, and toxic and must be changed. That’s what bothers me is the double standard. In the end I agree, the manipulation and lack of commitment to true equality opting for one final jab was frustrating.
Very well said. There was a great opportunity in the film in act 3 to make a statement about everyone having equal struggles in this world and the only solution is to come together... but they didn't. I love that this movie sparked so much interesting conversation. That being said not every piece of media has to be a profound statement on social issues, sometimes it can just be entertainment.
I really liked your analysis and it really opened my eyes to a bit of a different question. If we extrapolate the motivation of Ken to all the Kens, we know that Ken's motivation actually is for Barbie to take notice of him, to acknowledge him, hopefully, his unrequited love for her. At the stage where the Barbie's intend to take back power could they simply not have asked for it? If she tells Ken he hurt her feelings would not the rational thing to do from that perspective be to give her this back? We find out after that he didn't really care for anything save her attention and horses anyway. The motivations seem asymmetrical in this respect, becuase the Kens are kind of like children, they don't completely understand what they're doing. They're just copying behaviour they've observed believing they can then get self-fulfillment from this.(The movie also doesn't address a very important question how does this transition come about? The Barbies all somehow felt that what they'd been doing and persuing all their lives prior suddenly had no meaning?) However when the Barbies strike back they are completely aware of what they are doing and it will be victory at all costs. I also completely agree that these toxic traits really have no business being gendered. I mean look at the speech that wakes up the Barbies virtually everything she says could be applied to men as well or have a male counterpart. That entire speech was basically the same as a "why do men die first" joke I read a decade ago.
Will you do a video on Sasha? Her feelings towards Barbies reminded me of why my wife didn't want to see the Barbie movie. My wife is embarrassed that she use to like Barbies and she was reminded of how getting bullied in school forced her to grow up quickly.
The hangup I have about the Kenland situation and Barbie's "revolution" is that Ken... didn't actually brainwash anyone. As presented in the movie, Ken traveled back with some books and an idea. We can infer he presented that idea and everyone willingly tried it out. How do we know that? Because Barbieland was completely dominated by the Barbies (no-one even knew where the Kens slept at night). Ken had absolutely no power but persuasion BY LAW. The Barbies vastly outnumbered the Kens and were vastly more intelligent. So, the only way Ken's idea could have consumed all of Barbieland is if the Barbies joined up willingly. Then, when Stereotypical Barbie and the real-world women arrived and saw Kenland in operation, THEY said it was brainwashing because they didn't like the idea. And their response? Kidnap people in a literal tinted-window van, spout victimization lines to "wake them up" (a.k.a. brainwash them), and release their victims back into society as moles to repeat the kidnap-brainwash cycle. Yet they call themselves the heroes "saving" the other Barbies... who, by the way, express nothing but happiness in the Kenland system. President Barbie explicitly states what a relief it is. I get that the director wanted to make it look like the Barbies were brainwashed... but somehow she seems to have forgotten to actually put that in the movie (lol). And to "save" alleged brainwashing victims by informing them how miserable they _should_ be was quite a bizarre approach - robbing people of their happiness is heroic now? Hmm. Obviously, there's a case to be made that the pendulum swung back a bit too far in Kenland. But the Barbies still had a place to stay. The Kens still lived for their Barbies. And the Kens didn't seize power in a coup, or trick anyone (are they even capable of that?), or oppress the Barbies after the new paradigm was in place. They started building a [vertical] wall, asked for beer deliveries, and Ken kicked Barbie out of her dreamhouse as petty payback... but in the grand scheme of things, society was markedly more equal in Kenland (at least on paper). If anyone really made out like bandits under Ken's version of "patriarchy", it was the horses. So, after Ken doesn't brainwash anyone (as far as what's shown) and Barbie kidnaps and brainwashes her peers to rebel (which is exactly what's shown), what does that all lead to? Oh, just the "hero" deliberately pitting the Kens against each other to incite violence and bar them from voting. This is heinous on two levels: first of all, there was no violence in Barbieland or Kenland until Barbie herself sowed those seeds. A shameful scourge from the real world that never once permeated Barbieland until Barbie herself introduces it. Wow. But secondly, and rather laughably, IT WAS ALL COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY. The Barbies VASTLY outnumber the Kens, and the vote DIDN'T BAR THE BARBIES. So all the Barbies had to do was show up with the Kens and vote to restore things to the way they were by simple majority. There was no need to break the Kens hearts, there was no need to compel them to fight each other, there wasn't even a need to sneakily steal all power in the society through a backdoor vote. That was pure spite and stupidity. The line that really gets me though is the one you include in the video (paraphrased): "Then, once we've given them everything they've ever wanted, we'll take it all away." That's evil. Plain and simple. To deliberately destroy people like that... as you pointed out, there may be justification but it doesn't change the morality of the action. But as I've pointed out, there wasn't even justification. So Barbie and her real-world friends are bigoted, spiteful, cruel, and - again - EVIL. To glorify their behavior in any way, as the movie does, sends what strikes me as a particularly toxic message. I'd hate for little girls to come away from this movie under the impression that mimicking this behavior is laudable, and scarily that seems a very real possibility. I ultimately agree with your conclusion that toxicity has no gender. I just wanted to point out that Barbie and Mom SAYING they're justified in crushing the Kens doesn't mean they actually ARE... and what we're actually shown in the movie COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS their so-called justification. I found it hilarious (in a bad way) that they accuse Ken of brainwashing people and "fix" that by going out and brainwashing everyone. Just absurd levels of hypocrisy and cluelessness on the writer's part. Anyway, thanks for the interesting video! I like how you came at this subject from a framework of giving all sides a fair shake. Have a good one!
I don't think the argument is whether the Kens were trying to be helpful or not. It's the way they go about it, and the language they use. Like if there's something in the workplace that I don't understand and I ask for help I don't want someone to talk to me like I'm a silly child, I want someone to talk to me like we are still on the same intellectual level. There's a difference between saying "oh, you can't use the select tool unless the layer is highlighted, can I show you?" vs "honey, you can't use the select tool unless the layer is highlighted, let me show you".
It didn't even seem like the kens were doing anything malicious or with force, control over barbie land just kind of happened once the kens learned to stand up for themselves and go after what they wanted. And even when the Barbie's manipulated and regained control over the kens its not like they actually did things fully equally, the Barbie's still made a sure that they were back in charge of things again. I'm not sure what message the movie is trying to portray with that 😅
The message was clear, and stated clearly. With some work, the Kens could have as much power and influence in Barbieland as women have in the real world.
@@kevinbailey8827 But the men in Barbie land when ken took over and real world women already have that power and influence. But it took that power away from the kens, So is the movie saying women should not have power like the kens dont?
@@GiRR007 Women in the real world have more power now than they did 70 years ago. They didn't start with the power they have now. Maybe it would have been more fair for some President in the 1950s to reform the Supreme Court so that it was half women. But it didn't happen that way. The movie is saying that the Kens should earn their power, fighting agains the resistance of systemic feminism, the way women in the real world have had to fight for power in a world that favors men who have learned how to "hide it better". It's not supposed to be fair. You're supposed to be uncomfortable with it, both in Barbieland and in the real world.
I think the relationships between the Kens and the Barbies are different that just Margot's Barbie and Ryan's Ken. Their relationships is extremely toxic because Margot's owner (American's character) never actually owned a Ken. Furthermore, she felt that Ken's were useless. So Margot doesn't have any emotions towards her Ken. He is more so just an annoyance. Her Barbie is a reflection of America's thoughts and feelings. This is different than Ncuti's Ken and his Barbie pair (played by Emma McKay). It seems this Ken and Barbie pair were just really good friends and they missed that during the entire debacle.
The final part about the ken's seats in politics, i truly think after what the president said, the reason why the movie didn't directly gave them seats was for the sole purpose of the joke about seats in politics for women in our society. It would have make sense for her to give them equal seats after her monologue about no ken deserving to be in the shadows, but perhaps that dissonance is in place to emphasize the social commentary and joke
Barbie isn't a complicated movie. Scenes don't have double meanings. They're just wrong in creating a matriarchy. Its third wave feminism where equality is replaced by anti-men. Or misandry, if you want to sound smart.
I'm not really a fan of the terms "toxic masculinity" or "toxic femininity" so I came into this video sceptical. Sorry for doubting you Georgia, this video is great!
Its interesting that there is a discussion around the toxic aspects of behavior in the movie. The thing I want to point out is that these are characters in a movie. Their behavior isn't models we should follow, but devices to impart meaning. We are learning from the way the barbies react to finding out about the way the Kens changed them. We learn from the extremes they feel and act out. The scene with President Barbie is a tool to express how even when the hegemony is willing to give ground to progress, its always with a tongue in cheek, reserved way. The Kens, even after this, only ever will reach Near equity. It better, but not fair, and that's how being marginalized works. This movie does a good job not letting any of its characters or ideas seem disingenuous. Of course President Babie would resist a Ken supreme judge. She's a benefitting member of the hegemony. The humans are quick to act in anger and push Barbie to an extreme she wouldn't have reached for on her own.
10:30 totally agree. I think one of the main reasons I didn't like this movie was due to things like no consideration for the other side. Lines like "the mother always gets crap from the kids; the father never does". really feel like that stepping on another to prop yourself up as you said. We all have specific AND similar problems and we would be much stronger if we considered the other side's experience and worked together. I appreciate your mention of reversing the roles/situations as well.
to be fair I expect a movie about Barbies to focus on femism. But why does it have to be so antagonizing. Like why dont we apprach a problem as a team, but two antagonizing parties? Compare this to LotR. With messaging about how to be good human being. No matter the gender. Both man and woman have to understand the value in simple good deeds. Which are underrated compared to the glory on a battlefield. Sure bravery is important, but Id say Tolkien sees empathy and kindness as even more important. Gandalf basicly explains it was empathy that lead to Bilbo and Frodo to not kill Gollum. Without these human moments Gollum wouldve never been at Mt. Doom. So only with empathy the destruction of the ring was possible. Not bravery and sheer will. They only helped to bring the ring to the end. Sorry for the offtopic rant. I just love lotr :D
Holy crap is there really a place in the world where the mom gets crap from the kids? I know even as an adult if I gave crap to my mom it would go really badly for me.
I had the same feelings about this movie. Despite it seemingly trying to say “there are bad things about the patriarchy/men, but women have some bad stuff, too”, it didn’t devote enough time to analyzing the second half of that statement.
I have to say, relevant but irrelevant I really appreciate this video. You handled it well and I'm completely on board with dropping the gendered terms and acknowledging them as traits. I know I've been needing a therapist but I've been scared to do so because I feel my situation is complicated, but hearing you has given me a tiny boost of confidence to look into it. Thank you so much for this and keep being you!
The movie just felt toxic in general, from both sides. Just different groups trying to get back at one another rather than having actual conversations about anything to come to mutually beneficial arrangements. And unfortunately, most people won't and don't pick up on that at all and just pick a side, as if they're completely toxicity-free.
