Barbie As Cultural Moment
Published
3-10-2024
Type of Work
Presentation (Seminar, forum, etc)
Advisors and Contributors
Dr Lola Montgomery & Dr Corinna DiNiro
Abstract
Barbie Unboxed: femmephobia on the big screen.
The 2023 debut of Barbie sparked extensive debate within and beyond the film industry, with characters such as Weird Barbie and the protagonist Barbie (un)intentionally emphasising the need for broader representation of women in cinema. This paper delves into how these debates reveal persistent challenges in portraying women on screen and how entrenched masculine attitudes and narratives hinder the portrayal of strong female characters, ultimately reinforcing patriarchal ideals and norms.
To explore these issues, we employ duoethnography, a collaborative research methodology where researchers juxtapose their life histories (Norris & Sawyer, 2012, p. 9). Duoethnography invites collaborative writing in play script format to explore and reshape meaning (Given, 2012, p. 8). Through this process, we delve into the popular and social media discourse around Barbie, and seek to unbox what the film, and its reception tell us about existing tensions involving gender, sexuality, and power in this cultural moment. Following Agamben (1993, p.58) we utilise the figure of a childhood toy to probe fundamental issues surrounding subjectivity and objecthood.
Our presentation contributes to this ongoing discourse, highlighting the importance of addressing cultural resistance to promote gender equality in the film industry.
Citation
DiNiro, C & Montgomery, L. (2024) Barbie As Cultural Moment. Creo.