Barbie discovers the patriarchy Pt. 2

[niyad]

Barbie discovers the patriarchy Pt. 2
Hannah Irvine | January 25, 2024

The 2024 Oscar nominations were released on Tuesday after a long build up of speculation of which movies would take the top spots. “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” have been pitted against each other since their release, breaking box office records and earning rave reviews, and were expected to win big. Apart from being released on the same day, the two movies have very little in common. Notably, Christopher Nolan’s three hour blockbuster doesn’t include a hit Nicki Minaj song like Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” However, their statistics were watched closely and the two became a well known pair with “Barbenheimer” trending throughout the summer of 2023.

Regardless of their creative differences, one is very clear. The “Oppenheimer” team is majority male, while the “Barbie” team is majority female. “Oppenheimer” received thirteen nominations, including the highly sought after Best Director and Best Actor, while “Barbie” received eight nominations, with none in those two categories. When Margot Robbie, who played the title character of a film that has been nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year, is not nominated for an Oscar, but her male co-star is, it becomes extraordinarily clear that there is a problem. When Greta Gerwig who wrote and directed the film only receives a nomination for Adapted Screenplay, but not for Best Director, the problem becomes even more painfully obvious. Gerwig even set a new record for the highest-grossing female-directed film at the domestic box office, but that is clearly not enough to earn a top nomination.

Ryan Gosling, who played Ken, released a statement in response to the snub: “There is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no “Barbie” movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film. No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius. To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.”

The Oscars have long received harsh criticism for their lack of diversity and, although some very welcome changes have been made over the years, there are still fundamental issues within the list of nominees year after year. In the award show’s 94-year history, only two women have ever been named Best Director. The irony of the nomination saga is excruciating. With “Barbie” acting as a social commentary on misogyny, this snub was simply too on the nose for fans. The plot of “Barbie” is quite simple: Barbie discovers the patriarchy. Life imitates art.

https://feminist.org/news/barbie-discovers-the-patriarchy-pt-2/

[catrose]

1. And I am still trying to figure out what Barbie was adapted from.

A doll and her accessories seems like a stretch. No plot there. The children provided their own plots.

[Silver Gaia]

3. i wondered about that, too.

Evidently, Gerwig says it is partially based on the book Reviving Ophelia.

IMDb: The Barbie Movie Is Partially Based On A Best-Selling Book, Greta Gerwig Reveals

[catrose]

5. That's a big stretch!

I thought Adaptation was a big stretch from Susan Orlean's Orchid but sheesh.

[Silver Gaia]

6. I agree!

But Greta said this herself in that interview. She probably just meant that it was an influence!

[Silver Gaia]

2. This pisses me off highly! I noticed this right away

when I read the nominations. This is a HUGE snub, and an insult to all women. I have no doubt there will be some comments, if not speeches, about this at the awards. Kudos to Gosling for speaking out, but he shouldn't have had to. This was Oscar-worthy!

I went to the theater to see this with my daughter (yes, we wore pink) and we both thought it was an stunning achievement by Greta Gerwig, and especially because people (women anyway) were responding with such enthusiasm. It struck a note, a note that evidently offended some powerful men in Hollywood. Unforgivable.

Thanks for posting this, niyad.

[niyad]

4. You are most welcome. The friend with whom I saw "Barbie" when it first

came out, and I, watched it on her streaming service yesterday, and loved it even more. We were so outraged by the snub that we just had to.

[Silver Gaia]

7. My daughter and I watched it again

streaming, too. In fact, I bought a digital copy to support Greta, et al, and so that we can rewatch it any time. My hubby watched it with us for his first time, and he loved it, too!

In the theater, that opening scene that nodded to 2001 delighted me! I did not expect that. It made me roar with laughter because THAT was about ME. I felt so validated. I detested baby dolls and defaced them by drawing on them with ink pens, much to my mom's dismay. I think my younger brother played with them some, but not me. And my first Barbie was just like that giant "monolith" Barbie. I did love her. So, from that point on, I loooved this movie.

[wolfie001]

8. This is subtle revenge from the folks that.....

.....covered for H. Weinstein and others for decades. They're still there, just a little more discreet. Many have their own skeletons. As that Disney tune went: "A tale as old as time, Beauty and the Hollywood producer"...........

[niyad]

9. You made a most excellent point, and thank you.

[wolfie001]

10. Thank you!

You're a 100,000 posts club member so I feel honored!

[niyad]

11. You are most welcome. Regardless of post count, I continue to be in awe

of so many of our members, and the insights and knowledge (and humour!) that they share with us.

[TSExile]

12. Barbie could easily have been a much darker movie.

The movie was brilliant satire wrapped up in beautiful pink paper. I am glad it was a comedy, because I feel it could have easily been darker.

I just ordered a new T-shirt in baby pink, with "smash the patriarchy" written across the front in the Barbie font. I wore another baby pink T-shirt with a hot pink Venus symbol on it when I saw the movie in the theater with two friends. What a great experience. ♀️