#"why didn't Barbie tell me about the patriarchy?'

[benisasoftboi]

My most beloved horse girls <3

#barbie #barbie 2023 #ken #wwdits #nandor the relentless #the horse thing was one of of my favourite parts of the movie #other highlights: #allan throwing a punch while declaring that all of his ken's clothes fit him #Depression Barbie #"why didn't Barbie tell me about the patriarchy?' #the entire i'm just ken sequence #barbie telling that woman she's beautiful :') #and unironically - the end credits

[grrrfrogs]

KEN/ PATRIARCHY KEN IMAGINES

description- ken before and after finding the patriarchy?? he's lowkey fine asf in both also ken does have a penis in this world... idgaf if he doesn't in the movie he does now!!

Warnings: NSFW!!, public spaces, fast cumming, praising, pda, jealousy, whimpering?, degrading, slut calling, hand on mouth?? (how do u describe that), spanking, bjs and hjs, hair pulling, breeding even though they can't breed.

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GOOD KEN

definitely you were his first, he didn't know anything about sex, i mean NOTHING.

he was an extremely fast when it came to cumming at first, when you asked him if he was okay with it, he was definitely on board but you had to give him a pillow from him whimpering and moaning so loud.

ever since that follows you around like you have a leash on him, he's definitely addicted to that feeling and wants more.

he gets jealous when you talk to any other ken's, he doesn't stop you from doing it but just glares at you both, even though everyone knew you guys were together.

he definitely spoils you, money doesn't exist in Barbie's World!! he gets you whatever you want even when you tell him it's okay. You liked a pair of heels? in your closet as soon as possible. that dress? in your closet.

like i said, he follows you AROUND. the one thing is that when he's hard he will whine about it, and bug you until you take him somewhere. definitely have fucked on the beach before.

loud and very vocal. you've had to cover his mouth so many times before.

he praises you A LOT. And of course you praise him, he calls you beautiful when you ride him, his hands on your hips as you go up and down.

has to have his hand on you at all times, at a party? Hand on your waist. Walking anywhere, he's holding your hand.

PATRIARCHY KEN

you didn't go with him and barbie to go to "The Real World" because well one you didn't need to, but when he came back you definitely didn't understand where this personality came from but it changed you.

he was more aggressive, every day he'd ask you for a brewski beer, you've been over taken by the male patriarchy and you're his brewski wife.

of course if you act up he will show you not to do that again, he'll pound into you infront of his friends, letting them watch as your legs shake and be filled up.

he'll call you a slut and say you're nothing but his whore, pounding into you in the morning, in public, and anytime he wants to of course. and you're in love with it, you don't know why but you are.

definitely holds onto your hips as he fucks you against a wall, slapping your ass ever so slightly and then gripping at it.

definitely when you give him head it has to be with his huge faux coat on. He definitely grabs onto your head and forces you down more and more.

has definitely tried breeding you but obviously you guys can't have children. So whenever he does he says he wants to fill you up so you won't stop having his children.

probably has cheated on you but whenever you try and give another ken a beer or be nice to him, he'd be so upset that he'd either fuck you infront of him or do the same shit back.

if you ever praise him his ego will go even higher, like when he's doing pull ups and you compliment his abs or muscles, he definitely says "i know." and smugly smiles and then gets all giggly about it later in the comfort of his room.

okay so this was my first ken thing!! i kind of just put what i thought he'd be like and what i would love to see in an imagine but if you guys want me to add anything lmk! xx

#i need smut #dominated love slave #nymphomaniac #ryan gosling #ryan gosling x reader #ken barbie #ken x you #ken x reader #ken and barbie #barbie movie #barbie #patriarchy kink #patriarchy ken

[kenposting]

Every Night is Ghoul's Night

Summary: Ken leads the way to the Real World to join Barbie for a new holiday he doesn't quite understand. Once he arrives, he learns that most things in this place are hard to understand.

WC: 1.4k + there's a few 4th wall breaks so if that is hard for u don't read this!! ken goes to the real world for a Halloween party and people there have seen the barbie movie

AN: i'm leaving town for like 9 days on the 18th and i just wanted to write something silly before i left!!! after seeing the movie my friend and i talked about being barbie and ken for halloween and it crossed my mind that that would probably confuse him lol. ps thank u for all ur kind words omg!!! i love ken so much and u guys make me want to just keep writing about him CRYING EMOJI!!! thank u seriously wtf u guys are so nice to me wtf .

Read other Ken stories here: Masterlist

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀ ⋆｡°✩ 🕸⋆｡°✩⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

He really was trying to understand it all. This felt like Patriarchy all over again. Turns out Halloween is not about tiny black sky dogs coming to bite you to assert their dominance (allegedly called “bats” like baseball), nor is it about evil vegetables that come to life and are filled with fire. Wild, I know.

“It’s okay you guys, I know what I’m doing, I’ve done this before.” 

Ken stuck out a dismissive hand, reminding the rest of the Barbies (and the Kens and Allen) that he’s been to the Real World (and even found his way back all by himself!) as he led the way. He wanted them to feel at ease – he remembered how worried he was the first time he went to the Real World. It was not like he expected at all.

He reassured them he definitely knows what's up. Except that he doesn’t. And he didn’t last time either. 

One (very long, as the passenger Barbies and Kens and Allen well exceeded the hundreds) car-rocket-boat-rv-bike-jetski-rollerblade trip later and Ken was met with Barbie in Venice Beach, just like last time. 

“Hi Ken! Hi Barbie! Hi Ken! Hi Barbie! Hi Barbie! Hi Ken!” 

He was so happy to see her and wanted to hear all about how she’d been and what she'd been up to (as well as thank her for inviting him and everyone over), but that must wait, lest he misunderstands Halloween any longer. 

He was on a mission, that’s for sure. 

All of the crew skated alongside Barbie, following her to her sorority house. Ken didn't know what that was, but he figured it didn't have to do with Halloween, so he wasn't interested. They were throwing a giant blowout party with all the students (and planned choreography, and a bespoke song) for 'Halloween', whatever that was. 

His original costume was a vampire but he scared himself in the mirror and cried so he settled instead for a cowboy (not that that had to be a costume, he liked to look like that anyways). 

It would’ve been more fitting to dress as a detective the way he wanted so desperately to know what all of this meant. The decorations were… so dark, literally zero sparkles, all of the people at the party looked badly injured, the music had words he’s never heard before, and the fruit punch tasted horrible – like a burning kind of horrible – none of it made any sense to Ken. And the girls were scary too. 

They were all touching him and laughing. He couldn’t tell if they were laughing at his confusion or just having fun, but something about it felt weird. They were looking at him in a way he didn’t understand, and he very much sensed an undertone of violence. 

“You were soo good in the movie, Ken!” 

He couldn’t tell you how many times he’d heard that tonight because he had stopped counting after 20 (he can’t count higher than 20). All the girls saying that to him were wearing Barbie’s clothes, like they had borrowed them from her. He didn’t know why. Wasn’t tonight about dressing up? That’s just what Barbie wore everyday back home. Even the Palazzo pants! 

And what movie? The God Father? Why did everyone keep bringing up The Movie™ like he was supposed to know what they were talking about? 

He excused himself to further analyze the situation, his eyes squinting and shifting, taking in all the information. The books he read back home said a lot of stuff about magic and evil spirits, but all he knew about magic was from Magic Ken’s earring, let alone what an ‘evil spirit’ was. None of this was appealing, and if he was honest, it all sort of frightened him. Who wants to hang around waiting for Patriarchy guys to jump out and scare you all night? 

Which they did. For who knows how many times (he stopped counting at 20). He knew this time they were definitely laughing at him, so excused himself. 

The air was cold and the lull of the music and people talking from inside spilled everywhere he went. He couldn’t escape it. It hurt his ears, but at least it wasn’t as loud out here. 

Sat on the front step outside under twinkling orange lights was a girl wearing nearly the same costume as him. 

He noticed she looked like she wasn’t enjoying herself much either, her chin resting in her palms folded over her lap. The flowers embroidered on her Cowgirl shirt matched his. Even the pattern at the base of his bell-bottoms was the same on her suede skirt. 

He stood beside her hesitantly, careful to not disturb her – and also worried she would try to scare him like everyone else had. 

“Sorry, is it okay if I sit here? This isn’t going how I thought it would.” 

“Oh, parties are for sure the worst part about Halloween.” 

Ken’s head tilted to the side, curious. 

“Worse than bat?” 

You smiled at him, patting the porch next to you, gesturing for him to join. 

“You mean bats? Like fruit bats? I think they’re cute.” 