I feel like the “It’s like I’m a woman already” comment was more intended to be about her being in an interpersonal bind due to her gender, like how the mom described all the dissonances earlier in the movie Barbie recognizes that she *has* to do this in order to set things back to normal and prevent further damage to the land, but she also knows in her heart that she doesn’t really want to hurt Ken either. She doesn’t like Ken in that way, but she also doesn’t want him to get hurt, but double also she knows it needs to happen like this to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Toxicity as a human trait. Pro-social vs. Art of War. I haven’t seen the movie so I can’t confirm its themes and treatment of them, but it sure has sparked philosophical and humanistic discussion!
Hi, I don't think Barbie and Ken had great communication skills from early on. Barbie saw Ken's efforts to impress her and be near her because he was totally in love with her, but didn't have a proper conversation about that. Or about him hiding in her car, which is stalking behaviour. Ken was suddenly able to separate from Barbie in order to go back to Barbieland by himself and set up Kendom. He didn't know if Barbie was alright or not in the real world. Did he care if she was put in a Mattel box? And then he transformed her house into his own macho MDCH, and not into a lovely place for both of them, even though he later said he hoped it would be their house. The Kens wanted Stepford Barbies, and then the Barbies manipulated the Kens with feminine wiles in order to stage their own coup. There were lots of issues but I love these characters, and the Ryan Gosling Ken is sublime (which is probably problematic as well) 😍xx
Awesome video Georgia! For me, I believe the monologue about women always being put between two extremes could also somewhat apply to men (in a way smaller extent of course). There’s been times in my life where I feel I’m between a rock and a hard place, just like the Barbie movie monologue goes into (not necessarily the same exact situations though).
@@patrickblanchette4337 it’s sad so many men have been taught to hate themselves and diminish their own struggles. I hope in time you realize that this is wrong, and that society was wrong to teach you to do it.
@@Manana7016 I don’t hate myself, I just realize that as a white dude, I have a lot of advantages that others don’t. Regardless, thank you for your concern.
I think barbie's comment of "it's like I'm a woman already" was actually more referring to her still worrying about Ken's feelings despite what he did to/took from her. Possibly addressing the fact that women can have a tendency to care/worry about the feelings of toxic men and not want to hurt them despite being hurt themselves.
Wtf do you mean ? she said it after agreeing to use his feeling to manipulate him, it's literally the opposite. She was worried before but then she changed her mind and agreed to hurt him and said being able to hurt him despite his feelings made her a woman
@@aure2549I have to agree with them. I think it was referring to the broader conversation and what she's going through in that moment. The complexity of it. She said that after that statement yes but she also said it at the end of that exchange overall.
@@Dakarai_Knight It doesn't make any sense, she was worrying prior to the conversation but she wasn't feeling "like a woman already". The only thing that changed after this conversation was that she STOPPED worrying, if worrying made her feel like a woman then she should've felt like this way before.
@@aure2549 I think the conversation about how conflicted and complicated it all is is what she's referring to. Complexity is one of the things weird Barbie points out will be something she will start to experience soon. This is the first time she's had conflicted feelings about what she wanted to do.
@@Dakarai_Knight you're overinterpretating it's just a silly misogynistic joke about women being emotional manipulators because this movie has no backbone, no other purpose than to make as much money as possible and they're willing to do anything to please at the wider possible public
I think you may be confusing what toxic femininity is or is typically seen as. It's not the same as being toxic, it's toxic ideals of the gender being forced on a person. The speech that Gloria gives that shocks the Barbies out of their brain washing, those are ideals of toxic femininity. What a woman is expected to be with all restrictions and without freedoms to press beyond those boundaries. Just like toxic masculinity is the restrictive ideals of "Men can't cry, it's not manly" "It's not manly to express your feelings." "Real men are tough." "Real men do this or that, but not this." It's basically gatekeeping gender. You're right in that toxic behavior is genderless, but gendered toxicity exists too and they are separate things.
I don't understand the narrated paradigm of "The Kens will have as much power/influence in BarbieLand as women do in the real world" & for President Barbie to deny the possibility of even 1 Ken in their supreme court. In the real world, 4 out of the 9 supreme court justices are women. 125 house representatives are women, & 25 state senators are women. A woman is the vice president, and several women were legitimate contenders for the presidency. How is a restriction of the Kens' power to mere "circuit court judge" congruent to women's power/influence in the real world?
When they say "the real world" they don't mean the real world. They're talking about their own internal warped world view already indoctrinated to see women as oppressed victims no matter what. NOTHING will ever change that warped world view in these indoctrinated individuals. Nothing.
I feel that the cartoon Wreck it Ralph did a much much better job of resolving similar issues. The bad guys were stressed not heard other than in their support group, Ralph, Vanelope, and all the games that had their plug pulled like Qbert were homeless and ignored. At the end of the movie everyone had a place in society. Ralph and Qbert and characters with no game may not have moved into the penthouse but they had little houses built by Felix to live in. Ralph was still getting thrown off the roof but he had friends that respected him.
I still have a question about something that happened in the movie did the ken's brainwash the barbies on purpose or was it a side effect of the new way of thinking for the ken's?
5:08 She is not making things right, she is trying to reimpose her dystopian brutal matriarchy where the Kens didn't even have homes. And after she does she realizes it is a hellhole and doesn't even stick to it, she leaves Barbieland for the Real World, where the "Patriarchy" is supposed to run supreme.
Thank you for this! Another excellent analysis. Found your channel when I watched the video about Isaac from castlevania (made me fall in love with his character even more). Again, thank you for the great content!✨
i didn't like ken at first in the beginning because i felt like he was weak but it became clear that all Ken wanted was to be treated like a person and not some disposable, unwanted thing. I found myself questioning why Ken even existed in the story line. The whole problem in the movie was initiated by the Barbies, but somehow, by the end of the movie, Ken was portrayed as the problem. It felt like I was watching my friend argue with his girlfriend over nothing(she made something a problem), and he ended up apologizing regardless of who's more sound, i swear the mental gymnastics. It also seemed as if Ken had no free will. The author made him Barbies love partner, only for Barbie to disregard him and act like it's not *Barbie & Ken*. Even if he decided not to pursue her, it left him in a seemingly hopeless situation. Every night was 'Barbie night,' and he felt physically and emotionally deprived, like a castrated dog. Nobody saw him as an individual; he was just a copy of a copy and honestly, I thought the Kens were more nuanced than the Barbies. Finally at the end of the movie, the Barbies voted to resolve a problem that wasn't even the main issue in the movie. Just to add...the Kens could have easily overruled the Barbies anytime they wanted. Ken had "No Options" and wasn't allowed to have one until he retaliated. Whats even more crazy is that the barbies enjoyed him running things but no lets blame him and say he brain wash them )___) i thought Barbie had some interesting takes but god dame was movie nonsensical most of the time
Barbie world was so superficial and the author made it so, even in the very beginning when Barbie said she doesn't want to go to the real world. there was never any room for discussion or to even allow the characters to make their own decisions because the creator made it so and forced everything.
The big problem with Barbie in the Barbie movie is that Ken, Barbie's Ken, only wanted his girlfriend his Barbie, his barbie, to treat him with respect and as a "human", and when he comes to the real world, he gets asked for the time and he gets overwhelmed by emotion when he is treated as a human and not as someone that just stands at the beach and only gets to exist when Barbie is around, he wants to share this feeling with his fellow ken's, and he does this, and everyone is happy, he dosnt brain wash the barbies, but show them an other way of life that they ended up loving. President Barbie looks lucid when she say that she is happy when she no longer needs to make all the difficult decisions, so when Barbie, Barbie and Barbie come and start taking the other barbies away, they may have made Barbie less happy. So at the end, when its all said and done, the kens and the barbies may all be worse off then under "patriarchy", all because Barbie could not get herself to treat Ken with respect, and at the end, she leaves Barbieland, after all she did to that place, her home, Kens home, and the home of all the barbies and kens. Had Kens "patriarchy" been the permanent state of Barbieland, then everyone would be better off, ken would love and care for their barbies, give them the world and anything they would ask for, and the kens would be treated with respect and as people. Everyone would win, and if Barbie didnt like it, well she could just leave, JUST AS SHE DID ANYWAYS! and guess what, if Barbie and Barbie didnt like it, they could leave as well.
I think the unfortunate reality of perception is even though we are more alike than different, male-female is a divide where we just cannot really understand the others perspective. What's important to men might seem of minimal importance to women, the reverse is also true. But a target that's impossible to hit doesn't mean we shouldn't give it a shot
I don't really think we are alike at all, and I work with women every day, in a female dominant environment. We don't have the same values, perspectives and we think on completely different times.
@@TheBayzent On a superficial level there might be differences between genders. But when you get down to it, people are people regardless, and usually desire the same thing. Love, security, fulfillment, stimulation, just because we express these in a different way does not mean we are fundamentally different. We are more alike than different, and it is a disservice to everyone to focus on what divides us.
When the Kens are tricked into being distracted by helping the Barbies, I personally saw myself as a fill-in but not because we are seeing the woman as less than, but that we as guys get a little excited to feel helpful to others and to show what we know when someone is feeling lost. The Barbie’s taking back Barbie land is a great critique on the short-comings of what is considered stereotypical machismo activities/behaviours
Specifically I think the "chauvinism/sexism" part is that (while they didn't have enough time to expand upon it) the Kens are trying to 'help' the Barbies in a way that assumes they are fundamentally incapable of doing the tasks no matter how many times it's explained, like tying your toddler's shoes. Maybe little Timmy will figure it out one day, but you're presently resigned to doing it for him for the foreseeable future. The Kens were 'showing them' by just doing it for them in such a way that infantilises them.
@@SpitfiretheCat16If you see that someone needs help or someone asks you for help, you're infantilizing them by being kind and helping them? You can't be serious.
@@treacherousjslither6920yes because the person you are responding to is incapable of viewing the world from other peoples perspective. They only see how the actions of others make themselves feel and assume that must be the intention.
It's an interesting thing about human (and I suppose Barbie and Ken) nature that we often don't see or fix a problem until it blows up and becomes unavoidable. How much better would things be if there were more proactive care done.
I don't know how people, who saw the movie, think that this is a feminist movie, it is rather an anti feminist movie that points out all the negative of barbieland in comparison to real world.
On the using someone's affection against them: I mean it could be justified if the damage they're doing is big enough and all the other options are worse, but it is scorched earth. You will never have a relationship with that person again. It is the nuclear option. If you do this people should not trust you with their feelings ever again.
Ken didn't do a hostil take over or brainwash the barbies. He just gave the Ken's an.avenue of power and the barbies folded without resistance. Saying he brainwashed them is making him a villian.
Have to disagree. Ken came off as a stereotypical callous frat boy bully. So yes, he was indeed a villain . And he knew it, that it why he felt bad. Not all villains do. So he could have chosen a better approach. It is because he didn't chose a better approach that made him a villain.
