Amid a bl0w-out commercial and critical response to her $145 million “Barbie” movie, director Greta Gerwig briefly noted the ongoing online bashing taking place amid right-wing circles.
Speaking to “The New York Times” amid a comprehensive conversation about the film, Gerwig was asked if she expected the negative reaction from right-wingers.
“No, I didn’t,” she stated. “Certainly, there’s a lot of passion. My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men.”
The alleged backlash to “Barbie,” including conservative commentator Ben Shapiro showing up to theaters ironically dressed like Ken and then posting a 43-minute video rant about its alleged sins, is unfortunately par for the course in the modern pop culture landscape.
Even Elon Musk joined the anti-“Barbie” discourse, posting on “X” that “If you take a shot every time Barbie says the word ‘Patriarchy,’ you will pass out before the movie ends.” Meanwhile, Charlie Kirk was just one of many conservative pundits outraged by the casting of trans actress Hari Nef as “Doctor Barbie.”
Almost like clockwork, whenever a major piece of IP arrives that is either comparatively more inclusive than its predecessors or seemingly aimed at demographics beyond hetero-white men, there is at least a segment of the population that takes it as a personal slight against them.
At least since “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which saw online “backlash” to a “Star Wars” story starring actors who looked like Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, the likes of “Ghostbusters,” “Wonder Woman,” “Captain Marvel,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power,” “Turning Red,” “The Little Mermaid” and now “Barbie” have been beset by online chatter arguing that the films were anti-men, pandering to underrepresented demographics and/or somehow inappropriate for children.
The good news is that in most circumstances, the films or television shows in question were still blockbuster hits. Now “Barbie,” with $214 million in domestic earnings in just five days, is on track to be one of the year’s biggest-grossing movies.
With strong reviews, an A from Cinemascore and thus far overly positive word of mouth from paying consumers, the so-called controversy around the Margot Robbie/Ryan Gosling film is confined to folks who make it their business to be angry at comparatively inclusive pop culture as a matter of political dogma or as part of their brand.
However, Gerwig offered an optimistic note to all this handwringing, hoping that the film will preach to the unconverted and offer a catharsis similar to what it gave those who were excited from the get-go.
“I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people.”