“Cute?! Bats are much more dangerous than people realize. Even I know that. You know, Zoologist is not even my job. And it is not Pumpkin Carver, which is a common misconception. Yeah – ‘cause actually my job? It’s just–” 

“Beach? And what a good job you do at it? I saw the movie.” 

You watched as his brow furrowed. 

“What movie? Everyone keeps talking about some movie, did I miss something? All we have at home is The Wizard of Oz and The God Father and neither of those have beach.” 

“Oh my gosh, you haven’t seen it? You don’t even know?” 

“Know what?” 

“Is that even legal? Can Mattel release this without, like, asking for your permission?” 

“Permission for what?!” 

You took his hand, standing up. He followed suit, proving to be much taller than you’d expected. He kind of towered over you – and you had boots on (to complete the Ken look, of course). 

“C’mon, I’ll show you, but it’s going to be really weird to watch yourself and it will probably make you have some sort of existential crisis where you realize you were created by someone in the 60s.” 

His face screamed confusion, but he followed you anyway, the two of you strolling through the damp rain-soaked streets from this afternoon’s storm. The theater was only a few blocks away so you didn't mind walking – and it was nice to see the decorations and lights through the windows from parties.

“Hey, did you notice we’re matching!” 

“Yeah, Ken, I’m dressed as you.” 

He stopped walking, his boot spurs scraping the pavement. You stopped too, turning to face him. 

Tears were welling up in his eyes. 

“You… You dressed up… as me?” 

“Yeah. So did he. And him, and her, and them too.” 

You pointed to some of the trick-or-treaters (and even their parents) that walked on the sidewalks beside you. He hadn’t noticed, but you were right. All of them… All of them were dressed as him. And even he knew choosing a costume was a very important – maybe the most important – part of Halloween. 

“You mean… I’m cool enough that people here in the Real World want to look… like me?” 

His eyes were shiny and huge like a cartoon character. He looked ridiculous, falling apart right here in the road, the glow of the streetlamps glittering around him, but it did pull at your heartstrings a little. 

“Ken… You don’t get it. You’re an icon right now.” 

“I don’t know what that word means.” 

“Like… this movie. Everyone saw it to just have fun with their friends but you really changed a lot of people’s perspectives on some really important stuff. Mojo Dojo Casa Dreamhouses were flying off the shelves – gosh, you were even the most popular tattoo! You taught people something here – showed them a part of themselves they didn't know how to put words to.” 

“What is a tattoo?” 

You remembered it too, the first time you saw it and laughing before watching your friends bawl their eyes out towards the end. Here in The Real World you had heard about Skipper (although N-SYNC was a surprise…) so you knew it was possible, but it never dawned on you that the Barbies and Kens had no idea that you were all watching. Except Allen, for some reason. 

You watched as he just got more and more confused, taking his hand once again and guiding him to the theater. 

“Hey… is that a picture of me?” 

“Yes, Ken, that’s an advertisement for the movie.” 

He really didn’t have any idea. 

“Two tickets for Barbie please!” 

The guy in the booth was dressed as a vampire, Ken’s decidedly mortal enemy as of the last 24 hours. He looked awestruck. 

“Is that Ryan Gosling?” 

The two of you replied in unison;

“Who’s Ryan Gosling?” 

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀ ⋆｡°✩ 🕸⋆｡°✩⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

#ken #kenergy #barbie #just ken #ken x reader #ken x you #ken x y/n #halloween #<3

[kdinjenzen]

Now I'm curious WRT how 'Barbie' didn't hit for you.

I’ll say this first. If you liked the movie, I’m happy for you and I’m not here to tell you to hate the movie. I’m glad you enjoyed it and hope you continue to enjoy it.

That said… this movie was NOT for me and I did not enjoy its story at all. I loved the set design, costume design, the performances, the music, the dedication to creating the world, all that stuff was great.

The plot itself. It felt circular without actually purposefully dealing with the issues it tried to talk about.

The fact that Doctor Barbie, who is trans, is the one who is told to “go seduce Ken by telling him you feel don’t feel pretty” - as if this isn’t something that leads to violence toward trans women in the real world and also why her to be the one who doesn’t feel pretty? Wtf?

The Kens of Barbieland are basically all losers, are grossly incompetent compared to Barbie, treated poorly, and our main Ken (aka Beach Ken) has severe self worth issues… so naturally all the Kens become the villains and are able to overthrow all of Barbieland later on in the movie by doing …. they never explain how. Somehow a world full of, and built by, the most capable women ever are overthrown by like 20 dudes who they treated poorly and who aren’t very smart. Beach Ken’s root problems are only barely resolved and none of it feels meaningful.

Gloria and Sasha, the human characters who work with Barbie to fix Barbieland, are just as much caricatures and tropes as Barbie herself. Sasha, the daughter, is a mean Gen Z who just openly lashes out at Barbie (a stranger), and everyone else who is actually nice to her, for no reason. Gloria is “a sad mom who pretends to be happy” but they never explain why at all, it’s assumed that it’s because “she lives in a patriarchy”, but the only person who’s directly mean to her in the film is… her daughter.

Gloria gives a speech to each Barbie, individually, to snap them out of the Ken’s brainwashing (which like AGAIN how did that happen? It makes no sense at all and just confuses me) - the speeches are not empowering at all, they’re just about how women in the real world suffer a double standard on how to exist and SOMEHOW with all those depressing revelations thrown at them it… restores their self-confidence/self-worth and undoes the brainwashing?

Weird Barbie, whom everyone says is ugly and gross and they have violent “EW!!!” reactions to her face, is played by Kate FUCKING McKinnon. Meanwhile Stereotypical Barbie, while having an ugly cry breakdown about (again) not being pretty anymore, is played by Margot FUCKING Robbie. A fact that the movie points out as “the wrong casting choice to have this scene and cast Margot Robbie as Barbie saying she’s ugly.”

I heard so much about how it was a “queer positive movie” but there’s nothing queer about nor really in the movie. So it got to cling to the rainbow and scream “allyship” and everyone praised it for essentially doing nothing.

Everyone is like… mean? Everything feels so mean and mean spirited. It’s supposed to be very tongue in cheek, very snappy and quick, and everyone has a comeback for every situation but… it just really feels like everyone is just being mean for the sake of being mean and it makes moments where you’re supposed to feel sympathy for any character just drop immediately when they say the rudest shit ever for literally no reason.

They talk about Midge, aka the pregnant woman in the Barbie line, and then say “no don’t look at her anymore, she’s weird and creepy” … which AGAIN feels like that statement undercuts the point of women empowerment that the movie wants you to take away from watching the film?

It tries to balance jokes and seriousness in a way that undercuts the message of “society is kind fucked up and broken” that they’re trying to talk about. The “good guys” are also constantly mistreating other people, the “Barbieland bad guys” became bad by going to the real world and leaning “patriarchy”, the “Real world bad guys” literally do nothing except take up movie time for random gags and really don’t service the plot at all, and as much as it’s like “TAKE THAT MAJOR CORPORATION” at every turn… the movie was fully approved by Warner Bros Discovery AND Mattel… so it’s never actually going to say anything worthwhile about corporate greed and corruption without putting on kiddie gloves to do so.

The only person who I felt true sympathy for, understood their reasoning, and felt they deserved a happy ending was ALLAN, aka Ken’s Best Friend, who is treated equally like shit by basically everyone in the film. Allan points out that Barbieland and the Real World both kinda suck, how life is only just slightly more miserable there after the Ken’s took over, and how he just “wants to run away” and when given the chance does so, only to defend Sasha and Gloria from a bunch of Ken’s single handedly and telling them to “get out while they can”… and then is subsequently brought back to Barbieland by Sasha and Gloria to fix everything and… AGAIN none of this pays off because Allan’s purpose is dropped immediately when they get back to Barbieland. And Allan is played by MICHEAL CERA. I feel like I’m losing my mind at this point.

It feels like the movie wants to talk about the issues women face in all walks of life, but is never able to punch hard enough to make that message matter nor stick. It talks around gender issues, self worth issues, and problems in society without actually saying something real about them. The meanness of all the dialogue makes me really not care about pretty much anyone in the movie because… man I’m just so fucking tired of everything and everyone having to be “mean” in movies to prove a point.

The movie ends with a gynecologist appointment.

I dunno what to tell you. The plot is “not for me” and I didn’t really connect with anything.

The movie just made me sad and disconnected because of how much everyone praised it, saying it “made me proud to be a woman” or “it’s inventive, immaculately crafted and surprising mainstream films in recent memory - a testament to what can be achieved within even the deepest bowels of capitalism.”

And it didn’t feel like that for me at all.