@classicslover he wasn't allowed to have a different approach. He wasn't a villain he was a victim of his environment. He didn't abuse the barbies or push them aside he just claimed his power. If the genders were reversed he would have been the protagonist.
@@unkemptjargon91 Victim of his environment? So then, a man cheated on has NO choice except to unleash hell on his S.O. and her lover? A wrongly convicted man has NO choice except to extract violent revenge? The world is full of injustice, my friend...and there is ALWAYS more than one choice. Most are just too angry and whiney to care enough to try to find the best one.
I think that if people use the term "toxic masculinity" then they should also use the term "toxic femininity", or they would be hypocrites. But yes, toxicity is the real issue. More people should be egalitarians, the alternative is being sexist, which most people are.
It's emotional manipulation that's what makes it toxic. This conversation is coming up in this movie because this movie is literally framed around the gender divide conversation. The movie literally set itself up for being analyzed in this way. Kind of the whole point of the movie.
I read “it’s like I’m a woman already” as a reaction to realizing she still wanted to protect Ken’s feelings (didn’t want to hurt him) even though he abused her (took her house, etc). I never heard her read of that line as revenge and scheming is what women do, it’s giving second third fourth fifth chances and walking on eggshells to not hurt the guy who treats us like crap because we see the good in them.
Barbie literally used to let Ken sleep on the street and didn't give a s*** what happened to him and you're trying to say that Ken is the one that's abusive. You're the problem
So powerful what you said about words and one's inner voice. I feel a lot of people need to learn that. It might just be words to them, but that doesn't mean they won't have an effect on someone.
I'm so glad that you touched on the Ken side of the Barbie movie. I did have it air of disappointment that while yes the kens got some kind of representation but no power. No actual say in the governing of Barbie land. It was so... soul crushing in a way. I do love the Barbie movie and its critics. Like how Barbie never wanted or needed a romantic relationship, how ken needed to find who he is without Barbie, how Barbieland isn't perfect, its just a role reversal of the real world with a PG 13 lense. But at the same time Ken was treated almost like an accessory that gained sentience and decided he wanted to be off the shelf, and on the arm of his owner.
Haven't seen the movie yet, but love the idea of making a movie where toxic behaviors that are normally thought of as being how how toxic males treat women, and role reversing them to a toxic female tweeting males the same way, in order to show how such behavior is toxic, would be both a fun and effective way of making a point.
Dancing around the fact that the barbies took advantage of the loving and compassionate nature of the kens. That's why men never open up and allow themselves to be vulnerable.
I found it disingenuous when it came to the Presidents speech about Barbie land changing when they can’t event give the Kens one seat on the Supreme Court. They say it’s because the power women have in our society, but last time I checked there are women in the Supreme Court. I found it rather insulting to the great accomplishments women have done. A lot of the movie brings up different issues but how some are treated it’s very poorly done.
Exactly I personally find that pretty petty and defeatist. Petty like the lines like saying kids only give crap to their mothers and fathers never have to deal with stuff like that somehow.
Yes, Women are on the Supreme Court, but not until 1981. 63 years after the first Female Judge in the US court system, 111 years after the first female justice of the peace, and 333 years after the first woman became a lawyer. The point is surprise! Women are less powerful than one would think. They may be female justices now and such a thing is not odd, but it took years and a relatively incremental pace for that to happen.
i'm really happy you tackled the toxic traits barbie has and the backwards messages this movie has. a lot of people can't see the problems with it and praise it uncritically
i think a really important part of the film is when Ken says that he simply told the Barbie's about the patriarchy and they jumped on the bandwagon. there was no manipulation or stripping of power, he told them about it and they basically agreed. if anything Ken's way is fairer because everyone but one Barbie and Alan agree and are happy
The moral in my heart is that oppressors often discredit the oppressed and where people are punching across or down we're avoiding looking up at the real problems. 💜 💜
What I find most disturbing is the result of the successful manipulation of the Kens emotions. The result is a coup that results in the oppression of a minority (by which I mean that canonical there is a barbie for every barbie doll made and a Ken for every Ken doll made and the range is incredibly barbie majority by numbers). The start of the film is the barbies literally run everything and the kens don't even have a house to go to at the end of their days doting on barbies. Then the kens literally do the exact same to them. The kens do whatever they want like the barbies did. The kens follow their dreams (Okay, they are much more universal than the barbies, but the variety isn't the point), and the barbies dote on them the exact same way the kens were for them. And after the counter coup it goes back to the barbies in charge and the kens literally are denied representation unilaterally by Queen empress of the world barbie. No votes involved so it's not a democracy, its a sovereignship. All in all its literally a really powerful way to examine the problems in our world and a great movie. I really enjoy these kinds of cultural reflection movies. It's fun to imagine the whole movie the other way around and see how I feel about the story. Just in your head switch it so the kens have the property and emotionally abuse the barbies who are literally made to simp for them at the start, then the barbies do a coup switching it up so all the barbies can do stereotypical girly stuff while the kens simp for them until beech Ken comes back and teaches the other kens to take back control by causing catfights during an election. It gets really weird and uncomfortable in a way the movie as it is doesn't.
An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind. But nobody wants to watch a fully self actualized character make all the right decisions. It’s a movie. But the fact that something similar to this happens in every other movie, but this one gets the attention is quite telling
I have first hand experience where people tried to use my kindness as weakness. And the question "if people who is in power doesn't give others a say it wrong if the inverse is true" Fact is there is already people who doesn't have a say. Another fact is people who has power shouldn't be in power because all they care about is power and using power to help themselves. So if the people who doesn't have a voice and they take power and not give the other side power or a voice it fare game to me. Life isn't fare. You still can be empathic but do what you need to Survive. Do what I do shut off your empathy. How you might ask? Simple think back to your trauma, The people who hurt you, the messed up situations you found yourself in, the people you helped and thar backstabed you. And remember what you said to yourself. "I will never let anyone hurt me again" Now I must warn you when you do this at first it is scarry. You seeing your darkness for the first time, seeing your rage, the coldness and even things that words hasn't been invented to describe this darkness. You will pull yourself back and be like WTF was that! But do it enough times it gets easier. And also easier to control and to shape so you can plot and plan In that cold unfeeling way. You know what? Don't listen to me I am fuked up waaay to much trauma and yes I'm getting help for it. To be honest don't turn out like me. I got lost in that darkness. Don't let your light go out, just be a good person. Try to do what is right. Just remember In this world there are Demons with beautiful familiar faces and Angel covered in blood and scars. Fallow the Angel's. But if you are one of the Angel's Don't let your light go out or you'll be lost in the dark like me. So much damn Metaphor! Lol
agree 100% - only agreements where each side will say "I am happy with this!" are good deals. relationships based on extortion and toxicity will only have negativity to them.
I think that framing things as toxically feminine or masculine has its utility because it helps us better nail down how our masculinity and femininity can be both positive and negative. There are plenty of things we didn't even realize were toxic until we started to think of it in the context of masculine and feminine. So I think it's still useful, but it probably get overused a lot when it's not really necessary, and probably is better left to more nuanced context like academic settings for example.
Honestly, this Barbie movie almost gave me another depressing episode. I think the message of "We need to know who we are alone, without anyone else." is really sad, I don't think that women and men should live separated.
"It's like I'm a woman already" does not refer to her using Kens emotions against him. It refers to her bad consciousness about that. To "I don't want to hurt him no matter what he did to me". Not that I argue that she is justified. But it was a much stronger point than how you interpreted it, in my opinion.
14:21 Related to others’ wrongdoing, I recall a video about the live action Cinderella where Ella’s line to her stepmother at the end of the movie “I forgive you” doesn’t mean that what the stepmother did was ok, rather that Ella is moving past the treatment and leaving her stepmom with the guilt and weight of what she did. So when you tell someone you forgive him or her, you have dealt with it and are leaving it behind you, and it’s up to that person to process it for himself or herself.
So, my take on the toxic feminist in this movie is going to be a bit different, but I’m gonna say it because I don’t think it’s been spoken about. We all talk about the toxic feminism that was shown, but what about towards women and relationships in general? You know, it’s not all about the Kens, but I’ll get back to that. I feel like the interpersonal relationships between women in this movie was just extremely toxic and that really disappointed me when I first saw the film. For instance, when Barbie started to become “real” and Weird Barbie told her about how she was going to have to reconnect with the little girl who owned the Barbie doll back in the real world. I thought, “Oh, this can be a nice movie about sisterhood and mentorship between older and younger women.” But oh, no. They certainly didn’t go that route. 😒 As soon as Barbie met the teenager, the teen girl was mean, rude, aggressive, and just overly hostile to Barbie for no reason. She blamed Barbie for the patriarchy and being a “symbol” for women everywhere instead of realizing that Barbie was just being herself and that she was just as much of victim of the patriarchy as other women were. Maybe that became shown somewhat towards the end with Barbie’s breakdown, but I was appalled that the teenager didn’t apologize for her harsh treatment of Barbie when they first met. I mean, is that not a sign of toxic feminity? Hating on the pretty girl because she’s what society claims to want and you’re not? So, yeah, the sisterhood was definitely dead in this movie and so was motherhood as well. And that brings me to my next big complain in this movie. The portrayal of motherhood in this movie or lack thereof was honestly and truly sad. Like, this movie was honestly less about “Barbie” and more about women’s role is society. And isn’t not one of our roles to be mothers? Isn’t that one of the biggest political issues right now? 🤔 So, I question why Mattel’s pregnant Mildred was only given like 10 mins of screen time throughout the whole 2 hour film. Like, honestly, why couldn’t we have a positive representation of a woman, Mildred, who actually wanted to be a mom and was happy being pregnant? Why would could we use Mildred as being a positive mother figure for other young Barbie characters like Chelsea and/or Skipper? We already had the whole negative view of motherhood with the America Ferrera’s character having that broken relationship with her moody and distant teenage daughter. (which is honestly a cliché at this point, because I am feeling overwhelmed at the amount of movies that show a parent struggling with their teen. 😒 Not all parent-teen relationships are toxic, you know.) Anyway, I would like to see a different perspective on motherhood from Mildred and I think it would have been very interesting/thought-proving to show the two mothers at different stages in their motherhood and having vastly different yet equally valid experiences from each other. I feel like this is demonization and putting down the desire to be moms is another part of the toxic feminism in our culture. And I, as a woman who wants kids, am feeling truly exhausted by all the “Mommy Negativity” that I’ve been bombarded with in today’s tv shows and films. And yes, I understand that not all women want to be moms and that’s fine, but would it really be so bad to be reminded that it’s okay to actually WANT children as well? 🤔 And lastly, I really hate that they didn’t make Barbie and Ken be a couple in this movie. And that was why I had the biggest sympathy for Ken and the biggest confusion for Barbie and her treatment of Ken. Like, he’s her boyfriend and nobody is going to tell me otherwise. He was literally made for her and I…truly don’t get why they made Barbie asexual in this movie. Like, she didn’t want anybody. Not Ryan’s Ken or even any of the other Kens. I think this movie was just determined to not be about romance at all and I feel like this is another sign of toxic feminism. It’s okay to want to be in love and have romantic relationships. And I feel like it’s silly that I have to say that in 2024, but it’s the truth. Now, I get that maybe the message that they were probably going for was that a woman doesn’t need a man to be happy, but I feel like they could’ve done it better way. Like, maybe they could’ve shown some of the other Barbies in relationships with the other Kens. Maybe some of the relationships could’ve been positive while others were negative and maybe they could shown Barbie not wanting any of that. Or maybe they could started the film out with Barbie and Ken already being in an established relationship, but have Ken be this total jerk of guy who doesn’t truly love Barbie, but loves the idea of having a pretty, status symbol on his arm. And maybe as Barbie grows to know her own worth, she breaks up with this jerky Ken and decides to love herself instead. 🤷🏽♀️ Is it cliché? Sure it is, but some cliches work and it’s definitely a better story than just having Barbie turn down her soulmate for no good reason. I’m sorry, but as someone who has been burned by hookup culture, it’s so refreshing and nice to see stories of guys, like Ken, who actually want the girl and wants to keep her. We don’t get guys like this anymore, so I’m sorry that his love was wasted on her. 😔 So, yeah, rant over. 😅 This was just my thoughts on toxic feminism. Although I agree with a lot of the points made in this film, I feel like toxic feminism goes a lot deeper than what was shown and how the writers actually treated women in this movie.
