BARBIE Movie Breakdown! - Easter Eggs and Deeper Meaning EXPLAINED

Barbie movie breakdown is here! So on top of all the easter eggs, references, and little things you may have missed, we also want to explain how the film's final scenes bring this hyper-femme coming-of-age story full circle, showing us not only where the capitalistic approach to feminism fails but also how true beauty comes from our own imperfections.

Edited by Randolf Nombrado, Lee Mazzio, and Brianna McLarty

#Barbie #Breakdown #EasterEggs

Barbie is a lot more than just a chew toy, Doug, and if this movie proves anything, she's a lot more than just a human toy! She’s a pop culture icon, and has been an influence to children across the globe for over 60 years!

The film is filled with deep Barbie cuts, and equally deep commentary on the transition from girlhood to womanhood. [clip]The final scenes are not only emblematic of the film's lighthearted and comedic approach to complex topics but its also perfectly encapsulate Barbie's metaphorical journey into womanhood.

Doug: in that case, shouldn't we have a woman talking about this?

Well, Doug, as the only employee in this shop, I may not be the Barbie you need, but I am the Ken you deserve…

Doug: Valid point… carry on

Now if you saw any of the film's trailers before seeing it in theaters, then Barbie is precisely what it says on the box - pun intended.

On paper, Barbie's ending is pretty cut and dry. The final scene of the film has Barbie introducing herself as Barbra Handler, seeking an appointment with a gynecologist.

This is a calls back to one of the first scenes in the real world, where Barbie and ken specifically distinguish themselves as different from “real people” because “they don't have genitals”

She has a brand new identity of her own, “Barbra Handler,” - which combines the last name of her creator, Ruth Handler, and the first name of her daughter - the same daughter who was the original inspiration for Barbie.

“Becoming a woman” - biologically speaking - is more than just a clever joke about the immediate need for women’s healthcare and bodily autonomy. It represents the culmination of Barbie's journey film's core message. While it speaks explicitly to the female experience it has a profound message that can resonate with anyone who sees themselves as less than perfect.

Doug: Even Doggos?

Of course, Doug. I mean its Greta Gerwig

Doug: The climate activist who sailed across the world and took down Andrew tate?

Different Greta Doug. Gerwing is known for her - anti-corporate coming-of-age stories, and Barbie is certainly no exception. However, there are also some distinctive sci-fi elements and themes that really distinguish it from her other films.

I mean, Barbie Land is essentially an alternate dimension. The settings and characters are incredibly detailed and visually engaging, but they also create a very Twilight Zone esc Uncanny valley feel, where not everything is as it seems.

Gerwig certainly pays hommage to these elements right out of the Gate, - with the first scene parodying 2001 A Space Odyssey, but with girls instead of monkeys and giant Magot Robbie replacing the ominous monolith.

The swimsuit chosen is not only the one from very first Barbie but also the same one that was she wore the cover of a very controversial ad of Sports Illustrated, with a caption that read, “ I belong here”. It's a perfect fit for not only the beginning of the movie but Barbie's story as well.

There is also a reference to the matrix when Kate Mikennon’s Barbie offers the choice between knowing the truth (Birkenstocks) or returning to her old life (heels), just like the ever-so-classic red pill vs. blue pill.

[darinbourne]

An interesting part is when she saw the older woman... that was probably the first time she saw an older woman in her life and it blew her away.

[KSchorrWriter]

The other insight I liked was that after the Kens experience the Kendom and patriarchy - it doesn't make them happy. Ken talks about how bored he was with the whole thing and all the got from it was conflict - patriarchy and oppression on women isn't just bad for women, it's also bad for men.

[riymeep]

One of the things I really like about this movie (that I originally thought was weird) was how Kens were treated the same way women in the real world are treated. Seeing the Kens all get treated as accessories and toys felt weird. It was unfair how they didn't really get as much respect as the Barbies did. Then I realized it was meant to show how weird real world sexism is. (I know it's pretty obvious, but seeing as I and many other men didn't get it at first, I will explain further). We are used to seeing women be discriminated, it's sad, but we are. It's hard to notice something is wrong when you grew up with it being normal. But what are we not used to, seeing men be treated in the same way. Treated like their dumber or more incompetent and that they aren't capable of the jobs that the opposite gender dominates. By portraying men in that role, we get to truly feel the weirdness and unfairness of it all. That's the reason why so many people are accusing Barbie of showing men as stupid. Those are the people that missed the point of the movie doing so, being to point out how bad and weird any sexism or discrimination is. It's not easy to tell someone something normal to them is wrong, but it becomes a lot easier when you flip the roles and make them see it for what it really is.

