This Barbie Is An Evangelist
So why is the Barbie Movie causing so many Christian commentators to lose their minds?!
“Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving”
Is this how we Christians can be with contemporary culture sometimes, especially popular Christian commentators? Shocking myself, (I’ve never been a fan of Barbie or pink), I’ve become increasingly concerned at the sneering, sniggering, rejecting, churlish tone of many Christians speaking about the movie. Such as how keen they are to point out everything wrong with the movie, in a way that I don’t see them doing for other current movies. Even some claiming to discuss the movie seriously and fairly seem to do a 360 degree turn (and drop many hints about having seen Oppenheimer to show that they are legit)…Why the shame, the embarrassment, why are so few outing themselves and revealing…that they enjoyed it, and that it even has some Christian messages? Greta Gerwig has even talked about created a spiritual movie with heart, that she was creating an obvious ‘fall in Paradise’ dilemma as part of the movie.
Rather than going into apocalyptic critic mode, we should rejoice — we have both Barnenheimer — both movies offering us material about the meaning of life, about the fragility and purpose of human lives, of being created.
This Barbie…Is A Gift of A Movie
The Barbie Movie is a perfect launchpad for many sermons and talks, for chats and convos. Not that church or church services should be built around name dropping every popular thing, (U2 I’m looking at you); but the Barbie Movie is a phenomena. It is the highest grossing box office debut ever for a movie directed by a woman thus far and teetering on joining the top ten highest grossing movies. The majority of people have seen about it, heard about it, can’t get that Dua Lipa song out of their heads/streams and even if they avoided it by going to Oppenheimer, there it was still in the trailers. Both the movie and Greta Gerwig have also created a spiritual core in it, which is a fantastic launch for any churchy folk wanting to speak to movie watching folks who don’t like church or even think about church. Though not everyone — you gotta know your culture.
This Barbie…Talks About Spiritual Things…
Stereotypical she may be, but she is thinking about higher, deeper things. ‘Do you ever think about dying?’ Soon she has to think about ageing and what beauty is. Later on, what she, and indeed Beach Ken, were made for, indeed what it means to be made, and all the Barbies and Kens think deeply about community and how they treat each other. They even go on a journey to meet their ‘maker(s)’ in the form of Mattel (deceitful and dangerous), Ruth Handler (comforting creator and soothing bringer of tea) and Gloria, whose thoughts are having some very disturbing results on Stereotypical Barbie. It’s all like Paradise Lost or Pilgrim’s Progress, but in pink plastic.
This Barbie (and Ken) Ask… Who Am I?
Along with the disco bop of Dua Lipa, it’s everywhere — Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For?’ and this is what Barbie, Ken and indeed Weird Barbie ask throughout the movie. Although initially Barbie wants to ask ‘Why is this happening to me?’ and stop there — she doesn’t want to know.
From enjoying perfect environment, troubled Stereotypical Barbie works out what it means to be human, to think differently, what her purpose is and what heart, what it means to be a woman, gendered, embodied. Similarly Gloria and her daughter are also on a journey of discovery, whilst Ken has to learn to be independent and embrace who he is, with all the Kenergy. To be Ken, not Ken-and-Barbie. Meanwhile the Barbies have to seriously reconsider how they treat their accessories unequally and perhaps take the Kens for granted as well as being unkind, othering ‘Weird Barbie’.
Ultimately (Ken’s library foray and job try-out’s aside), they all end up going to a Maker to ask those questions — ‘what’s it all about?’ Throughout the Bible, with more oomph than a cosy kitchen and tea, who we are and who God is is compared and contrasted, along with God’s desire for right relationship with us, as well as justice for the world He made and we inhabit. I’m still shocked by reading of God’s puzzlement at human’s desire to murder — He’s shocked, He doesn’t get it, He doesn’t willingly take a life in revenge or cruelty or just because. Barbie (though unwillingly) asks the question ‘why are we here and why isn’t the world working as it should?’
Additionally, it also gives us a killer discussion line when Barbie talks about how all the things that we think make us, don’t!
We could also say:
This Barbie Asks… Who Are You?
In their segregation of and deep othering of ‘Weird Barbie’, Midge etc, the Barbie movie gives us cause to stop and think. Who are we rejecting, ostracising and othering? Who are we irrationally angry at in the manner of Barbie rejecting ‘Weird Barbie’ for being ugly and malfunctioning, when she’s being kind and concerned about her in her existential crisis.