THANK YOU for the reminder that toxic behavior is not inherently gendered. There are specific trends in how insecurities are expressed by different types of people. But generally critics invest far too much in attributing everything to simplistic categories, like gender. The potential shittiness of people transcends the gender-binary lol
Georgia! I love your reading of this Movie and I wished a lot more people would have this approach to watching things and think and analyze them even if they don't come to the same conclusion. I find that in a lot of the online discourse, the lack of acknowledgement of the things laid out in front of you was a major issue. Barbie was a warped representation of our world and a fictional one as well! Supporting more Mme Dow /o/
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I love knowing that this community of people immediately dropped everything to hear Georgia Dow analyze media
And then immediately went back the moment all was said and done. Humans never fail to disappoint us with the almighty status quo.
FINALLY, someone talks about that. I've always been confused, like the kens didn't take over just because they "didn't who they were", they weren't even given houses or any role in society
''they ''didnt who they were '' '' wdym
Georgia, I have been saying for a while that toxicity is not a sex trait and you just came right out and said it. I'm glad I'm not alone in this.
agreed, but I would argue that some toxic traits skew heavily towards one gender or another. Unrelated to that point but a lot of people confuse toxic masculinity with masculinity is toxic. I think part of that is that the recent feminist wave has failed to identify or talk much about toxic femininity which just made the the public discourse around toxic masculinity feel like an attack on men rather than constructive and fair criticism. I'm really glad Georgia did this video as it helps to break down that wall.
I think she and maybe you too, mixes up toxic behavior with toxic femininity and toxic masculinity. Toxic femininity or masculinity isn't a person being toxic, it's toxic ideals being forced on a person based on their gender. Gloria's speech calls out toxic femininity. You aren't a real woman if you don't do this or that. You aren't a real man if you don't do this or that. It's not weaponizing your gender against someone as Georgia talks about Barbie using against the Kens. It's your gender being weaponized against you.
You and Georgia are correct. It's just toxicity, no other nouns or pronouns needed. Masculine and feminine are added from our upbringing and culture. One day my hope is we can see everyone as human and that we're all in the same boat.
@@Pomerable Toxic masculinity and toxic femininity are completely different from just being toxic. A person weaponizing their gender IS just plain toxicity as Georgia Dow said, but toxic masculinity or toxic femininity is having restrictive boundaries of gender expression forced on a person. It's gatekeeping gender. It's not the same thing as Georgia is analyzing.
I think toxic masculinity is when toxic traits are expected to be masculine
This movie was a great 2 sided coin. Depicting both a matriarcal and patriarcal world, both genders had a mix of healthy and toxic feminine and masculine traits EACH, it wasn't all pure feminine vs pure masculaine whatsoever. Definitely a rewatchable movie, a lot of thoughtful AND satirical material in here simultaneously.
Yeah I agree and it leaves a lot to the watcher to decide everything. It doesn't exactly comment on whats moral and not it just plays out and we need to decide whatts what. So much to debate about and you can see peoples minds... some people think its a feminist piece and have its ideology attached to it (eg Ben Shapiro doesn't like this film because he thinks thats what its about)... theres also other people that think its very patrirachal and also capitalistic. Idk its so different, every person has a different perspective on what this film is trying to say while it actually doesn't say much just plays out its part and lets you decide what its about. Also mimicking childplay which is genious!
This is how I took it too - sexism hurts everyone and there are pitfalls and negativity for everyone involved on any side.
Unfortunately for you, that wasn't what Greta Gerwig wanted you to think. It's all propaganda.
In practice, it's not possible to seriously discuss a society where both patriarchal and matriarchal principles are equally and simultaneously dominant. Toxicity is another matter.
One shouldn't have to deeply analyze such a concrete film. It doesn't parody woke-reality. Throughout, it flounders with quite obvious intentions. Moreover, it was released at a time that reflects exactly what the message is; the toxicity is unbalanced here too.
Its funny when she said "he took your house and is trying to take over the government" as justification for taking him down when the Barbies never even gave Kens houses
and wouldn't let them in on the government at all but its only becomes bad when the Kens do that. The Kens probably would have backed off if they were just given equality in Barbieland, the only reason they took to toxic masculinity was because it was their only option given to them that was a change from the status quo, not because it was the thing the Kens actually desired.
Came here to say this basically, while I loved the video it kind of kept bothering me that Georgia kept referring to “two wrongs don’t make a right” when there very clearly was a reason why the Ken’s responded as they did.
That's the joke.
@@zagboyarSo, Georgia should've said, "3 wrongs don't make a right, instead?" Because Barbies wrong Kens, Kens wrong Barbies, Barbies wrong Kens again, movie ends. (Forgive the grammar, I know it's terrible).
@@alienSlugKing It’s more the lack of acknowledgement that there was a prior history of neglect from the Barbie’s towards the Kens in this video. Felt like the scenes were a bit too simplified into Ken stole Barbieland therefore Barbie’s actions should be viewed from a far more sympathetic lens (towards Barbie), when it’s quite a bit more complicated than that.
Its not a conscious Barbie decision not to give Ken houses. In this case thats how their world was created from outside and they never questioned it. Barbies are in comfort and don't see, Kens are silent.
Ken's never even tried to say their piece. They took it all and made barbies subservient. And in the end they start seeing they can do better.
Kens are not villains, they are just really bad at comms and they all got chomped by horseless patriarchy XD
“It doesn’t matter what gender you are, it matters what personality you are.” BOOM NAILED IT! That is a mic drop moment.
Toxic behaviors are bad no matter where or who they are coming from, PERIOD.
I think Mattel missed out on a marketing opportunity. At the end of the movie Ken still doesn't have a home of his own. They could have had blue and purple versions of Barbie's signature pink items. Not all girls love pink, and they could have opened up more sales to boys who would love to play as well
Women, right?😂
Sexism, ladies and gents.
What’s better than one dollhouse? MORE dollhouses! But also the ability for dolls to visit other locations is peak roleplay.
His home is the toybox the kids throw him in when they're done playing with him😂
That’s because this isn’t about marketing for revenue. This is about propaganda.
Yes! Thank you! Toxic/narcissistic traits could be applied to any person, not just a group. A toxic man or a toxic woman are just insufferable in the end.
I think she may be confused on what toxic femininity and toxic masculinity is. It's not a person displaying toxic traits, That IS genderless. Toxic femininity is the forcing of an ideal on a person just because they're a woman. Gloria's speech that snaps the Barbies out of their brainwashing is calling out toxic femininity. "Women need to be this, that and not the other." "Men need to be this, that and not the other." Essentially, gendered toxicity is gatekeeping gender. It's telling a person they aren't a valid man or woman unless they fill restrictive ideals of their gender. Toxicity is the person, regardless of gender, acting toxic towards others. Toxic femininity and toxic masculinity is toxicity towards the person from society.
Agreed
YES!@@NecrochildK
Yes, the end result is basically the same, well said. Like they say, 2 sides of the same coin. However when you say toxic femininity or masculinity you're saying "Hey, that's not how to be a man/women." You have creepy alpha males, men in extremist religions (*key: extremist), overly conservative values, etc. You have feminist that never seem happy with men, like I've seen woman complain about a guy holding a door open and don't consider intentions and the fact this man might open the door for everyone anyway. We don't need to assert our dominance over dumb stuff and complicate our lives. Everything is already a mess. I don't feel that these are the majority of people but enough to still impact things in some ways.
The one part I HATED in the movie was the manipulation during the nighttime beach scene when Kens' are singing to barbie. It felt like it was giving the message that "toying" with someone's feeling is ok.
You are so smart and empathetic. The discourse around this movie honestly made me feel like the weird one for not enjoying the toxic parts of it as much as others. Even reading the comments gives me newfound faith that people can strive to be better to one another.
thanks so much = ) I am happy i can give voice to it
I'm a simple person. I see a video by Georgia Dow, I click on it immediately no matter what I was watching.
Everyone talks about toxic masculinity and how itcauses problems in both reality and media. But it's a lot more rare that we look at the other side of the same coin, even though toxic femininity is just as prevelent amd dangerous. I think this movie does a decent job at displaying both, while also having Barbie and Ken learn that neither is okay. You did a great job explaining it.
The Barbie movie shows what toxic femininity looks like irl and how it hurts women and men
Yup yup. Can't disagree with it
I wouldn't go so far as to say it is just as prevelant. Toxic matriarchial traits do not have much sway in positions of power.
@@jfrancis232 Biggest cope I've ever seen.
The bonfire scene makes me want to cry. As someone with ASD, this is probably the most hurtful thing that you could do to me.
Just discovered you. You speak logic, facts and wisdom in a very kind and polite manner while remaining honest and humble. A mark of true feminism in my book. I dislike sexism in any shape or form from either side so I respect this point of view.
Not only all that, but she also has an insane wardrobe. Defiantly worth sticking around for, ha.
@@Jesses001 how silly of me to forget to add that to the list! Lol I was cracking up especially during the "was Ken abused" video where she would randomly pop up wearing the mink with the headband out of nowhere while continuing to just talk seriously about psychological aspects. Brilliant 😂
@@c.j.p.7607 And that is normal for her videos. It is wild the clothing she has. Very entertaining, and I get to learn more about how normal humans work at the same time, ha.
@@Jesses001 Yeah it's SO COOL when she's wearing something related to the piece of media she's commenting on! I love how far she goes to really connect with her viewers.