Maybe it’s because of all the “that’s womanhood” talk throughout the movie. Because I’ve had so many women in power give me that speech after I came out as trans only to be abused directly by them in the same way that they said men abused them all while I was still ALSO being abused by the same men who abused them too. So like YIPPEE this fucking SUCKS and it was kinda trauma triggering!!

Maybe it’s because I’ve worked in the entertainment industry for 17+ years and know how stuff like this gets made and how many corporate approvals you need for it to make the “take THAT major corporations and CEOs!” jokes land like a dead fish on the floor. The people they are directly calling out said “yes, this level of joke at the expense of our richness and power is okay” and that’s the ONLY reason any of those moments are in the movie. So it doesn’t even really fucking matter, it’s all manufactured, it’s all there to make you feel like it’s doing something when the people with all the power just allowed it to happen. It’s not a “win” or a “heavy blow to their ego”, they literally don’t care.

So I DUNNO, this movie kinda just made me feel depressed and made me remember how badly I had been treated by people after coming out regardless of that person’s gender. The movie felt mean in a way that was too “on the nose” and real for me but then praised most of the characters for their mean actions or words.

[icanseethefuture333]

The Astrological Observation of Gen Z, (a series)

Part I 👼🏽🩷:

The rise & fall of "chick flicks" & the possible resurgence of those films thanks to Barbie? 💗 + Victoria's Secret Angels/fashion show makes a come back, will it succeed 👼🏽?

SPOILER ALERT

Here is the birth chart (placidus) of the most loved and adored doll of all time, Barbie! The Barbie movie begun filming in March 2022, had it's first premiere on July 9th, 2023, and was aired officially on July 21st, 2023. If the movie started to be filmed in March 2022, then that means the movie would have been created during Barbie's solar return. The movie was going to have a big impact on the world from the moment it was produced. Although, yes of course it's Barbie who's super famous, but I believe that the intention behind the film was more sincere than other movies in comparison. In Barbie's solar return chart, there is a fear of being "forgotten" or "lost", which is exactly what Barbie struggled with in the movie. There is an Aquarius dominance and a 11th and 9th house stellium. Her North node, Moon, and Uranus are in her 12th house which deals with the subconscious. In the film, Barbie and the woman who owned her as a little girl had a telepathic connection (Aquarius Venus at 2° in the 9th house), which she did not know until she started having "oppressive thoughts about death" (Aquarius Mercury in the 10th house at 28°). Which Weird Barbie gives her a "choice" of going back to normal or knowing the secrets of the universe (a spiritual awakening). Which then explains how her 11th house and 9th house partnered together in the film. Friendship, philosophy, and wisdom all being important lessons that Barbie was forced to experience. Barbie's journey throughout the movie was painful and scary. She wasn't able to be the one to give advice or help little girls anymore, this time - people had to help her, which gave her the confidence to become the woman she wanted to become (Barbie has so many squares and conjuctions in her solar return chart, like let me go buy a Barbie doll and tell her how much I love her, I'm so sorryyyy 💔😭).

Barbie's transits on the day of the Barbie movie's official release. Aspects that are standing out to me are Part of Fortune sextile Pluto, Uranus sextile Moon, Pluto sextile Jupiter, Mercury trine Venus, and Mars square Ascendant. The movie will go down as a cult classic. It globally is a big hit on social media and caused people to even dress, think, and feel differently (especially regarding their femininity). The mars square ascendant could be why men or people with internalized toxic masculinity feel uncomfortable with the movie. It triggers something in them and I feel like secretly that men who say they hate Barbie, actually love her??? They could be remembering childhood memories of the doll and possibly even wanted to play with one but weren't allowed to or wished they spent more time with their moms or sisters. The Mercury trine Venus represents how the film was able to convey women's thoughts well and the things they wish they could say but were suppressed due to the patriarchy. Women as a whole really love Barbie or think highly of her. The film's hypothetical birth chart has a 12th house stellium and still conveys the significance of intuition and the subconscious mind. What's beautiful is the film's Pluto is in the 5th house at 29° in retrograde. If they intended to have people reconnect with their inner child, then it was done successfully. Which confirms my belief and also hope for sweet, sappy, inspiring chick flicks about friendships and self love happening again.

This wouldn't be a post about the 2000's if we didn't discuss the Victoria Secret's fashion show. The first episode was released on August 1st, 1995 during prime time so around 8 pm PST / 10 pm EST. Here is the hypothetical chart (placidus) of the Victoria's Secret Fashion show. I have never in my life seen so many retrogrades before, YIKES! The show has a lot of karmic debt and with the amount of scandals the company had, I'm not even surprised. Saturn in the 1st house, so there is a strict beauty standard that the show wants to uphold and dislikes when someone else tries to break the mold. I watched the Victoria Secret documentary and this is what was said as well. The women who worked there tried to bring more inclusivity to the company and the men acted very pompous and stubborn whenever they tried to create positive changes. They wanted to get away with their cookie cutter looks and corrupted desires. North node being at 0° the fashion show was supposed to embrace change and throughout the years resisted it's main intention or purpose of making women feel sexy. Now that they are trying to rebrand, they'd really have to really get over their ego in order to succeed. The exact date and time of the upcoming fashion show is unsure but it will be aired sometime in the fall. With the Victoria Secret's Fashion Show Sun sign being in Leo, then that means the episode will air right after it's solar return (I'm noticing a pattern here of companies releasing projects after it's solar return👀). Things seem to be going in the show's favor and it will be fair or more inclusive as they said it would be. There is a 7th house stellium here and a Moon in the 1st house so it seems as though they want to come off as genuine as possible. Saturn still remains in the 1st house, so there is still some stern energy here, maybe the rules for the models is strict or there is some sort of tight schedule for the show? Jupiter in the 3rd house, people will be talking about it or there's going to be articles/podcasts about the show. Pluto square South Node, the company's past scandals will still linger in the air. Uranus trine Chiron, someone in PR could write formal apologies to the staff? Saturn square Jupiter, Saturn is not done with them yet. It's literally grabbing them by the throat and saying "repent for your sins". It's not great, but not terrible either, but I'm leaning towards the fashion show will do just fine. The women will be exceptionally beautiful and the style of the clothes is gonna be different. It could take some time for people to be on board again with the show airing due to past controversies. Some will enjoy it for nostalgia, while others will not care to watch because it's not their thing or won't watch out of support for the victims.

The Tour '23's birth chart (whole sign)

The show having its Aquarius Moon in the 12th house 24° is very significant in my opinion given the fact it displays the hidden nature of women and the different aspects of the divine feminine. I watched it today and there was a lot of focus on motherhood, feeling unique or out of place in the world (a lot of people saying they felt like an alien), and having different body types, attributes, or features being seen. With an Aries chiron and north node, I feel their way of approaching things was more blunt and why they were more comfortable exhibiting/talking about scars, stretch marks, protesting, and (tw:) eating disorders. Another interesting aspect I noticed was mostly the narrator Gigi Hadid and the show has a Virgo Mercury in the 7th house 16°. Quite a few of the women narrating were mothers themselves, such as Gigi Hadid. Gigi has her Mercury in the 1st house and she has a Taurus stellium. The 7th house is connected to Venus and it is known for beauty, femininity, and love. There was also 5 segments all around the world but the show made its debut in Lagos, Nigeria. The Pisces ascendant I believe explains the fluidity and ability to transform or adapt to your environment. As well as being sensitive, free spirited, and having spiritual consciousness, for example, there was the use of Yoruba and Igbo mythology in the fashion show. The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show originally had a Leo stellium and it was more superficial, a lot of hyper focus on glitz and glam. Where as now there is a Pisces stellium and still has a familiarity of signs from its original birth chart (the essence of Libra, Taurus, and Leo still being there). The Capricorn Pluto in the 11th house 27° acknowledges what they have done in the past and their problematic behavior. With 27° being a Gemini degree, its as if the company is wanting to say to the generation: "Let's talk about it". The fashion designers in the documentary all discussed the importance of self expression and their hardships to get there. Doja Cat being the main performer of the series isn't surprising given the fact she is also a Libra Sun. Similar to the show, Doja and Victoria's Secret, are both known for being quite controversial (perfect pair, don't you think?). With The Tour 23's Sun being in the 8th house, it feels that it is the death of their ego. A new chapter for the company, while still keeping some parts of itself and it's past. Neptune and Saturn being in the 1st house explains why everyone was so vulnerable about their journey, insecurities, and dealing with self criticism. With its ascendant being a leo degree (5°) I believe it will gain some traction or buzz because of the individualistic style and fresh new faces / designers, but it won't be anything that will people talk about long term.