Are we being like Mattel and trying to put inconvenient things, people, ideas back in their boxes? Or are we seeking, like Jesus, to include, listen, respect, disagree well, to love, to reconsider the words we use of others? One of the most powerful moments in the movie for me is when President Barbie apologises to Weird Barbie for calling her ‘Weird’ (to her face and behind her back and to others). As Jesus said, it is the ‘others’ who show us who we are, what motivates us and who we’re following. Viz, how we treat little children, are we forbidding them to come to Jesus and telling them to be quiet and go away? Or the economically disadvantaged, the ‘widow’ — do we care with dignity and love or do we oppress and send them away?
Jesus too asks us ‘who we are’ and ‘who we’re following?’ Barbie demonstrates this beautifully when she tells a much older lady that ‘she’s beautiful’ and the lady says ‘I know’. Being able to see and listen, give value to others that the world doesn’t value is a gift!
This Barbie..Sets Us An Example
Once Gloria preaches her truth of being a real woman, the truth sets Stereotypical Barbie and eventually all the other Barbies free. Once they know something, someone, they don’t keep it to themselves, but go and share with others to save, rescue, defend and protect. But it also impacts the here and now too — in light of what they know now, the Barbies reconsider how they treat the Kens, the role of the Kens in Barbie Land and how they’ve othered and marginalised some of the community. Ironically they mimic the real world in allocating a seat to one Ken, but it’s a start. This Barbie shares good news!
She is also really clear in letting her ‘yes’s be yes and her no’s be no’. She does not condone nor remain in coercive, controlling or unwanted relationships. Her statements of intent and consent to Ken throughout are clear, she says what she does and doesn’t want, and Ken listens and respects them.
This Barbie…Seeks Peace…
With others, such as in her reconciliation chat with Ken and apologising for taking him for granted. Yet she doesn’t put up with abusive or crude behaviour — such as on the beach in the real world. Nor does she promote aggression, stopping the Kens from ‘beaching’ each other off. Her image and values may be offensive to others, but she has not deliberately set out to offend.. (y’all can discuss this offline!) Barbie evangelist seeks to be at peace with her neighbours as far as is reasonable, but is also not afraid to challenge authority (Mattel putting her back in a box) or to call out poor behaviour. Whilst she is willing to apologise where she has been at fault, she also seeks to move forward and promote healthy relationships (Barbie/Ken style atleast).
Similarly Jesus didn’t go around picking fights. His words, deeds and behaviours were offensive to some — because they saw the truth of where their values and their hearts lay. Yet, when He felt led by the Father, he would call out the religious leaders of the day, the rich, even his own disciples and family. But it was done in love, righteousness and justice, not to start a Twitter/X-pile-on.
Even with her rival movie release, Barbie seeks peace with her potential enemies, viz Barbenheimer. We can agree to disagree well and with dignity and love those pitted against us, without learning to love the bomb they bring.
This Barbie…Is Not A Prophet
When Barbie goes to the real world, she is dismissed and mocked by the girls she thinks they’ve been building a better world for. She also gets all kinds of attention for the way she looks and arrested several times because she doesn’t understand consumerist systems. The Barbies in Barbie Land think they’ve fixed everything, demonstrated that girls can do anything, be anything, tht equal rights and feminism/female empowerment are done deals. Ergo that there is now universal perfect empowered environment, just as they are enjoying in their every day a perfect day world. They also think that their liturgy (fashion, fun, ‘Hi Barbie’, matriarchy/Barbie power, imagination, highly choreographed blow-out dance parties, every night is girl’s night) works for everyone and forever. But where do the Kens go? and wait ’til they encounter Gloria’s new Barbie designs…
Ken meanwhile realises that there is a patriarchy, that he as a male can be a source of knowledge, hierarchy and notice (i.e. the keeper of time and therefore listened to). This prompts him to take some muddled ideas back to Barbie Land, launching a Ken coup and establishing Ken-dom. Whilst it’s been argued that patriarchy can’t be used because there are no children here — Midge aside! I’d like to take a bigger look at the term patriarchy. In the Bible, to be patriarchal was meant to be a good, protective, safe thing — it was to model the loving Fatherly leadership of God to the people of God — in the nation of Israel and ultimately all the nations and peoples of the world. It was not meant to be bad, oppressive, cruel, a term of abuse thrown around as loosely as the word fascist. Ken is on a huge journey of learning not only who he is and what as well as who he was made for, but also of using his power, his Kenergy for good, for the flourishing of all, rather than revenge.