@@Jesses001 yeah these are the first and only 2 videos I've watched so far and I am intrigued lol
I love the scarf she's wearing in this one! Her style is so feminine and somewhat kawaii and I'm here for it 😍
Hi! I find that toxicity in interpersonal relationships are now the norm. We have become such a self-absorbed, materialistic society . . . I’m not dumping on one generation over the other, it’s across the board. I’m also not focusing on gender, like you said toxicity isn’t male or female . . . though I would argue that past and still persistent power dynamics among the genders made male toxicity more pernicious . . . but this toxicity imbalance is certainly leveling-out as society is finally making some strides, though there is still some ways to go, towards women equality. Yet, sadly, in spite of this, toxicity, selfishness, and narcissism just seems to be ballooning exponentially. I’m a single father who has self-isolated to protect both myself and my daughter from rampant cultural toxicity. While isolation is my choice, it is not for me to make that choice for my daughter, so I encourage her to be as social as she wants to be and she is pretty darn social. However, it breaks my heart to see how often she comes homes in tears because of toxic behavior from her peers, both male and female. I just hope that supporting her unconditionally gives her the ability to be resilient in the face of so much interpersonal toxicity without her succumbing to it.
There can be so much suffering in life. One could argue that having children is unethical knowing the things that they might go through.
Toxicity is *definitely* a woman trait.
"I don't believe that there is such a thing as toxic femininity or toxic masculinity, there is just toxicity." Yes! Such a great thing to say! I wish more people came to this realization.
I think from the comments that I have managed to read, you have fostered a very.. dare I say, healthy and respectful community.
The primary issue I see that others have with this movie and this segment that you manage to go over in the video proper, both in the comments and in the community at large, is the fact that the Kens just wanted to feel important, useful, and strong.
In the Barbie Society before, Kens were just an accessory and held no power, no purpose, and had an almost one-sided desire for their Barbie counterparts.. whom they were made for.
And by the end, instead of the Barbies learning that Kens just wanted all of the above, not to rule over them, but to feel included, important-- you know, **more** than an accessory...
The Kens are still in a lower position, by the President's own words. Why?
I'm not saying the Kens are perfect by any means, but I feel as though, just as you stated in your video proper, that more peaceful solutions were not explored by Barbie, such as talking to them.
Instead, they went STRAIGHT for the manipulation tactic, even though -- from what we saw in the movie, minus some more questionable things like the skimpy outfits, the Barbies appeared happy to have the Kens be competent, willing to take charge, and overall being helpful instead of, doing nothing.
Agree. I just wanted to write how different is Kens' behavior towards Barbies and Barbies towards Kens. Kens were always on the side and no Barbie cared about them and they had no other purpose than to wait around for Barbie to show up. (If rhis was different genre, Kens would be the killers with an axe because they would go crazy in this world that had nothing to offer them than Barbies who don't care.) They didn't even know where Kens live (Probably on the beach) which is strange because shouldn't the president Barbie give Kebs some place to live? Even The wierd Barbie has more rights than Kens and every Barbie hates her.
i thought the movement for more Ken rights was meant to mirror the movement for women's rights in the real world
The biggest problem with this movie is that it doesn't explain how the Barbies were "brainwashed" by the patriarchy. It just shows that they were and could be snapped out of it.
But it's not like the main Ken was trying to hurt the Barbies, though he did use the turned tides to show Stereotypical Barbie how bad she had treated him. But his primary goal was just to share a respect he had never felt before in Barbie Land with the other Kens.
So, in that sense, Patriarchy is, in Barbie Land what Feminism is in the real world. So the message that the Barbies take back Barbie Land and only implement minor changes... Really sends a bad message. If it were to be reversed in the real world.
So... While Margot Robbie and the director went on this press tour touting the strong feminist message of this movie... The message it really gives off is unfortunate.
Because if we were to do a one to one reversal like they did in Barbie Land... It would mean men should take back control, and while letting women keep the right to vote... They should do it from their rightful place in the kitchen... Which is a terrible message.
You... said it much better than I could have put it. Take my like.
Agreed.
I think most men critical of this movie would be told that it's a role reversal in Barbie Land.
Then, most of those men will still feel the same way.
Shocker, I know.
I'm glad somebody else finally brought this up! How did the Kens "brainwash" the Barbies?? How did they even know what brainwashing IS and how to do it?? So, it's not that the Barbies believed in patriarchy, just like the Kens did, and helped institute it. They were completely "brainwashed"... It's the same problem I have with toxic online feminists. They completely blame men (modern men, mind you) for an ancient system that both men and women helped create and uphold.
The thing is, if they dropped the brainwashing aspect, the movie wouldn't have that heist movie quality of constructing a plan and executing it. So they sacrificed theme for plot, which, artistically, I agree with.
I agree with this! I think I missed this in the end.
This comment needa more likes
The thing is that conflict with men usually don't feel that personal. But the way Barbies describe their plan, it just feels like they are taking pride in the cruelness of taking kens dreams to crush them. It's just that feeling of an intentional low blow.
An accurate description of women.
Just wanted to say not angry and loved your take and videos. Just wanted to say I have never thought women are stupid because they need help. We help because we are taught that a man’s worth comes from our usefulness. And that’s what the Barbie’s used against the kens in beginning. The main issue I’m seeing is the Barbie’s had power because the kens had to compete for their attention, prove their worth, match the Barbie’s clothing, and do what they wanted to do. This is considered right, normal, and just. But when the Ken’s turn the tables it is wrong, unjust, and toxic and must be changed. That’s what bothers me is the double standard.
In the end I agree, the manipulation and lack of commitment to true equality opting for one final jab was frustrating.
Very well said. There was a great opportunity in the film in act 3 to make a statement about everyone having equal struggles in this world and the only solution is to come together... but they didn't. I love that this movie sparked so much interesting conversation. That being said not every piece of media has to be a profound statement on social issues, sometimes it can just be entertainment.
I really liked your analysis and it really opened my eyes to a bit of a different question. If we extrapolate the motivation of Ken to all the Kens, we know that Ken's motivation actually is for Barbie to take notice of him, to acknowledge him, hopefully, his unrequited love for her. At the stage where the Barbie's intend to take back power could they simply not have asked for it? If she tells Ken he hurt her feelings would not the rational thing to do from that perspective be to give her this back? We find out after that he didn't really care for anything save her attention and horses anyway. The motivations seem asymmetrical in this respect, becuase the Kens are kind of like children, they don't completely understand what they're doing. They're just copying behaviour they've observed believing they can then get self-fulfillment from this.(The movie also doesn't address a very important question how does this transition come about? The Barbies all somehow felt that what they'd been doing and persuing all their lives prior suddenly had no meaning?) However when the Barbies strike back they are completely aware of what they are doing and it will be victory at all costs.
I also completely agree that these toxic traits really have no business being gendered. I mean look at the speech that wakes up the Barbies virtually everything she says could be applied to men as well or have a male counterpart. That entire speech was basically the same as a "why do men die first" joke I read a decade ago.
Words have a powerful impact. Positively, Negatively, and everything in between.
Will you do a video on Sasha?
Her feelings towards Barbies reminded me of why my wife didn't want to see the Barbie movie. My wife is embarrassed that she use to like Barbies and she was reminded of how getting bullied in school forced her to grow up quickly.
The hangup I have about the Kenland situation and Barbie's "revolution" is that Ken... didn't actually brainwash anyone. As presented in the movie, Ken traveled back with some books and an idea. We can infer he presented that idea and everyone willingly tried it out. How do we know that? Because Barbieland was completely dominated by the Barbies (no-one even knew where the Kens slept at night). Ken had absolutely no power but persuasion BY LAW. The Barbies vastly outnumbered the Kens and were vastly more intelligent. So, the only way Ken's idea could have consumed all of Barbieland is if the Barbies joined up willingly. Then, when Stereotypical Barbie and the real-world women arrived and saw Kenland in operation, THEY said it was brainwashing because they didn't like the idea. And their response? Kidnap people in a literal tinted-window van, spout victimization lines to "wake them up" (a.k.a. brainwash them), and release their victims back into society as moles to repeat the kidnap-brainwash cycle. Yet they call themselves the heroes "saving" the other Barbies... who, by the way, express nothing but happiness in the Kenland system. President Barbie explicitly states what a relief it is. I get that the director wanted to make it look like the Barbies were brainwashed... but somehow she seems to have forgotten to actually put that in the movie (lol). And to "save" alleged brainwashing victims by informing them how miserable they _should_ be was quite a bizarre approach - robbing people of their happiness is heroic now? Hmm.
Obviously, there's a case to be made that the pendulum swung back a bit too far in Kenland. But the Barbies still had a place to stay. The Kens still lived for their Barbies. And the Kens didn't seize power in a coup, or trick anyone (are they even capable of that?), or oppress the Barbies after the new paradigm was in place. They started building a [vertical] wall, asked for beer deliveries, and Ken kicked Barbie out of her dreamhouse as petty payback... but in the grand scheme of things, society was markedly more equal in Kenland (at least on paper). If anyone really made out like bandits under Ken's version of "patriarchy", it was the horses.
So, after Ken doesn't brainwash anyone (as far as what's shown) and Barbie kidnaps and brainwashes her peers to rebel (which is exactly what's shown), what does that all lead to? Oh, just the "hero" deliberately pitting the Kens against each other to incite violence and bar them from voting. This is heinous on two levels: first of all, there was no violence in Barbieland or Kenland until Barbie herself sowed those seeds. A shameful scourge from the real world that never once permeated Barbieland until Barbie herself introduces it. Wow. But secondly, and rather laughably, IT WAS ALL COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY. The Barbies VASTLY outnumber the Kens, and the vote DIDN'T BAR THE BARBIES. So all the Barbies had to do was show up with the Kens and vote to restore things to the way they were by simple majority. There was no need to break the Kens hearts, there was no need to compel them to fight each other, there wasn't even a need to sneakily steal all power in the society through a backdoor vote. That was pure spite and stupidity.
The line that really gets me though is the one you include in the video (paraphrased): "Then, once we've given them everything they've ever wanted, we'll take it all away." That's evil. Plain and simple. To deliberately destroy people like that... as you pointed out, there may be justification but it doesn't change the morality of the action. But as I've pointed out, there wasn't even justification. So Barbie and her real-world friends are bigoted, spiteful, cruel, and - again - EVIL. To glorify their behavior in any way, as the movie does, sends what strikes me as a particularly toxic message. I'd hate for little girls to come away from this movie under the impression that mimicking this behavior is laudable, and scarily that seems a very real possibility.
I ultimately agree with your conclusion that toxicity has no gender. I just wanted to point out that Barbie and Mom SAYING they're justified in crushing the Kens doesn't mean they actually ARE... and what we're actually shown in the movie COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS their so-called justification. I found it hilarious (in a bad way) that they accuse Ken of brainwashing people and "fix" that by going out and brainwashing everyone. Just absurd levels of hypocrisy and cluelessness on the writer's part.