#astrology #astro observations #astrology observations #placidus astrology #barbie #barbie movie #margot robbie #victoria's secret #victoria's sceret angels #victoria's secet model #Victoria secret: the tour '23 #2000s #y2k

[thinkanamelater]

I didn't like the Barbie Movie. Here are (some of) the reasons why:

(Keep in mind, these are all my opinions, etc etc)

First and foremost, it felt performative as fuck. Like sure it address sexism, beauty standards, consummerism; with a tone that ranges from "sarcastic" to "genuine". But to me, every time it felt like they were reciting a lesson. When the teen (I don't remember her name) "tells it like it is", she might has well have been reading off a list of buzzwords.

Then, the tone. Oh my god. The tone. It never landed, for me. The line between self-awareness and parody and vulnerability were too blurry, and ended up feeling like a confusing mess of intentions.

Moving on, the pace. More than fast-paced, I felt it was hurried. Characters and references and jokes were thrown around over and over, at all times, barely allowing it to land. You know the scene when Ken takes a walk in the real world alone, and is bombarded by patriarchy propaganda? That's how the entire movie felt for me.

(Speaking of patriarchy. Oh my god. They said the word so many times, it felt less and less important every time.)

And I feel like the reason it felt so hurried and so busy is that they tried to do so many things, they half-assed everything. They made a frankenstein of satire and nostalgia and girlhood and patriarchy and toxic masculinity and self esteem and finding one's worth and relationships and and and.

Then there were smaller things that I disliked. Weird Barbie's sexual comments about Ken was so out of the blue and uncomfortable. The scene with Ruth at the end dragged on forever. Most of the scenes with the Mattel executives added nothing to the story.

I think what I most enjoyed was Allan's character. He was fun and sweet and did interesting stuff. And I did laugh at a couple jokes, of course. But over all, I was bored.

I didn't expect the movie to be a feminist masterpiece. I didn't expect it to have a deep plot or the most fleshed out characters or dramatic undertones.

I just expected it to be entertaining and nice to look at, and still felt dissapointed.

If your experience was any different from mine, if it resonated with you and you had a good time, I'm genuinely glad for you! This is my experience and these are my thoughts, and I wanted to share them.

Lastly, this youtube video gives an interesting, well articulated analysis! "The plastic feminism of Barbie" from the channel verilybitchie

#barbie #barbie criticism #long post

[rollercoasterwords]

PLEASE tell us your barbie opinions!!!!! pls pls i also have opinions

happy 2 share but i will be putting it under a cut bc. a lot of people seem 2 think this movie is god's gift 2 earth and i am not in the mood 2 deal w barbie evangelists lol so if u do not want 2 see barbie movie criticism just scroll away

will preface by saying i enjoyed the movie i thought it was fun etc + i don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying it or finding it fun or even feeling very personally empowered/seen by what the movie had to say. that's all very nice on a personal level and i understand why so many people are finding the movie cathartic.

that being said i do not think the movie was feminist or subversive by a long shot and seeing so many people talk about how radical it was makes me feel like i'm being gaslit!!! like. did we watch different movies lmao. maybe i'd understand a little more why everyone was being taken in if barbie had like, gone to the real world and fought patriarchy in the movie--but she didn't even do that! they introduce the concept of real-world patriarchy only to have barbie go back to barbieland and destroy fake barbie patriarchy (which is rooted simply in one man's insecurity and easily resolved by gently encouraging him to seek self-worth outside his relationship--not exactly a cutting examination of the material investment that men have in patriarchy which makes it so difficult to challenge) and leave real-world patriarchy intact at the end (the big #feminist moment for real women is...mattel's sexist ceo saying he'll use a woman's idea for the next barbie, since he can make a lot of money off it? he doesn't even say he's going to pay her for the idea lmao).

so all in all the whole "barbie destroys patriarchy" bit of the movie just. did not feel particularly feminist to me beyond a very surface level acknowledgment that sexism exists and is bad. and like--i get that it's the barbie movie, and people could say "well of course it can't be that subversive but it did a good job for what it was!!" but i'm just like. ok yeah then let's call it what it was...instead of calling it subversive?? also every feminist message the movie tried to champion was immediately undermined by its fundamental investment in gender essentialism, which remains unchallenged throughout the whole film. like--barbies are literally canonically sexless and so u can't even try to argue that the gender binary which their society is based around is anything but 100% socially constructed, and we see that that gender binary affords privilege to some and not to others and also leads to ostracization of those who fail to conform to it, yet the happy ending of the movie is barbieland just...staying that way. and i feel like the movie then kinda says the quiet part out loud when barbie becomes a "real woman" by getting a vagina like...ok. lol

so like. even the interior politics of the film i struggle to understand how it could be considered groundbreaking feminism; and then when we zoom out and look at the material impact of the movie that just cements it as un-feminist to me. this is a really good article about the beauty standards being pushed + perpetuated by barbie marketing, and of course as with basically any hollywood movie the rich (and mostly rich men) will be getting richer, cycles of consumerism will be perpetuated, etc. honestly the "feminist" aspect of the film almost feels insidious to me in this context, as if it's meant to provide the catharsis of feeling like there's been some big challenge to patriarchy while quietly reinforcing the systems of oppression it publicly decries.

and like. at the end of the day i was not expecting barbie to be a subversive feminist film nor do i think it like...has a responsibility to be one. and it's nice that so many people feel like they're getting something out of it! but i think it's important to evaluate both the personal and societal impact of the media we're critiquing, and in that context it just seems silly to me to claim that barbie is subversive. i also find the amount of rhetoric i've seen about how the movie "encapsulates the female experience" so fucking irritating lmfao like...i am sorry but the idea that watching a group of hyperfeminine women flirt with men as a method of destroying patriarchy (<- not an exaggeration that is literally the plot. flirt with each other's boyfriends to make them jealous so they fight each other. zero lesbians in barbieland i suppose) is THE quintessential experience of #womanhood...well alright then.

anyway. there is more i could say but i am going 2 get dinner w a friend so. stopping here <3 not gonna post the link but i do have a full/in-depth review on my substack if u wanna poke around over there!

#ask #ranting and raving #spoilers #also found the 'self-awareness' somewhat insufferable #'oh hehe we're having margot robbie talk about how ugly she is!! silly us!!' shut up....please...

[ceasarslegion]

Your content on tumblr is really good. You seem like a decent person, and I wish I knew more people like you.

Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Barbie movie. I got some weird, idk, gender essentialism vibes I guess? I haven't really been able to figure out if only watching maybe two movies a year has left me bad at film analysis or if I hit on something.

Thank you

I didn't get those vibes at all. I like to approach films from multiple angles, like who the target audience is, what message they were going for, what any "goals" it had were, etc. Which is never going to be the same for every film, and why it's divisive to try to equate portrayal to endorsement. And why you have to meet cinema where it is instead of trying to force expectations upon it (and subsequently why you get those media takes that boil down to "why wasnt this action blockbuster just like my underground arthouse films? Clearly this makes it bad"). Being a long time fan of exploitation cinema has definitely hammered that into me over the years.

Barbie is definitely a feminist movie, but not all levels of feminism are as in depth as others for the same reason that you don't learn about semiotic film theory on the first day of your middle school film elective. It's a blockbuster, so it naturally appeals to a very wide-sweeping audience, and it's also a movie for selling a line of dolls to a target audience of little girls. All of these things are true at once and don't cancel each other out.

What those things tell me already is that barbie wants to appeal to a lot of people at once, but still primarily focus on the audience mattel sells their dolls to. I dont think it was gender essentialist at all because it's a very good way to introduce feminist concepts to little girls in a way they would recognize and understand, which aren't going to be as nuanced or complicated as an adult's understanding of it, much less a genderqueer adult. You can build into "gender and sexuality itself is pretty complicated and all this stuff gets even more muddled when you take that into account" after you establish that base of "this is how women and men both suffer but suffer differently under the patriarchy, extremely generally speaking." But you still have to establish that base somehow, and when you meet barbie at the age range of the kids who but the dolls, it makes a lot more sense than trying to make it fit into your way more experienced and nuance adult worldview.

(This was also why i really hated the takes i saw about oppenheimer on barbenheimer day, as someone who did the double feature challenge. It felt like everyone was trying to jackhammer oppenheimer into the goals and audience and expectations of... barbie? And then getting mad when it didnt meet that)

[ljf613]

Alright, been a while since I said anything really Problematiqué on here and I'm bored, so I'm going to stick my hand in the hornet's nest and say that this so-called Barbie/Oscars "controversy" is dumb and contrived and incredibly absurd.