[fitzofpassion]

My favorite line from the movie was something like “mothers stand still so that daughters can look back and see how far they’ve gone”. It’s so great at crystallizing the message that Barbie is an idea and a product of her society’s time, every time, with each new iteration. We can look at the Barbie representation from different decades and use it as a measuring stick for how things were generally at that particular time. 1960s Barbie is static in time, standing still, and open to all the criticisms that come with that, but the newest and next Barbie moves the conversation and representation further forward, every time. Like, it’s easy to call the original reductive and over sexualized and whatnot, but without the context of everything that came (or was missing) previously, exclusively baby dolls and a dearth of career and adult woman representation, you are yourself, having unrealistic expectations. We all wish we had burst forth from the head of Zeus in our final form, but that’s not how this works. We can’t be mad at our mothers for not moving the needle enough, only grateful that we can move it further.

[arunkhanna]

This movie was so amazing. Many of us are starved for something different—this was it. And it did it so well. Hilarious, tragic, thought provoking, and has generated so much conversation and reflection. This was an excellent breakdown! Thank you!!

[floridafamilyfun]

This is BY FAR the most in depth and thoughtful reviews of this movie! I'm so tired of seeing the comments from men about how they are feeling attacked by it.

[EricGinsbergMusic]

Surprised you didn’t pick up on the Pinocchio references, where she asks the blue fairy (ghost of Ruth Handler, all dressed in blue) if she could be a real girl.

[jamie]

Another aspect of the film that is interesting is how entitled Ken is regarding Barbie. He is attracted to her in a way she does not reciprocate, and he resents her for not sharing his feelings and tries to punish her for it. He sings about whether he is destined to live and die a life of blonde fragility, which I think represents fragile masculinity, as he feels entitled to Barbie simply because he is attracted to her and chooses to dominate her world instead of seeking validation within himself when he is rejected. It's completely within his control to respect her choice and find meaning in his life elsewhere, but he tries to take everything from her and gets caught up competing with other men instead of stepping back to better understand himself, all while blaming her for it. I know that women can do this too, but it's an interesting representation of objectification of women and the entitlement men display when their feelings aren't reciprocated toward someone they are attracted to.

[sydposting]

One of my favorite parts about this movie was this little moment towards the end, when one of the Kens asks President Barbie if he can have a seat on the Supreme Court, and she says he can maybe get a position on a lower circuit. My knee-jerk reaction was "That doesn't seem fair, shouldn't there be equal representation of Kens and Barbies in government?" But then I remembered the scene from earlier in the movie where Ken in the Real World wanted to be a doctor despite having no experience, and it clicked for me: you don't get a seat on the Supreme Court right out of law school. Rather than denying Ken a position and maintaining the status quo, he's given a more realistic place to start.

(Love seeing the continued solidarity for the workers on strike on this channel, by the way! Pay your writers!!)

[ashleyarias]

Gloria’s husband is supposed to be another Ken but from the real world. He’s an unnamed accessory that is mostly taken for granted until the very end when he gets a moment of recognition and development similar to many of the Kens.

[CelticNickC]

People’s takes on the Barbie movie is now the easiest decider on personality types 😂. As many others here have said, it’s insanely refreshing to see a quality review of the movie and how to watch it

[kidalex]

If I had a nickel for everytime Will Farrell played an evil business man in a licensed toy movie, I'd have two nickels. It's not a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

[robstein]

Barbie and Ken leaving Barbie land and entering the real world reminded me of the Nightmare Before Christmas (with Ken in the role of Jack… he is appropriating a very surface-level understanding of masculinity… like Jack Skellington and Christmas-land).
There was a a lot of symbolism from Paradise Lost and then Barbie and Ken are an inverse Adam and Eve (Barbie was made first instead of Adam)
Them leaving Eden… crossing the desert / “desert of the real”, (Simulation and Simulacra) and Simone de Beauvoir’s essay on “the Doll” (Barbie is the literal metaphorical doll).

[maja.z.pszczola]

Sasha and her friends are meant to represent the original line Bratz dolls by MGA, Mattel’s biggest doll rival…

[shyyancy]

Wow. I didn’t think you guys would break this down but I’m really happy y’all did thank you !

[Bigbootyboi]

The second I saw "gravik" I thought omg a skrull has infiltrated the barbie dimension!!!

[JPBarosy]

As you usual, great breakdown guys. Surprisingly, I like the movie. Funny moment at the theatre, when I saw the scene where Ken says to Barbie: '' Every night is a boys night'' the man in front of me yelled " Yes!" out loud and the woman next to him told him to shut up. I laugh so much, it was priceless.

[xxPenjoxx]

Will Ferrell's pink shirt mixed with his insanely thorough knowledge of Barbie land andhow to get there made me wonder if he was a Ken who stayed in the human world 😂

[Wooshey_Wooj]

John Cena as one of the mermaid Barbies was great. Along with the movie itself. I can’t really explain it, but it was a hard PG-13. I can’t believe that this wasn’t even remotely a kids movie. Like they were so many scenes that were legitimately hilarious as hell for adults. I feel like the adults enjoyed it more in my theater rather than kids would. Everybody clapped at the end of my theater. And yet this works perfectly at the end with the gynecologist joke because yeah they don’t have genitals like they said, but still hilarious. It didn’t feel pandering when it came to toxic masculinity and being a woman.

[sonjal]

It was really hard not to cry during America Ferrera's speech. She said it all.