Anyway, thanks for the interesting video! I like how you came at this subject from a framework of giving all sides a fair shake. Have a good one!
Well said.
I don't think the argument is whether the Kens were trying to be helpful or not. It's the way they go about it, and the language they use. Like if there's something in the workplace that I don't understand and I ask for help I don't want someone to talk to me like I'm a silly child, I want someone to talk to me like we are still on the same intellectual level. There's a difference between saying "oh, you can't use the select tool unless the layer is highlighted, can I show you?" vs "honey, you can't use the select tool unless the layer is highlighted, let me show you".
The Ken's are subjugated and infantalized. If this were in reverse the outcry would be crazy.
Somehow, the double standard just gets taken for granted.
It didn't even seem like the kens were doing anything malicious or with force, control over barbie land just kind of happened once the kens learned to stand up for themselves and go after what they wanted.
And even when the Barbie's manipulated and regained control over the kens its not like they actually did things fully equally, the Barbie's still made a sure that they were back in charge of things again. I'm not sure what message the movie is trying to portray with that 😅
The message was clear, and stated clearly. With some work, the Kens could have as much power and influence in Barbieland as women have in the real world.
@@kevinbailey8827 But the men in Barbie land when ken took over and real world women already have that power and influence. But it took that power away from the kens, So is the movie saying women should not have power like the kens dont?
@@GiRR007 Women in the real world have more power now than they did 70 years ago. They didn't start with the power they have now. Maybe it would have been more fair for some President in the 1950s to reform the Supreme Court so that it was half women. But it didn't happen that way.
The movie is saying that the Kens should earn their power, fighting agains the resistance of systemic feminism, the way women in the real world have had to fight for power in a world that favors men who have learned how to "hide it better".
It's not supposed to be fair. You're supposed to be uncomfortable with it, both in Barbieland and in the real world.
I think the relationships between the Kens and the Barbies are different that just Margot's Barbie and Ryan's Ken. Their relationships is extremely toxic because Margot's owner (American's character) never actually owned a Ken. Furthermore, she felt that Ken's were useless. So Margot doesn't have any emotions towards her Ken. He is more so just an annoyance. Her Barbie is a reflection of America's thoughts and feelings. This is different than Ncuti's Ken and his Barbie pair (played by Emma McKay). It seems this Ken and Barbie pair were just really good friends and they missed that during the entire debacle.
Using someone’s affection for you against them is just a cold and cruel thing to do to anybody.really
The final part about the ken's seats in politics, i truly think after what the president said, the reason why the movie didn't directly gave them seats was for the sole purpose of the joke about seats in politics for women in our society.
It would have make sense for her to give them equal seats after her monologue about no ken deserving to be in the shadows, but perhaps that dissonance is in place to emphasize the social commentary and joke
This is what I think as well. But since it glosses over too quickly, I can understand how people could miss this
Which is even stupider when you consider how many women currently sit on the supreme court, even tho the movie makers probably hate one of them
Barbie isn't a complicated movie. Scenes don't have double meanings. They're just wrong in creating a matriarchy. Its third wave feminism where equality is replaced by anti-men. Or misandry, if you want to sound smart.
@@AnselmsAlwaysAccurate61 years after women gained the right to vote.
In jest or not it's still part of the message, Kens aren't considered at any point even remotely equal.
I'm not really a fan of the terms "toxic masculinity" or "toxic femininity" so I came into this video sceptical. Sorry for doubting you Georgia, this video is great!
"Toxic masculinity" is a term heavily used by a certain cult to manipulate, brow beat, guilt and shame men into submission.
Its interesting that there is a discussion around the toxic aspects of behavior in the movie.
The thing I want to point out is that these are characters in a movie. Their behavior isn't models we should follow, but devices to impart meaning.
We are learning from the way the barbies react to finding out about the way the Kens changed them. We learn from the extremes they feel and act out.
The scene with President Barbie is a tool to express how even when the hegemony is willing to give ground to progress, its always with a tongue in cheek, reserved way. The Kens, even after this, only ever will reach Near equity. It better, but not fair, and that's how being marginalized works.
This movie does a good job not letting any of its characters or ideas seem disingenuous. Of course President Babie would resist a Ken supreme judge. She's a benefitting member of the hegemony. The humans are quick to act in anger and push Barbie to an extreme she wouldn't have reached for on her own.
10:30 totally agree. I think one of the main reasons I didn't like this movie was due to things like no consideration for the other side. Lines like "the mother always gets crap from the kids; the father never does". really feel like that stepping on another to prop yourself up as you said. We all have specific AND similar problems and we would be much stronger if we considered the other side's experience and worked together. I appreciate your mention of reversing the roles/situations as well.
to be fair I expect a movie about Barbies to focus on femism. But why does it have to be so antagonizing. Like why dont we apprach a problem as a team, but two antagonizing parties?
Compare this to LotR. With messaging about how to be good human being. No matter the gender. Both man and woman have to understand the value in simple good deeds. Which are underrated compared to the glory on a battlefield. Sure bravery is important, but Id say Tolkien sees empathy and kindness as even more important. Gandalf basicly explains it was empathy that lead to Bilbo and Frodo to not kill Gollum. Without these human moments Gollum wouldve never been at Mt. Doom. So only with empathy the destruction of the ring was possible. Not bravery and sheer will. They only helped to bring the ring to the end.
Sorry for the offtopic rant. I just love lotr :D
Holy crap is there really a place in the world where the mom gets crap from the kids? I know even as an adult if I gave crap to my mom it would go really badly for me.
@nostalji75, my friend... You bow to no one. 🙇♂️ 🫅
I had the same feelings about this movie. Despite it seemingly trying to say “there are bad things about the patriarchy/men, but women have some bad stuff, too”, it didn’t devote enough time to analyzing the second half of that statement.
I have to say, relevant but irrelevant I really appreciate this video. You handled it well and I'm completely on board with dropping the gendered terms and acknowledging them as traits. I know I've been needing a therapist but I've been scared to do so because I feel my situation is complicated, but hearing you has given me a tiny boost of confidence to look into it. Thank you so much for this and keep being you!
I really appreciate this take, and the overall message that toxicity isn't necessarily gendered: toxicity is just toxicity
Your analyses are great. And your cosplays each video are quite refreshing.
Thanks appreciate it
The movie just felt toxic in general, from both sides. Just different groups trying to get back at one another rather than having actual conversations about anything to come to mutually beneficial arrangements. And unfortunately, most people won't and don't pick up on that at all and just pick a side, as if they're completely toxicity-free.
I feel like the “It’s like I’m a woman already” comment was more intended to be about her being in an interpersonal bind due to her gender, like how the mom described all the dissonances earlier in the movie
Barbie recognizes that she *has* to do this in order to set things back to normal and prevent further damage to the land, but she also knows in her heart that she doesn’t really want to hurt Ken either. She doesn’t like Ken in that way, but she also doesn’t want him to get hurt, but double also she knows it needs to happen like this to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Toxicity as a human trait. Pro-social vs. Art of War. I haven’t seen the movie so I can’t confirm its themes and treatment of them, but it sure has sparked philosophical and humanistic discussion!
Hi, I don't think Barbie and Ken had great communication skills from early on. Barbie saw Ken's efforts to impress her and be near her because he was totally in love with her, but didn't have a proper conversation about that. Or about him hiding in her car, which is stalking behaviour.
Ken was suddenly able to separate from Barbie in order to go back to Barbieland by himself and set up Kendom. He didn't know if Barbie was alright or not in the real world. Did he care if she was put in a Mattel box?
And then he transformed her house into his own macho MDCH, and not into a lovely place for both of them, even though he later said he hoped it would be their house.
The Kens wanted Stepford Barbies, and then the Barbies manipulated the Kens with feminine wiles in order to stage their own coup. There were lots of issues but I love these characters, and the Ryan Gosling Ken is sublime (which is probably problematic as well) 😍xx
Awesome video Georgia! For me, I believe the monologue about women always being put between two extremes could also somewhat apply to men (in a way smaller extent of course). There’s been times in my life where I feel I’m between a rock and a hard place, just like the Barbie movie monologue goes into (not necessarily the same exact situations though).
Had to add in the “to a way smaller extent of course”. Oy
@@Manana7016 The least I can do is recognize my cis male privilege.
@@patrickblanchette4337 it’s sad so many men have been taught to hate themselves and diminish their own struggles. I hope in time you realize that this is wrong, and that society was wrong to teach you to do it.
@@Manana7016 I don’t hate myself, I just realize that as a white dude, I have a lot of advantages that others don’t. Regardless, thank you for your concern.
I think a male version of that would be being expected to be a stoic robot, but also empathic to others and emotionally intelligent.
Wanting to help Barbies is just part of being a Ken, I think. It's not sexist or chivalrous, it's just Ken.
Don't worry, they'll turn it into a sexism accusation. Also the crime of breathing while male. Utterly unforgivable.
I think barbie's comment of "it's like I'm a woman already" was actually more referring to her still worrying about Ken's feelings despite what he did to/took from her. Possibly addressing the fact that women can have a tendency to care/worry about the feelings of toxic men and not want to hurt them despite being hurt themselves.
Wtf do you mean ? she said it after agreeing to use his feeling to manipulate him, it's literally the opposite. She was worried before but then she changed her mind and agreed to hurt him and said being able to hurt him despite his feelings made her a woman
@@aure2549I have to agree with them. I think it was referring to the broader conversation and what she's going through in that moment. The complexity of it. She said that after that statement yes but she also said it at the end of that exchange overall.
@@Dakarai_Knight It doesn't make any sense, she was worrying prior to the conversation but she wasn't feeling "like a woman already". The only thing that changed after this conversation was that she STOPPED worrying, if worrying made her feel like a woman then she should've felt like this way before.
@@aure2549 I think the conversation about how conflicted and complicated it all is is what she's referring to. Complexity is one of the things weird Barbie points out will be something she will start to experience soon. This is the first time she's had conflicted feelings about what she wanted to do.
@@Dakarai_Knight you're overinterpretating it's just a silly misogynistic joke about women being emotional manipulators because this movie has no backbone, no other purpose than to make as much money as possible and they're willing to do anything to please at the wider possible public
I think you may be confusing what toxic femininity is or is typically seen as. It's not the same as being toxic, it's toxic ideals of the gender being forced on a person. The speech that Gloria gives that shocks the Barbies out of their brain washing, those are ideals of toxic femininity. What a woman is expected to be with all restrictions and without freedoms to press beyond those boundaries. Just like toxic masculinity is the restrictive ideals of "Men can't cry, it's not manly" "It's not manly to express your feelings." "Real men are tough." "Real men do this or that, but not this." It's basically gatekeeping gender. You're right in that toxic behavior is genderless, but gendered toxicity exists too and they are separate things.
Yup, women are always the victims, no matter the circumstances. Got it.
@@etsequentia6765 Where the heck did you get that from? Did you even read my comment through?