For those of you who've been living under a rock for the past couple of days (or just avoid listening to anything about Barbie and/or the Oscars, which is very sensible of you), here's a Twitter post that summed up the situation:

In other words, the very fact that Ryan Gosling was nominated for Best Supporting Actor while Margo Robbie was passed over for Best Leading Actress and Greta Gerwig was passed over for Best Director is Terrible and Misogynistic and entirely the fault of the Patriarchy.

This has got to be the most absurd take I have seen this year. (Granted, "this year" has only been about four weeks, but the point stands.)

Let me explain some things to y'all:

Barbie received EIGHT Oscar nominations. (That is, in fact, a fairly impressive showing for a glorified toy commercial.)

One of those nominations was for America Ferrera as Best Supporting Actress.

Are you guys following? Eight nominations, and apparently none of it matters because the movie didn't happen to get the two specific nominations certain people wanted it to get. And not only that, but y'all want to tear down an actor who was nominated for an award that neither Greta nor Margo was even eligible for. Seriously? Don't you people have lives?

Now, I've heard that Ryan Gosling has come out and basically said that Margo should have gotten the nomination instead of him. (I haven't looked too deeply into this because I just Don't Really Care Enough.) If that's true, it's pathetic and nonsensical.

Ryan didn't take the nomination away from either of them. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. It's not like Margo or Greta would have been nominated for that award if not for him, and I am almost certain that nobody on the nomination committee (or whoever decides these things) was sitting there saying, "Well, we gave Ryan Gosling a nomination, and therefore we shouldn't give one to Margo Robbie or Greta Gerwig." (I am so tired of the "someone else has something I don't and that's Not Fair and therefore they must be oppressing me" narrative.)

(As someone who didn't actually watch the movie or follow it all that closely, I can tell you this much: I saw lots of people talking about how hard Ryan Gosling was working to get this part right, and how well he did. I don't remember a single post saying the same thing about Margo Robbie. Maybe, just maybe, he got a nomination because he did an above-and-beyond spectacular job and deserved it-- and she didn't? Just possibly?)

Also, an actress getting passed over for a Best Leading Actress nomination CAN'T be misogynistic. You know why? Because who gets that nomination instead? That's right-- some other woman. And as for Best Director, there is a woman who's been nominated for that award (Justine Triet for "Anatomy of a Fall"), so it's not like they were deliberately trying to make sure no woman got the award-- they just didn't feel that Greta Gerwig made the cut.

And even if you pretend we're living in some imaginary universe where the nomination committee deliberately snubbed Margo and Greta while nominating Ryan for Sexist Reasons, why would they have given a nomination to America Ferrera?

In short, whatever the reasons Margo Robbie didn't get nominated for Best Leading Actress and Greta Gerwig didn't get a Best Director nomination, they do not and cannot include:

The committee hated "Barbie" for unspecified Patriarchy Reasons.

Ryan Gosling stole the nomination away from them.

The committee liked "Barbie" but hated all of the women involved (for Patriarchy Reasons).

#barbie 2023 #oscars 2024 #oscar nominations #thoughts #the disc horse #i will freely admit that i wasn't allowed barbies as a kid and so i don't have the same childhood attachment a lot of you do #(my parents felt very strongly that barbie presented an oversexualized and physically unrealistic image of femininity #and they didn't want their daughters exposed to that) #but maybe y'all need to put down the Nostalgia Glasses #i said what i said #i didn't see the movie so i can't tell you if it was good or bad or if i think margo and greta SHOULD have been nominated #all i can tell you is that the controversy is overblown and The Internet Mob gets offended wayyy too easily #and that's the tea #all queued up

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Disclaimer: This post is an interpretation of some of the Barbie movie's themes and messages, particularly struggles men are faced with. That's its focus. It is not exhaustive of all possible takes or understandings of the film, either mine or others. If talking about men as equal human beings is a problem for you, feel free to ignore this post and then block me. Otherwise, carry on.

One of my favorite parts of Barbie is when Gloria is doing Barbie's makeup toward the end and they're talking about overturning everything that the Kens have done to Barbieland, where Barbie expresses how she just didn't expect her Ken to act out so drastically. Gloria tells her it's because he has feelings for her, hinting that creating Kendom is how he tried to express those feelings and his upset with the constant rejection he's gotten. And when Barbie starts to say she's afraid of hurting him by going behind his back Gloria stops her.

I could praise that moment alone for showing how women need to stop apologizing for the feelings of others, but this is really key: Gloria doesn't trash talk Ken. She states the bad things he did but she never equates those actions with who Ken is, because they're not. I feel like any other film would've gone the route of "He's an asshole/You don't need him/Dump the douchebag/Why do you care about him when he's treated you like this?" (and to be fair I have a huge tendency to go that way myself)

Gloria doesn't even know Ken! But she was right not to immediately act like he was garbage. I don't know if she got that understanding from Barbie herself or just from being a long-term Barbie doll lover and employee at Mattel, but it stands out to me. We even see proof that none of the Kens are truly bad! In the beginning of the film they're just dudes (Just Kens, lol, I set myself up for that)! Dudes that don't even know what they don't know and can't be blamed for it.

Because the truth is that men are not inherently trash and their actions do not come from an innately evil place. Unfortunately for men, especially in the west, society has come up short in teaching them how to deal with and properly express how they feel in favor of power and saving face. Emotions hold bigger weight than they even know, but the modes they've been allowed are generally aggression, romantic passion, and cool. Nothing outside the lines. Imagine trying to sort a giant ball of complex emotions into one of those three things and stay normal.

Gloria understands that the lack of emotional maturity and regulation is where Ken's dramatic tantrum stems from. While she has experience with the patriarchy and knows how to deal with it because of the situation in the real world, I find it fascinating that her character is the one to understand both sides because she also has experience as a matriarch. (I could be wrong, but it seems like she's the breadwinner of the household. The role of her husband I have no commentary on other than que Dios lo bendice, el pobre no se puede hablar español).

So while Barbieland agrees to barely give the Kens back any power (an extremely accurate reflection of what women get in the real world), the film and its characters ultimately don't villainize or punish them further for their wrongs. Punishment isn't always the right action when someone is wrong (insert commentary on Barbie and Ken constantly getting put in jail in the real world vs. no such thing happening in their own). Sometimes it's simply helping them understand what they're dealing with and guiding them through the ordeal step by step.

Painting the Kens as all bad would've ignored what a Ken is. He is a doll just like Barbie. Ken's issue is that he's unloved and the only form of love he has been given to accept is romantic love. What he and all the other Kens begin to discover at the end of the film is self love, which is just as important, if not more.

Now I'm going to rephrase that last paragraph.

Painting men as all bad ignores what a man is. They are humans just like women are. Most men's issue is that they are unloved and the only form of love they've been given to accept is romantic love. What the men of this world need to discover is self love, which is just as important, if not more.

#barbie #barbie meta #gloria barbie #america ferrera #god i have such a crush on that woman #barbie spoilers

[abandoned-as-mustard]

I gotta get this off my chest. Am I the only woman who didn't like it? Really???

Here's a spoiler (rant) review, (not) sorry

To start off with, I really appreciate the effort into set design, fashion, music, choreography, casting, all the historical barbie references, how important barbie is to many girls, the nostalgia, HOWEVER....

'It's not meant to be taken seriously!!' The movie preaches about patriarchy and feminism, they literally go to the real world and interact with these real concepts, we are made to sit through feminist speeches about women who hate themselves, how are we not meant to take that seriously?

Fucking hell, I was being whammed on the head with a sledgehammer, the plot can literally be summarised with 'taking down the patriarchy'. And that itself isn't the bad thing, it's how they framed it -

Because just when that plot concept itself became clear, as if I was entirely stupid and needed to be reinformed, they then had several feminist quips and jokes (which can be summarised as 'haha look how women don't have any power in our US centric world view!') and speeches (used as actual plot devices to un-brainwash the barbies once the kens took over) wherein if I was a woman who already fucking hated myself and had no self esteem and hadn't seen any other movie in my life, I would've loved. While I understand many women hate themselves, the fact that there are women who don't hate themselves wasn't acknowledged at all when 'women' is used as a general term.

So guess I'm counted out.

There are scenes where the Ken dolls start enjoying stereotypically guy things like 'watching the godfather' and 'liking trucks' and 'having beers' and putting flatscreen TVs everywhere, and they are also even apparently mansplaining to the barbies. It's portrayed in such a silly way that suggests there is something cringe in real men genuinely liking any of those things. Yes, Ken is silly, but you are now incorporating real things.