As well as considering how we serve and what/who we serve, The Barbie Movie also shakes up co-dependency — rather than having a world without men (like some 1960’s Bond movies), evangelist Barbie wants us to reconcile. One of the sweetest moments is when Barbie seeks Ken out, having brought down the mojo dojo casa house empire and restored Barbie rule. She seeks to comfort and reconcile, without pandering to him. Ken also admits that he’d based his rule on flakey knowledge of male oppression — something to do with horses? (and lost interest when it didn’t?) Ken, like Barbie, has to realise what he’s been made for, who he really is beyond Barbie’s gaze and that he, like Barbie, can do anything! (Looking more deeply, not all the Barbies reject their Kens, and even the warring Kens are reconciled in a dance spectacular). No-one is ‘just’ anything….
This Barbie…Is Not Anti-Men or Anti-Ken…
A big grenade lobbed at the Barbie movie is that it’s anti-men, anti-marriage, anti-relationships. Instead the movie should cause us to think about regimes, nations, people groups where one gender, ethnicity or class have all the power and what it does. By the end of the movie the Barbies and Kens are working together more positively than ever before, and not all Barbies want to be without their Kens — just Stereotypical Barbie has become less stereotypical perhaps, and Ken is now seeking out healthier and less controlling and destructive ways of relating. (Like not taking over Barbie Land, demanding beer and covering everything in horses). To be fair it’s also Barbie Land and there’s heaps of irony in here, such as the Spanish learning Dad is laughed at for being so hidden behind his tech. (Is this any more offensive than the clutzy housewife in ‘I Love Lucy?’)
I did hugely resonate when all the Kens proclaimed ‘Let us show you!’ The cultural show and tell has been too one-sided for far too long in some cultures and societies.
This Barbie…Wants Us To Be More Allan/Alan
Allan or Alan is a lone ranger (not deliberately, he’s just the only one), and yet he allies with the Barbies, fights the oppressive Ken regime and their leather sofas, positively inputting into the community. If we are, like Alan/Allan, made uniquely, but don’t know why or what for, why we are the only one in a particular place or time — what a waste of life, a waste of Kenergy?
Ultimately whose truth are we listening to? Is it Barbie Land, Ken + horses patriarchy, one of the makers/creators (Mattel, Ruth), is it Gloria and how the world is and how it could be? Whilst out here in the real world it may be none of the above, the Barbie Movie highlights a spiritual truth — that we all serve someone or something, that we are all listening to cultural influences, that we don’t exist in isolation. Like Ken, we are also invited to reflect upon those influences, and not only what they’re doing to us, but to others. Noticeably in the movie, Alan/Allan is one of the first to notice that Ken-dom is not good and to want to change it. (Although he mostly does this by fleeing the scene!)
In the collective losing of minds in some Christian quarters, a deeper question needs to be asked. [Adopts voice of Helen Mirren as narrator] How are we deciding what is ‘good’ and ‘bad’ culture? What motivates us, what guides us, even who? Why is Disney (which can be deeply self-centred and individualistic) ‘ok’, along with Argo, Dunkirk, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Oppenheimer and Band of Brothers for Christians? While Barbie (an obviously spiritual and question asking movie) is not?
Is it because it is a movie by a woman for women, celebrates womanhood, but also for everyone? Is it because it’s based on a toy, and therefore seen as trivial? Is it because Barbies and Kens are doing their own thing in the movie, and not co-dependent (apart from ‘Just Beach’ Ken, aside). Are we developing a narrow cultural vision rather embracing what is a gift? Why is a movie which displays some shocking attitudes in its portrayal of women being so lauded (the other half of Barbenheimer) and Barbie dismissed?
Cheekily I would suggest: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Because in seeing what we think we see, we are missing the good and the obvious! Though as a cultural object, Barbie is still just a movie and not the Bible or Jesus. Yet there is so much here to be embraced and considered, if we follow the way of Barbie the evangelist.
Enjoyed reading this article?! Support my writing at: https://ko-fi.com/susanadventuresinculture