I don't understand the narrated paradigm of "The Kens will have as much power/influence in BarbieLand as women do in the real world" & for President Barbie to deny the possibility of even 1 Ken in their supreme court. In the real world, 4 out of the 9 supreme court justices are women. 125 house representatives are women, & 25 state senators are women. A woman is the vice president, and several women were legitimate contenders for the presidency. How is a restriction of the Kens' power to mere "circuit court judge" congruent to women's power/influence in the real world?
When they say "the real world" they don't mean the real world. They're talking about their own internal warped world view already indoctrinated to see women as oppressed victims no matter what. NOTHING will ever change that warped world view in these indoctrinated individuals. Nothing.
I feel that the cartoon Wreck it Ralph did a much much better job of resolving similar issues. The bad guys were stressed not heard other than in their support group, Ralph, Vanelope, and all the games that had their plug pulled like Qbert were homeless and ignored. At the end of the movie everyone had a place in society. Ralph and Qbert and characters with no game may not have moved into the penthouse but they had little houses built by Felix to live in. Ralph was still getting thrown off the roof but he had friends that respected him.
Wreckitralph was the most over-compensation for female inferiority complex I've ever seen.
I still have a question about something that happened in the movie did the ken's brainwash the barbies on purpose or was it a side effect of the new way of thinking for the ken's?
interesting i assumed that but not sure
5:08 She is not making things right, she is trying to reimpose her dystopian brutal matriarchy where the Kens didn't even have homes. And after she does she realizes it is a hellhole and doesn't even stick to it, she leaves Barbieland for the Real World, where the "Patriarchy" is supposed to run supreme.
Thank you for this! Another excellent analysis. Found your channel when I watched the video about Isaac from castlevania (made me fall in love with his character even more). Again, thank you for the great content!✨
Glad you enjoyed it!
i didn't like ken at first in the beginning because i felt like he was weak but it became clear that all Ken wanted was to be treated like a person and not some disposable, unwanted thing. I found myself questioning why Ken even existed in the story line. The whole problem in the movie was initiated by the Barbies, but somehow, by the end of the movie, Ken was portrayed as the problem. It felt like I was watching my friend argue with his girlfriend over nothing(she made something a problem), and he ended up apologizing regardless of who's more sound, i swear the mental gymnastics. It also seemed as if Ken had no free will. The author made him Barbies love partner, only for Barbie to disregard him and act like it's not *Barbie & Ken*. Even if he decided not to pursue her, it left him in a seemingly hopeless situation. Every night was 'Barbie night,' and he felt physically and emotionally deprived, like a castrated dog. Nobody saw him as an individual; he was just a copy of a copy and honestly, I thought the Kens were more nuanced than the Barbies. Finally at the end of the movie, the Barbies voted to resolve a problem that wasn't even the main issue in the movie. Just to add...the Kens could have easily overruled the Barbies anytime they wanted. Ken had "No Options" and wasn't allowed to have one until he retaliated. Whats even more crazy is that the barbies enjoyed him running things but no lets blame him and say he brain wash them )___)
i thought Barbie had some interesting takes but god dame was movie nonsensical most of the time
Barbie world was so superficial and the author made it so, even in the very beginning when Barbie said she doesn't want to go to the real world. there was never any room for discussion or to even allow the characters to make their own decisions because the creator made it so and forced everything.
14:33 Because it was never about achieving equality, but keeping an oppressed minority oppressed. Which is why the film is surprisingly self aware.
The big problem with Barbie in the Barbie movie is that Ken, Barbie's Ken, only wanted his girlfriend his Barbie, his barbie, to treat him with respect and as a "human", and when he comes to the real world, he gets asked for the time and he gets overwhelmed by emotion when he is treated as a human and not as someone that just stands at the beach and only gets to exist when Barbie is around, he wants to share this feeling with his fellow ken's, and he does this, and everyone is happy, he dosnt brain wash the barbies, but show them an other way of life that they ended up loving.
President Barbie looks lucid when she say that she is happy when she no longer needs to make all the difficult decisions, so when Barbie, Barbie and Barbie come and start taking the other barbies away, they may have made Barbie less happy.
So at the end, when its all said and done, the kens and the barbies may all be worse off then under "patriarchy", all because Barbie could not get herself to treat Ken with respect, and at the end, she leaves Barbieland, after all she did to that place, her home, Kens home, and the home of all the barbies and kens.
Had Kens "patriarchy" been the permanent state of Barbieland, then everyone would be better off, ken would love and care for their barbies, give them the world and anything they would ask for, and the kens would be treated with respect and as people. Everyone would win, and if Barbie didnt like it, well she could just leave, JUST AS SHE DID ANYWAYS! and guess what, if Barbie and Barbie didnt like it, they could leave as well.
if men made such movie with reversed roles, they would be destroyed and cancelled.
Love your perspective in your videos 💯
I laughed so much at "I'll play the guitar at you." lol
I think the unfortunate reality of perception is even though we are more alike than different, male-female is a divide where we just cannot really understand the others perspective. What's important to men might seem of minimal importance to women, the reverse is also true. But a target that's impossible to hit doesn't mean we shouldn't give it a shot
I don't really think we are alike at all, and I work with women every day, in a female dominant environment.
We don't have the same values, perspectives and we think on completely different times.
@@TheBayzent On a superficial level there might be differences between genders. But when you get down to it, people are people regardless, and usually desire the same thing. Love, security, fulfillment, stimulation, just because we express these in a different way does not mean we are fundamentally different. We are more alike than different, and it is a disservice to everyone to focus on what divides us.
When the Kens are tricked into being distracted by helping the Barbies, I personally saw myself as a fill-in but not because we are seeing the woman as less than, but that we as guys get a little excited to feel helpful to others and to show what we know when someone is feeling lost. The Barbie’s taking back Barbie land is a great critique on the short-comings of what is considered stereotypical machismo activities/behaviours
Specifically I think the "chauvinism/sexism" part is that (while they didn't have enough time to expand upon it) the Kens are trying to 'help' the Barbies in a way that assumes they are fundamentally incapable of doing the tasks no matter how many times it's explained, like tying your toddler's shoes. Maybe little Timmy will figure it out one day, but you're presently resigned to doing it for him for the foreseeable future. The Kens were 'showing them' by just doing it for them in such a way that infantilises them.
@@SpitfiretheCat16If you see that someone needs help or someone asks you for help, you're infantilizing them by being kind and helping them? You can't be serious.
@@treacherousjslither6920yes because the person you are responding to is incapable of viewing the world from other peoples perspective. They only see how the actions of others make themselves feel and assume that must be the intention.
It's an interesting thing about human (and I suppose Barbie and Ken) nature that we often don't see or fix a problem until it blows up and becomes unavoidable. How much better would things be if there were more proactive care done.
I don't know how people, who saw the movie, think that this is a feminist movie, it is rather an anti feminist movie that points out all the negative of barbieland in comparison to real world.
On the using someone's affection against them: I mean it could be justified if the damage they're doing is big enough and all the other options are worse, but it is scorched earth. You will never have a relationship with that person again. It is the nuclear option. If you do this people should not trust you with their feelings ever again.
Ken didn't do a hostil take over or brainwash the barbies. He just gave the Ken's an.avenue of power and the barbies folded without resistance. Saying he brainwashed them is making him a villian.
Have to disagree. Ken came off as a stereotypical callous frat boy bully. So yes, he was indeed a villain . And he knew it, that it why he felt bad. Not all villains do. So he could have chosen a better approach. It is because he didn't chose a better approach that made him a villain.
@classicslover he wasn't allowed to have a different approach. He wasn't a villain he was a victim of his environment. He didn't abuse the barbies or push them aside he just claimed his power. If the genders were reversed he would have been the protagonist.
@@unkemptjargon91 Victim of his environment? So then, a man cheated on has NO choice except to unleash hell on his S.O. and her lover? A wrongly convicted man has NO choice except to extract violent revenge? The world is full of injustice, my friend...and there is ALWAYS more than one choice. Most are just too angry and whiney to care enough to try to find the best one.
I think that if people use the term "toxic masculinity" then they should also use the term "toxic femininity", or they would be hypocrites.
But yes, toxicity is the real issue.
More people should be egalitarians, the alternative is being sexist, which most people are.
It's emotional manipulation that's what makes it toxic. This conversation is coming up in this movie because this movie is literally framed around the gender divide conversation. The movie literally set itself up for being analyzed in this way. Kind of the whole point of the movie.
I read “it’s like I’m a woman already” as a reaction to realizing she still wanted to protect Ken’s feelings (didn’t want to hurt him) even though he abused her (took her house, etc). I never heard her read of that line as revenge and scheming is what women do, it’s giving second third fourth fifth chances and walking on eggshells to not hurt the guy who treats us like crap because we see the good in them.
Barbie literally used to let Ken sleep on the street and didn't give a s*** what happened to him and you're trying to say that Ken is the one that's abusive. You're the problem
I just wish people could realize that no one is calling masculinity itself toxic. They're calling out toxic masculinity. Two different things.
So powerful what you said about words and one's inner voice. I feel a lot of people need to learn that. It might just be words to them, but that doesn't mean they won't have an effect on someone.
I'm so glad that you touched on the Ken side of the Barbie movie. I did have it air of disappointment that while yes the kens got some kind of representation but no power. No actual say in the governing of Barbie land. It was so... soul crushing in a way.
I do love the Barbie movie and its critics. Like how Barbie never wanted or needed a romantic relationship, how ken needed to find who he is without Barbie, how Barbieland isn't perfect, its just a role reversal of the real world with a PG 13 lense.
But at the same time Ken was treated almost like an accessory that gained sentience and decided he wanted to be off the shelf, and on the arm of his owner.
Haven't seen the movie yet, but love the idea of making a movie where toxic behaviors that are normally thought of as being how how toxic males treat women, and role reversing them to a toxic female tweeting males the same way, in order to show how such behavior is toxic, would be both a fun and effective way of making a point.
Dancing around the fact that the barbies took advantage of the loving and compassionate nature of the kens. That's why men never open up and allow themselves to be vulnerable.
I found it disingenuous when it came to the Presidents speech about Barbie land changing when they can’t event give the Kens one seat on the Supreme Court. They say it’s because the power women have in our society, but last time I checked there are women in the Supreme Court. I found it rather insulting to the great accomplishments women have done. A lot of the movie brings up different issues but how some are treated it’s very poorly done.
Exactly I personally find that pretty petty and defeatist. Petty like the lines like saying kids only give crap to their mothers and fathers never have to deal with stuff like that somehow.