I was confused the entire time - what is this supposed to be? A fun silly movie? THEN WHY ARE YOU PREACHING AT ME? WHY. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. DOES BARBIE SEE THE HORRIBLE REAL WORLD AND GO 'yes please I want to be there and find myself'

I'm sorry, what? You literally just established that ken's only role was to be Ken to barbie, and that he had to be himself, but you're saying barbie can't do any of that from barbie land just because she doesn't have a 'role'? THE MAN WHO DID NOT HAVE ANY ROLE EXCEPT TO BE A BARBIE SIMP GOT TO STAY BUT BARBIE BARBIE HAD TO BECOME REAL?

oh yeah and the whole 'become human and feel but also you'll just die at the end' because thanks yeah that's what we all believe right, that death is the end of everything but the pitiful excuse of our lives and ~~~~feelings~~~ makes it worthwhile? You can just tell an existential person wrote this

But also there were the weird metaphysical elements with the literal ghost of the creator of barbie being referred to as 'creator' and that she 'can't control you' so yeah, that perfectly sums up the fucked up theology and how humanity really fucking likes to think of themselves as gods.

'Mustard you're taking this way too seriously!! It's a fun silly movie about pink and clothes and dolls!' THEN WHY WASNT I ALLOWED TO ENJOY IT WITHOUT WATCHING BARBIE BECOME SOME RANDOM HUMAN WOMAN IN THE CHEESIEST FUCKING SEQUENCE???? She wasn't even allowed to be 'my' doll anymore!

'But barbie shouldn't only exist to be yours!' SHE IS A DOLL THAT IS HER PURPOSE

'But barbie never got to choose ken' - she's also a doll (Aka, not real, despite what the movie portrays). She has like, 200 careers. Having a hot boyfriend is not a serious problem. Barbie actually LIKES ken in other Barbie movies, and why would their theoretical doll relationship even exist if she didn't like him? (If you say heteronormativity I will bite you.)

His existential crisis was the problem that led to Kendom, but they did not spend an awful lot of time on his character for that. Barbie is allowed to sledgehammer home the points about women's self esteem and needing being perfect, but you LITERALLY HAVE KEN DOLLS RIGHT THERE being toned and sexy and hot, AND THEY DIDNT GIVE ANY LIP SERVICE TO THAT IN RELATION TO REAL MEN. EVEN ONE LINE. the closest they come is 'you're ken, not 'and ken'. Uhh thanks? If I based my feminism on this (which some people already are) then I wouldn't think men have ANY problems being human beings.

Barbie and Ken don't even end up together! It's not even that, but that they separate them so that they can NEVER be together and maybe I don't know, LEARN to love each other?? Clearly some of the other barbies were still attached to kens after they stopped being brainwashed. Why couldn't our barbie?

So the other problem is the heavy marketing of ken's feelings for barbie (complete with music video) made it seem like a romance. It was not a romance. And I felt like an idiot for expecting a little romance.

It swings from wildly silly to heavy concepts and back within seconds.

'But it's about forced heteronormativity' and 'amatonormativity' *BITES YOU BITES YOU BITES YOU* so it's NOT just a silly movie then? Huh?

WHAT IS THIS MOVIE TRYING TO SAY?

That's its real problem.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS PINK, BARBIE MOVIE, COULDN’T YOU JUST LET IT BE A FUN MOVIE WITHOUT FORCING ME TO SEE BARBIE BECOME PART OF THIS SO-CALLED TERRIBLE WORLD?

#barbie movie #barbie spoilers #barbie movie spoilers #barbie

[strangertheories]

Stancy in Season 5?

I hope not, but it's possible. I'll explain the proof for Stncy, the reasons why they'd write that, why Nancy would be best off with literally anyone else than Steve/single and then some hope for unrequited Stncy under the cut. Warning: I didn't mean for the post to be this long! I'll put a TL;DR at the end if you want the spark notes version.

S3 Steve's whole thing was about moving on from Nancy via developing feelings for Robin I said before S4 that I hoped they'd make Steve realise he gets all his validation from dating and have him realise that he doesn't need girls to like him to have worth. Think of Ken's arc in the Barbie movie minus creating the patriarchy and horses. And then S4 was...not that.

Regardless of my personal hopes, I have no idea why else they'd bring Stncy back up again considering they had the opportunity to have Steve find a new love interest or, god forbid, not date anyone because there's more to life than dating maybe! They're also repeatedly showing strain in Jancy's relationship, and there is the ticking time bomb of Jonathan's college not being Emerson (although it looks like Hawkins will be quarantined so I don't know if they'll even be at college).

The reasons why they could bring back Stncy would be either to reward Steve for not being an asshole by giving him Nancy or, and this is my theory, they're planning on killing Steve off so want to make his death sadder by making him love Nancy. Maybe he'll get a death bed confession from Nancy where she finally tells him that she loved him. I'm sorta thinking of Spike's death in Buffy for that (ifykyk). Alternatively, he could tell her that he loves her, dies, and then she can be all wistful at his funeral.

If Steve dies, then I think it would still work for Nancy to not end up loving him. His unrequited love could also be used to drive these emotions forwards in the same way and work with all the proof given...except the official script, in which it is said that Nancy's heart skips a beat after Steve does his whole six nugget spiel.

The reason why I'm so opposed to Stncy ending up together is because Steve is the polar opposite to Nancy. Steve wants a traditional suburban life with six children and road trips in an RV. Nancy's greatest fear is becoming a typical housewife; she wants a good career and to not end up stuck in her mother's position.

Not to mention, her dating Steve was at first a way of rebelling, but later became a trauma response in order to deal with her grief over losing Barb (see this post for context). Their response to Barb's death further highlights their incompatibility too: Steve was unwilling to help Nancy expose the truth, but Jonathan was. This doesn't make Steve a bad person, but shows that they have different goals in life and respond to things differently. Steve prefers staying safe, whereas Nancy is willing to take risks (sometimes to an extreme extent). Neither response is wrong, but it shows they cannot work together as a couple.

Nancy enjoying being told Steve's fantasy, the opposite of all her goals and dreams in life, and being happy? It is quite frankly, to quote Nancy, bullshit. It shows how surface level the Duffers see her as. They want this badass feminist cool girl with her guns but then are willing to sacrifice her whole character because they like how they redeemed the boy who slut shamed her in S1 and want to reward him for being a fan favourite. Maybe this is a reach, but it just feels kind of sexist how willing they'd be to throw away this female character's hopes and dreams for a guy she never loved and left 5 years ago. It's also bad for Steve which I explained a while ago in this post.

However, the incompatibility between their dreams gives me hope somewhat. Maybe the writers know this and are purposefully highlighting Stncy for Steve's death, not because Nancy will love him back but because he'll die knowing that he never won her over and that she always truly loved Jonathan and we'll get Jancy endgame. I'm more of a Ronance shipper, but I do not think that would ever happen and I think Jancy are cute too.

Or maybe they'll both end up single, with Nancy acknowledging that whilst she likes Steve and loves Jonathan, she has to move on and grow and live her life and with Steve realising that he needs to establish himself outside of dating and appreciate his friendships with Robin and Dustin instead.

TL;DR: the writers seem to be hinting at a Stncy return, either to reward Steve or to make his death sadder. Steve and Nancy are fundamentally incompatible and it would ruin Nancy's character if she gave up on her dreams for him. However, maybe this incompatibility is intentional and Stncy will remain one side or (hopefully) both Nancy and Steve are able to move on.

#anti stancy #stranger things #st5 speculation #st5 #st5 theory #st theory #stranger things theory #jancy #ronance #nancy wheeler #steve harrington

[quillkiller]

i'd love to hear more about why u didn't like barbie if it's not a problem for u

it’s not a problem! i do want to preface by saying tho that i did actually love seeing it and especially in the theatres with my dyke best friend!! and we had the time of our lives.

i wrote a very long and messy film review about barbies take on feminism and the patriarchy, i could post that if you’d be interested? :)

it also just. rubs me so in the wrong way seeing ryan gosling being peoples favorite thing to come out of the barbie movie. it just proves to me, imo, that barbies message went completely unheard. i absolutely loved his performence too but like. did we watch the same film? do we really think it’s funny that ken got bored of ruling a pareiarchy bc it didn’t include horses? is that actually funny or is it just unbelievably insensitive and out of touch? because i personally think the latter.

my main thing tho is basiaclly just that i had expected the film to do something literally anything new. to say something we don’t already know. i could name several films with the same feminist take and i just genuinely thought it would do one single radical thing. and it didn’t, in my opinion, and it left me very disappointed. i can’t name one single (new) thing the barbie film did for women/feminism if i’m being completely honest. it wrapped itself up in a neat little package towards the end saying ’everyone matters!’ w a cute little bow on top. men (because kens are still men) didn’t have to apologize and ryan goslings ken is everyones favorite part. from a movie about patriarchy and the sidelining of women. it just doesn’t sit right with me at all.

