Barbie

I have seen this film at the cinema twice and I think its a great film.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I like Margot Robbie but I have memories of watching Barbie cartoons with my daughter when she was very young. Barbies life generally wasn't complete until the end of the film when Ken was back with her, and along the way some of her friends would also be pretty nasty to her. Even at the time of watching them I couldn't believe they could be made and I always had to tell my daughter that she doesn't need a man and that most men are idiots. I stand by that comment.

The film was directed by a woman who has since become the first ever woman to direct a $1bn movie with sole director credit. She also co-wrote it. So obviously that triggered the Piers Morgan brigade who seemed generally upset that men were under attack (they weren't, but its true that there are some men who may have felt that, which I can only assume is based on their own fragility).

I liked the film. It was funny, it poked fun at the product and its maker, Mattel, it touched on the problematic nature of the Barbie product. Still great marketing for Mattel, sure, but that doesn't make it a bad film. I have seen criticism that its doesn't deal with feminist issues very deeply, but its a comedy, about a toy! It does what its supposed to do and it does it really well. Its funny, its entertaining and its sweet and charming in places. So yes, its not that deep, but it still touches on modern feminist issues in a good way.

I first went to see the film with my daughter who then told me to read Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates.

So I did.

And that was bleak.

Laura breaks down male behaviour into various categories and makes the point that despite the danger posed by man online and in real life, it doesn't even seem to get a mention, ever. And I feel she has a point. The main stream media serves up the same stories with the same presentation, they will not recruit journalists who deviate from this, or maybe do not allow journalists to present issues from a different slant. And social media companies remain unregulated and make £billions from misogyny. Thats just part of their business model and we allow that too. Women remain there for the kicking.

Back to Barbie. Barbie shows that even in entertaining and humorous ways you can look at things differently. I preferred it to Oppenheimer and I will watch it again. And I loved the title track by Billie Eilish.