On Friday March 22, Rockhurst high school invited Sion students to the Rose theater to watch the Barbie movie in honor of women’s history month. This invite also asked for Sion students to sit on a panel alongside Rockhurst and St. Teresa students and discuss the contents of the Barbie movie. Sion students on the panel included senior Kate Wren; juniors Avery Williams and Caroline Weber; sophomore Heidi Nance; and freshman Layla Love. This Sion section of the panel was organized by U.S. History and American Government teacher Lindsay Moore.
The Barbie movie released July 21, 2023 and while beloved for iconic moments, a fun plot, and Ryan Gosling’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ controversy and discussions sparked about the meaning of womanhood, feminism, and life in a patriarchal society. This movie had women crying walking out of the theaters after listening to the Billie Eilish song ‘What Was I Made For.’ Although this movie was released over the summer, award shows have re-fueled these conversations, with Greta Gerwig not receiving a nomination for best director and ‘‘I’m just Ken’ winning the Critics’ Choice Award, nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards and Best Original Song at the 96th Academy Awards.
“I love Greta and she deserved a nomination for sure, but Oppenheimer was gonna win best director since it was the overall more chalkier film,” panel participant Wren said. ‘And ‘I’m just Ken’ getting nominated was kinda crazy just because it’s so goofy but I think it’s cool only because Eilish’s ‘What was I Made For’ won [two Grammys].”
Wren has always been interested in film and after hearing about the opportunity to be on the panel she hastily agreed.
“I love to discuss girls and the media, but haven’t really gotten the chance to do so outside my close knit group of girls. I wanted to
have the chance to get some new perspective on the topic and try something that scared me a little too.”
There were around 30 participants at the event who all got to hear about how the Barbie movie impacted different genders.
“It was a very fun casual experience that touched on a lot of great topics related to both women’s and men’s issues,” Wren said. “A lot of great points were made and people including myself had a lot of fun.”
There were many different opinions and discussions surrounding the movie and its complexity. Williams, another panel participant, joined out of curiosity and to step out of her comfort zone.
“I enjoyed discussing the movie on a panel,” Williams said. “It was really interesting to hear other people’s opinions on the movie, especially differing ones. There were a few times when people disagreed and it was interesting to watch them debate over the question.”
Wren was asked to share her opinion over the Barbie movie and was asked what she thought the Barbie movie wanted to say about gender roles.
“My take is that it portrays a girls fantasy world where girls imprint themselves on their dolls. It’s supposed to represent a polar opposite reflection of the real world- and a safe haven for girls. Because men have the real world,” Wren said in her answer. “It’s told pretty plainly by the end of the movie that equality of the sexes is still a work in progress. Neither Barbie land or the real world have figured this out by the end- instead Barbie land has changed to better reflect the amount of power men have in the real world for women. It serves as both an allegory for current societal standards for women and a metaphor for girlhood. In movies we’ve gotten used to seeing narratives about desperately hanging their self worth onto men. By flipping the gender roles and having Ken hinge his self worth and identity onto Barbie, it highlights the ridiculousness of this dynamic.”