the kens are literally my enemies like what they did was unforgivable? they were men brainwashing and taking advantage of women and they didn’t even have to apologize and now we’re all obsessed with ’kenergy’? they should’ve at the very least be held responsible, but no they got an apology instead. while the barbies literally didn’t get a single one. is kenergy rly something we want? was he really keanough?????? i swear if i ever meet a man saying he’s a ken / is kenough i will kill him and then myself

some people may think i’m overreacting or that i’m a buzzkill but this is is genuinely how i feel about it. i see women say ’this is a film for all women!’ but i didn’t feel that once? i didn’t feel included once in the narrative and im definitely not being represented by barbie. it brought me back to when i was in the closet and i felt alien to everyone around me. i felt strange and ugly and wrong. this was a film for heterosexual women, imo.

in my defense, i am a film student film with a bachelor’s degree in film science, so i do feel confident in my own reading of the film. i am also well read on feminist theory and have been educating myself for years (and still do). it’s two things i’m very passionate about and literally you couldn’t spend even half an hour with my friend group, all dykes, before it turns into political/feminist discussions hahahah. i trust my judgment in how i feel about the film, but i’m not trying to change anyone else’s mind and im definitely not saying it wasn’t a good film. i’m absolutely not automatically right because of this. this is simply my reading of the film.

however, i find it very difficult not to engage with media, especially film, critically as someone who studies film and intends to make it my career. and i tend to engage critically from a gender perspective based on feminist theory because i honestly just can’t help it. a huge part of me didn’t want to engage with barbie critically because i had the time of my life watching it. i had so so so so much fun. but sadly, here we are

i had a similar experience when, in film history class, we started every single morning watching silent films. i fucking love silent films but let me tell you, the people who made silent films don’t love me or care for women. every morning i had to prepare myself to watch a woman get murdered by a man. a reminder of how women have been treated in cinema. a reminder that a woman isn’t a person, she’s a plot device for the male protagonist. the men in my class never noticed, whereas me and my uni friends (all girls) felt rather affected by it every single viewing. film theory hits different depending on who’s watching the film

that’s why i wanted barbie do just something new. it’s a film literally based on feminism and patriarchy and it still ended with a woman apologizing to a man. she still had to fight him off trying to make advances. she still had to do the emotional labour for another man.

it was just tiring. i wouldn’t have this opinion if it hadn’t made it so clear that the literal plot is patriarchy and feminism. that’s why i feel so let down

#barbie movie #sorry for being terribly mean but sometimes i feel like people call themselves feminist without knowing what it means #without reading feminist theory #it’s not just a statement #it actually means something to actively be a feminist #wiho sorry this whole post is kinda pretentious

[nokingsonlyfooles]

The Genders

I hope that Magritte, being a surrealist, would bless this like Dali's little addition to the Mona Lisa. The original, one of a set, is called The Lovers, with the implication that love is blind. If you read it that way, it's very sweet.

But, I've been feeling this way for the past few days and it's nothing to do with love. So I made an addition. It's not about what they see - or don't see - in each other anymore. It's about how every time I'm in a position to be seen, everyone puts a bag over my head. (And maybe you feel that way, too, I dunno. If it speaks to you, go ahead and use it.)

It's not really everyone, but, oooh, it's vanishingly few who don't, and that's... Well, look at it. It's suffocating.

I popped out of the womb, they assigned me a gender, and they told me that was me. Not a social role or an assignment they inflicted upon me, but me. They said they saw me, and that bag reflected who I was. They taught me that the bag over my head was for the purpose of self-expression. That it was empowering. That, in true 2nd wave "we're all sisters" style, it was a Girl Boss banner for me to carry into battle, so I could slay the Patriarchy.

And, almost immediately, they started telling me I was wearing it wrong.

If you drew that gender in the genetic lottery, you know what I mean. The contradictions. Yes, be a girl, but don't be all girly. Barbie, lipstick, heels, and nail polish are tools of the oppressors. But, no, like, don't go out in sweatpants like that, that looks like you hate yourself. And, here, make sure you grab some things off that patriarchal structure you're supposed to be fighting and claim them for yourself. Be aggressive! But not shrill. Be strong! But not too emotional. Oh, of course your period hurts, but get out there and do your job at or above the standards set by the men around you (men who are also being ground into dust by the Patriarchy), because it's your responsibility to prove that this bag over your head doesn't make you anything less.

And, here's the thing. I don't mind "woman" as a job. I never did. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, household logistics, shopping (God, do you know how much of an effort it is to shop properly on a budget? Not just to buy what you need and get out, but to juggle what you need, what you want, what's on sale, where they sell it, and what you can do with it?), growing and storing food, basic repairs, and everything we call "domestic"? I got lucky. I have that kind of brain. I am happy to do that for society! I will, if I ever get my health straightened out, even care for your children like you like! Now, I can't do that AND a full-time fucking job that pays money - not without serious health support that no employers have been willing to give me - but I will take all that other stuff off your plate so YOU can do some kind of job that pays. And I happened to team up with someone who's willing to do that for me. In that respect, we both look like we're wearing our head-bags like champions.

But for literally everything else? Fuck it, I'm a train wreck. And you wanna know why? It's not just because "woman" is hard. It's because "woman" is not self-expression for me, that's just what you asked me to do to help out. I'm willing to do it! And, shit, of course I respect the hell out of anyone else who's willing to do it - for whatever reason! But that was never enough. You want me to be the bag. Or, well, if I don't like that bag (I never said I didn't!!) you have another bag for me. The gentleman up there is wearing it. How 'bout that?

LGBTQIA, right? People always spotlight aro/ace (and a few privileged folks want to exclude "ally" - you know, that word that will let you access a queer space and escape with your life if you need to be in the closet?) but I almost never see anyone mention agender. That's me. That's what I'm trying to express. And you leave me nothing and no space to express it.

I don't have a clothing department, I don't have a toy department, I don't have a colour, I don't have a bathing suit style. I don't particularly want a body-type - I think it's fucking psychotic to expect people to alter their bodies to express a bag - but men and women have a template to shoot for, and it says something about how you see me that I don't. Everything that exists is labelled pink or blue and all I can do is mix and match.

I don't necessarily mind that either. I have freedom of choice. That's super important! It can even be fun! But I don't have freedom of expression, do I? I have one person in my life who gets it. I thought there must be a few more, but recent circumstances have proven that, no, it's just the one. Someone out there on the internet tightened up the bag to the point where I couldn't breathe...

Anon [tightening the garrote]: "AFAB" is only about who you are, not what we expect of you, right? Well, there are much less "problematic" ways to talk about who you are. Include everyone who shares your gender, or all genders equally, or get out!

...I freaked out, and he was the only one who saw what the problem was. Everyone else backed off from the crazy person who was screaming and clawing at their face like they couldn't breathe.

Maybe they just didn't know what to do to help. I think that's probably it. But that's because they couldn't see me.

I sent up a flare and I attracted one other semi-stranger who was also nonbinary and able to validate me. And that's it. That's... not so hot. If I'm choking and only two motherfuckers know the Heimlich, it's not safe for me to eat. But, I gotta eat.

So, here, I made an art. And I typed multiple paragraphs explaining myself, like usual. But, it kinda sucks that I have to. I can't just say "I'm [word]" and you get me. I can't just put on a hat, or an outfit, and have everyone know. Hell, I can't even do it with surgery.

In the past, I've said "any/all" for my pronouns, because I wanted to mix and match, like my clothes. I say, "As long as you acknowledge the genderless void inside me, call it what you want. 😅" But I can't get people to acknowledge the void, all they see is the bag. Okay. No more any/all. I may dial it back to xe/they when I'm feeling less confrontational, but it's xe/xem for now. Because I don't want this fucking bag on my head.

And, because I'm autistic and I often talk right past people with all my complexity, I'll say it with music:

#gender #art #nonbinary #surrealism #rene magritte #the lovers #the beatles #you won't see me #🐸🧠 #🐸🎨 #Youtube

[g4rchomp]

sorry for being the billionth person making a post abt barbie. also sorry this post is sooo long I have a lot to say. disclaimer: I am saying words recreationally, don't take any of this too seriously pls!!

a strongly anticapitalist feminist friend invited me to see the movie in a theatre. I was intrigued as to why she would suggest that so I accepted. she said she invited me bc she wanted to see how I would react and what I would think, which I find funny lol

good movie to discuss with friends and people you know in real life around a drink etc. but NOT on the internet. (this is perhaps the most important point I really want to stress that)

any criticism of mattel by mattel (who pockets revenues from the movie) has no value to me

great movie to practice your hater skills. the balance of good stuff and bad stuff is amazing to keep your haterism skills sharp lol

my biggest gripes with the movie

I don't like how Sasha's character (pre-teen who hates barbie and seems to dislike her mom but gets closer to her during the movie) was handled.