Yes, Women are on the Supreme Court, but not until 1981. 63 years after the first Female Judge in the US court system, 111 years after the first female justice of the peace, and 333 years after the first woman became a lawyer. The point is surprise! Women are less powerful than one would think. They may be female justices now and such a thing is not odd, but it took years and a relatively incremental pace for that to happen.
i'm really happy you tackled the toxic traits barbie has and the backwards messages this movie has. a lot of people can't see the problems with it and praise it uncritically
thank you for enjoying that = )
I honestly have no desire to see this movie, however I did enjoy this analysis of it.
i think a really important part of the film is when Ken says that he simply told the Barbie's about the patriarchy and they jumped on the bandwagon. there was no manipulation or stripping of power, he told them about it and they basically agreed. if anything Ken's way is fairer because everyone but one Barbie and Alan agree and are happy
The moral in my heart is that oppressors often discredit the oppressed and where people are punching across or down we're avoiding looking up at the real problems. 💜 💜
What I find most disturbing is the result of the successful manipulation of the Kens emotions.
The result is a coup that results in the oppression of a minority (by which I mean that canonical there is a barbie for every barbie doll made and a Ken for every Ken doll made and the range is incredibly barbie majority by numbers).
The start of the film is the barbies literally run everything and the kens don't even have a house to go to at the end of their days doting on barbies.
Then the kens literally do the exact same to them. The kens do whatever they want like the barbies did. The kens follow their dreams (Okay, they are much more universal than the barbies, but the variety isn't the point), and the barbies dote on them the exact same way the kens were for them.
And after the counter coup it goes back to the barbies in charge and the kens literally are denied representation unilaterally by Queen empress of the world barbie. No votes involved so it's not a democracy, its a sovereignship.
All in all its literally a really powerful way to examine the problems in our world and a great movie. I really enjoy these kinds of cultural reflection movies. It's fun to imagine the whole movie the other way around and see how I feel about the story.
Just in your head switch it so the kens have the property and emotionally abuse the barbies who are literally made to simp for them at the start, then the barbies do a coup switching it up so all the barbies can do stereotypical girly stuff while the kens simp for them until beech Ken comes back and teaches the other kens to take back control by causing catfights during an election.
It gets really weird and uncomfortable in a way the movie as it is doesn't.
A similar thought experiment is to switch the sexes in the movie Titanic. Very interesting changes in my opinion.
Thanks this has to be the best criticism of this movie I've heard.
Generalizations aren't always a bad thing when speaking in general
Well said. Moral of the story we can all do better. If we want to
Manipulation is manipulation. I agree. Gender is irrelevant. Toxicity is toxicity. Don't settle.
Fantastic video love the analysis of the Barbie’s plan.
Thank you 🤗
As always interesting video. I didn’t see the film, was watching Oppenheimer in the opposite hall, psst he’d be an amazing character to cover too
An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind. But nobody wants to watch a fully self actualized character make all the right decisions. It’s a movie. But the fact that something similar to this happens in every other movie, but this one gets the attention is quite telling
I never knew I'd be so interested in the geopolitical landscape of Barbieland
I have first hand experience where people tried to use my kindness as weakness.
And the question "if people who is in power doesn't give others a say it wrong if the inverse is true"
Fact is there is already people who doesn't have a say.
Another fact is people who has power shouldn't be in power because all they care about is power and using power to help themselves.
So if the people who doesn't have a voice and they take power and not give the other side power or a voice it fare game to me.
Life isn't fare. You still can be empathic but do what you need to
Survive. Do what I do shut off your empathy. How you might ask?
Simple think back to your trauma,
The people who hurt you, the messed up situations you found yourself in, the people you helped and thar backstabed you.
And remember what you said to yourself. "I will never let anyone hurt me again"
Now I must warn you when you do this at first it is scarry.
You seeing your darkness for the first time, seeing your rage, the coldness and even things that words hasn't been invented to describe this darkness.
You will pull yourself back and be like WTF was that!
But do it enough times it gets easier.
And also easier to control and to shape so you can plot and plan
In that cold unfeeling way.
You know what? Don't listen to me
I am fuked up waaay to much trauma and yes I'm getting help for it. To be honest don't turn out like me. I got lost in that darkness.
Don't let your light go out, just be a good person. Try to do what is right. Just remember
In this world there are Demons with beautiful familiar faces and Angel covered in blood and scars.
Fallow the Angel's.
But if you are one of the Angel's
Don't let your light go out or you'll be lost in the dark like me.
So much damn Metaphor! Lol
agree 100% - only agreements where each side will say "I am happy with this!" are good deals. relationships based on extortion and toxicity will only have negativity to them.
It was a Rorschach test and a lot of people failed it. Because they wanted to see what they wanted to see
I’m really eating these videos. I would love to hear a breakdown on Allan from you, your takes are so deep and nuanced.
I think that framing things as toxically feminine or masculine has its utility because it helps us better nail down how our masculinity and femininity can be both positive and negative. There are plenty of things we didn't even realize were toxic until we started to think of it in the context of masculine and feminine. So I think it's still useful, but it probably get overused a lot when it's not really necessary, and probably is better left to more nuanced context like academic settings for example.
Thanks for addressing these controversies about the Barbie movie.
A compliment from a week ago is already forgotten.
A condemnation from 30 years ago is still ringing in our ears.
Thank you for making this video. It needed to be said.
Honestly, this Barbie movie almost gave me another depressing episode. I think the message of "We need to know who we are alone, without anyone else." is really sad, I don't think that women and men should live separated.
"It's like I'm a woman already" does not refer to her using Kens emotions against him. It refers to her bad consciousness about that. To "I don't want to hurt him no matter what he did to me".
Not that I argue that she is justified. But it was a much stronger point than how you interpreted it, in my opinion.
14:21
Related to others’ wrongdoing, I recall a video about the live action Cinderella where Ella’s line to her stepmother at the end of the movie “I forgive you” doesn’t mean that what the stepmother did was ok, rather that Ella is moving past the treatment and leaving her stepmom with the guilt and weight of what she did. So when you tell someone you forgive him or her, you have dealt with it and are leaving it behind you, and it’s up to that person to process it for himself or herself.
Great vid
So, my take on the toxic feminist in this movie is going to be a bit different, but I’m gonna say it because I don’t think it’s been spoken about. We all talk about the toxic feminism that was shown, but what about towards women and relationships in general? You know, it’s not all about the Kens, but I’ll get back to that.
I feel like the interpersonal relationships between women in this movie was just extremely toxic and that really disappointed me when I first saw the film. For instance, when Barbie started to become “real” and Weird Barbie told her about how she was going to have to reconnect with the little girl who owned the Barbie doll back in the real world. I thought, “Oh, this can be a nice movie about sisterhood and mentorship between older and younger women.” But oh, no. They certainly didn’t go that route. 😒 As soon as Barbie met the teenager, the teen girl was mean, rude, aggressive, and just overly hostile to Barbie for no reason. She blamed Barbie for the patriarchy and being a “symbol” for women everywhere instead of realizing that Barbie was just being herself and that she was just as much of victim of the patriarchy as other women were. Maybe that became shown somewhat towards the end with Barbie’s breakdown, but I was appalled that the teenager didn’t apologize for her harsh treatment of Barbie when they first met. I mean, is that not a sign of toxic feminity? Hating on the pretty girl because she’s what society claims to want and you’re not? So, yeah, the sisterhood was definitely dead in this movie and so was motherhood as well.
And that brings me to my next big complain in this movie. The portrayal of motherhood in this movie or lack thereof was honestly and truly sad. Like, this movie was honestly less about “Barbie” and more about women’s role is society. And isn’t not one of our roles to be mothers? Isn’t that one of the biggest political issues right now? 🤔 So, I question why Mattel’s pregnant Mildred was only given like 10 mins of screen time throughout the whole 2 hour film. Like, honestly, why couldn’t we have a positive representation of a woman, Mildred, who actually wanted to be a mom and was happy being pregnant? Why would could we use Mildred as being a positive mother figure for other young Barbie characters like Chelsea and/or Skipper? We already had the whole negative view of motherhood with the America Ferrera’s character having that broken relationship with her moody and distant teenage daughter. (which is honestly a cliché at this point, because I am feeling overwhelmed at the amount of movies that show a parent struggling with their teen. 😒 Not all parent-teen relationships are toxic, you know.) Anyway, I would like to see a different perspective on motherhood from Mildred and I think it would have been very interesting/thought-proving to show the two mothers at different stages in their motherhood and having vastly different yet equally valid experiences from each other. I feel like this is demonization and putting down the desire to be moms is another part of the toxic feminism in our culture. And I, as a woman who wants kids, am feeling truly exhausted by all the “Mommy Negativity” that I’ve been bombarded with in today’s tv shows and films. And yes, I understand that not all women want to be moms and that’s fine, but would it really be so bad to be reminded that it’s okay to actually WANT children as well? 🤔
And lastly, I really hate that they didn’t make Barbie and Ken be a couple in this movie. And that was why I had the biggest sympathy for Ken and the biggest confusion for Barbie and her treatment of Ken. Like, he’s her boyfriend and nobody is going to tell me otherwise. He was literally made for her and I…truly don’t get why they made Barbie asexual in this movie. Like, she didn’t want anybody. Not Ryan’s Ken or even any of the other Kens. I think this movie was just determined to not be about romance at all and I feel like this is another sign of toxic feminism. It’s okay to want to be in love and have romantic relationships. And I feel like it’s silly that I have to say that in 2024, but it’s the truth. Now, I get that maybe the message that they were probably going for was that a woman doesn’t need a man to be happy, but I feel like they could’ve done it better way. Like, maybe they could’ve shown some of the other Barbies in relationships with the other Kens. Maybe some of the relationships could’ve been positive while others were negative and maybe they could shown Barbie not wanting any of that. Or maybe they could started the film out with Barbie and Ken already being in an established relationship, but have Ken be this total jerk of guy who doesn’t truly love Barbie, but loves the idea of having a pretty, status symbol on his arm. And maybe as Barbie grows to know her own worth, she breaks up with this jerky Ken and decides to love herself instead. 🤷🏽♀️ Is it cliché? Sure it is, but some cliches work and it’s definitely a better story than just having Barbie turn down her soulmate for no good reason. I’m sorry, but as someone who has been burned by hookup culture, it’s so refreshing and nice to see stories of guys, like Ken, who actually want the girl and wants to keep her. We don’t get guys like this anymore, so I’m sorry that his love was wasted on her. 😔 So, yeah, rant over. 😅 This was just my thoughts on toxic feminism. Although I agree with a lot of the points made in this film, I feel like toxic feminism goes a lot deeper than what was shown and how the writers actually treated women in this movie.
THANK YOU for the reminder that toxic behavior is not inherently gendered.
There are specific trends in how insecurities are expressed by different types of people. But generally critics invest far too much in attributing everything to simplistic categories, like gender. The potential shittiness of people transcends the gender-binary lol
you're welcome I think it is an important topic
Georgia! I love your reading of this Movie and I wished a lot more people would have this approach to watching things and think and analyze them even if they don't come to the same conclusion. I find that in a lot of the online discourse, the lack of acknowledgement of the things laid out in front of you was a major issue.
Barbie was a warped representation of our world and a fictional one as well! Supporting more Mme Dow /o/
I found this video really heartwarming, thank you!
I'm so glad!