First, her very factual and true concerns over capitalism and self-image related to barbie are never explored or taken into actual consideration. throughout the movie she's urged to understand her mother more but her efforts are not reciprocated.

Second, I am sooo deeply tired of teens being depicted as angry for no reasons. like wooow you're growing up and now you hate me, your super cool and understanding mother :((( it's always deeper than this if your kid dislikes you. this stuff always get an eye roll from me sorry

overall the feminism sucked so just quickly: patriarchy is presented as an individual force rather than a systemic one, no mention of race/age/class/sexual orientation etc. etc. etc. only misogyny but the world doesn't work like that

on that topic btw I didn't like how weird barbie (virtually the only gnc barbie) is only here to repair other barbies and make them whole again and doesn't exist outside of that. how fitting lollll

also seeing sasha go from 'I hate barbie and societal expectations' to 'barbie is my friend I'm wearing pink now' was kinda sad. gnc girls and girls who aren't girls I love you. in itself this trajectory isn't necessarily bad but on a personal level it just felt wrong.

it is an ok point of entry/conversation starters for feminist concerns if you're really on ground 0

forever my biggest gripe with the movie is how marketed it was and how it's made to sell me products. any feminism that attempts to grab my wallet isn't feminism I'm interested in

three really distasteful moments that stood out to me:

indigenous catching smallpox joke -> just shut the fuck up incredibly inappropriate and violent.

'to show how our character becomes human, we show she's going to the obgyn hihi' not funny didn't laugh it felt bioessentialist and to have it be the closing scene of the movie was just a bad move (to me at least but more on that later lol)

'margot robbie might not be the best person to deliver a message about how women shouldn't feel pressure to feel beautiful hihi' yeah she's not. congrats on making money by centering a beautiful skinny white woman and telling the audience you did it on purpose

lighthearted stuff

the music was fun I like how they used it throughout the movie

the costumes looked good, the film was pretty and I liked the acting it looked like they had fun filming

it was a real 'oh I get it now' moment when I saw 2ft margot robbie on the screen. she is attractive I can see it now

not related but it was kinda like straight people camp lol

the final scene (aka my other biggest gripe with the movie but it gets a section to itself)

women go to the obgyn hihihihi. ok first of all cool welcome to one of the most central sphere to violence against women. second going to the obgyn isn't a universal experience for women for many, many reasons. third ig it was a joke that fits the humorous tone of the movie but it didn't land for me.

ALSO. they already had the perfect ending (imo) with the pink birkenstocks!! early in the movie she has to make a choice between pretty pink heels and ugly brown sandals. we see her at the end wearing pink sandals. having her picking her new shoes would show she journey she's been on much better than the obgyn joke imo!!!

Anyways here are my thoughts. I'd be interested to know what you think abt these points or if you felt this way when watching the movie too, although honestly I feel like online settings are less than ideals to talk abt that. I wouldn't say I hated the movie (despite what the post might suggest lol) I don't regret seeing it. at least the movie made me want to talk about it and clarify some feelings I have after watching it, which is always something even if I disliked many things abt it!

#didn't think I'd have so much to say BUT I am a hater and a lover which makes me talkative. sorry #also worth saying if you are not following me pleaaaaase don't engage with this post that would be super appreciated!!

[thewhiskersonkittens]

It's been over a week since I saw it and I still can't stop thinking about the Barbie movie. It's like I'm still in shock. No one cares but I will write out my full thoughts here under the cut.

PROS

Like everyone says, I 100% agree on the set design of Barbie Land and the costumes. They did a fantastic job! I expect they will win some awards for those categories.

I like most of the soundtrack although there's probably about three artists on it I actually know. (I feel old.)

Ryan Gosling. To me, he had the best performance out of the whole cast. Ironically, in a movie literally called "Barbie", I found myself caring for Ken more. I think that is a testament to just how good of an actor Gosling is. They butchered Ken's character (just like they did Barbie's) and wrote a really half-ass script but Gosling STILL delivered.

Weird Barbie. I'm not much of a Kate McKinnon fan but I think she did really well. I love this concept of a "weird Barbie" because it's so true to life. Of course there would be a Barbie some little girl messed up! 😂

Speaking of "old", my favorite scene was the one with Barbie on the bench next to the elderly woman. I think this movie's message could have easily been about ageism more than tHe pAtRiaRcHy...

CONS

The biggest issue for me is what they did to Barbie and Ken's relationship. They are one of the most famous couples of all time, albeit a fictional one, but I just wanted them to be in love and kiss. 😭 I'm a hopeless romantic. I am tired of the idea that a Strong Female Character™ can't have a romantic relationship with a man because it makes her "weak" or "not as cool". One thing they could have done is say of course Barbie doesn't need Ken. But she chooses Ken because she loves him. She DOES love him. (IDC what Gerwig or Robbie says. They got it wrong.)

The plot(s) are all over the place! I can't remember but I don't even think the mother-daughter part of the story even got resolved or if it did it was done in like two seconds?! I don't remember, by then, I was getting bored and restless.

There was no point to Will Ferrell and the Mattel CEOs. After the chase scene, I completely forgot about them until they randomly reappeared at the end. I'm inclined to think they were only included to be a red herring for when they cut the trailers for the movie.

I didn't like how they named everyone else "Barbie" and "Ken" in Barbie Land (Aside from Alan and Midge). I get they are saying everyone can be a Barbie or a Ken no matter what you look like. But did they not know about all the characters in Barbie's world? Skipper, Courtney, Kelly (a.k.a. Chelsea), Stacie, Christie, Francie, etc? Just seems lazy IMO.

"The Message". Don't tell me "yOu jUsT diDn't GEt iT!!!" 😑 Oh, I got "the message", all right. IDK how anyone can watch this movie and not "get it" when they might as well beat you over the head with a goddamn sledgehammer. When I was a kid, I had a Life Size Barbie. Why don't you get one of those and write "FeMiNISm!!!" all over her body, take her by the heels, wind her up like a baseball bat and beat me to death for two hours?! In hindsight, it would have saved me time and money for sure.

If you liked this aspect of the movie, all the power to ya. You are allowed to like whatever you want to like. But everyone acting like this shit was so deep and profound... ??? I'm sorry, are you kidding me?! It's about as deep as a kiddie pool. I think there are rain puddles out there deeper than this.

They could have gone about the women's empowerment message in a much better way and a lot more subtle and a lot less hateful.

Which brings me to my next point about what I didn't like.

IDK what this movie was trying to be? It had some funny moments but most of the humour was corny and flat. I've been craving an unapologetically girlie, "chick-flick" movie for a long, long time now. The kind they used to make 15-20 years ago or so. Think "Legally Blonde", "Clueless" or "13 Going on 30". Or think even further back to the 80's with "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" or "Teen Witch". What better movie to make a return to that kind of genre than with a live action ✨BARBIE✨ movie? She is the epitome of girlie-ness and femininity. But I guess that's too "problematic" now or something.

Why did only Ken sing? Don't get me wrong, he did great, but does it seem weird to anyone else why he was the only one? It seems kind of random IMO. Why didn't Barbie sing a solo? I have no idea if Robbie can sing or not but still. Again, what is this movie trying to be? It could have worked as a musical but it wasn't.... but they threw in a Ken song and dance number out of left field?

And lastly,

Margot Robbie. I HATE to say this, really I do. Because I really like her as an actress. I had so much faith and hope in her with this role. I thought she was a MUCH better choice for Barbie than Amy Schumer ever was!

Robbie looks the part of Barbie to a T. She's beautiful. But as the movie went on, I felt like she wasn't giving Barbie anymore. At least not Barbie in the way I imagine the character. It feels like she was playing a completely different character. Barbie in this movie never really helps anyone but herself. Barbie is not supposed to be an emotional manipulator but here, she is.

It's not Robbie's fault because Gerwig didn't write her character correctly. Same thing with Ken. He's a himbo, for sure, but he's not supposed to be some pathetic simp. I feel like both Robbie and Gosling were kind of wasted. They are both so talented but their characters were not written right.

So, all and all, if I had to rate the movie I'd give it a 5/10. I feel like they got some things right, some things they could have done much better, and some things they just shouldn't have done at all.

This is all just my honest thoughts and opinions. If you enjoyed the movie, I certainly don't want to take that away from you. I'm a huge fan of Barbie and I left the theater incredibly disappointed by the final product and I was SO excited for this.

#barbie 2023 #barbie spoilers #i hope we can still be friends #barbie