On July 21st, the ‘Barbie’ Movie was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures quickly garnering widespread popularity and large audiences dressed in pink to celebrate the occasion. The Barbie movie has become popular on social media for its touching themes of girlhood, feminism, and mother-daughter relationships. Despite moving on to become a global box office success and making $155 million in only its first weekend, the movie received backlash and conservative criticism for its so-called “man-hating woke propaganda”.
Within the criticism that the movie has received, many asserted that the Barbie movie is not a movie that should be targeted towards children and younger audiences. When an interviewer asked Margot Robbie and her co-star Ryan Gosling “Is this a kids movie or is it not a kids movie?” Robbie responded, “This is such a thing people say when they do press for a movie. They’re like, ‘It’s for everyone.’ But it was literally crafted to be for everyone.” Robbie explains in the interview that the movie was created so that there is something for everyone and that the humor within some of the scenes will go over the kids’ heads and make adults laugh.
“Flaming Garbage” and “woke” was how conservative commentator, Ben Shapiro, referred to the film, posting a 43-minute-long video to YouTube on Saturday. He also lit a Barbie and Ken doll on fire in protest of the movie. In addition to Shapiro, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Ginger Gaetz, the wife of U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, took to social media and Fox News to criticize the film for its themes of “wokeness” & “anti-men”. Ginger Gaetz took to Twitter to criticize the film, commenting on the “disappointingly low T from Ken,” referring to his level of testosterone.
Ted Cruz said that a world map shown in the movie was used by Hollywood to act “as a mouthpiece for the Chinese communists.” According to Reuters, Vietnam banned “Barbie” because the map includes “the so-called nine-dash line” that is used on Chinese maps to illustrate China’s claims over vast areas of the South China Sea, including swaths of what Vietnam considers its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions. Warner Bros responded that the map was simply a childlike drawing and not intended to “make any type of statement.”
Fox News played a role in the #BoycottBarbie movement by promoting a review from Christian site MovieGuide, which claims the movie is promoting LGBTQ+ character stories, according to Rolling Stone. Charlie Kirk, founder of conservative group Turning Point USA, and a conservative radio talk show host, criticized the casting of Hari Nef as one of the Barbies in the film because she is a trans actor. Kirk called the film “trans propaganda” and “the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen” on his radio show before floating the idea of a boycott. Despite the boycott, "Barbie'' has a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has been the summer and year-to-date box office winner.
Within the criticism that the movie has received, many asserted that the Barbie movie is not a movie that should be targeted towards children and younger audiences. When an interviewer asked Margot Robbie and her co-star Ryan Gosling “Is this a kids movie or is it not a kids movie?” Robbie responded, “This is such a thing people say when they do press for a movie. They’re like, ‘It’s for everyone.’ But it was literally crafted to be for everyone.” Robbie explains in the interview that the movie was created so that there is something for everyone and that the humor within some of the scenes will go over the kids’ heads and make adults laugh.
“Flaming Garbage” and “woke” was how conservative commentator, Ben Shapiro, referred to the film, posting a 43-minute-long video to YouTube on Saturday. He also lit a Barbie and Ken doll on fire in protest of the movie. In addition to Shapiro, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Ginger Gaetz, the wife of U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, took to social media and Fox News to criticize the film for its themes of “wokeness” & “anti-men”. Ginger Gaetz took to Twitter to criticize the film, commenting on the “disappointingly low T from Ken,” referring to his level of testosterone.
Ted Cruz said that a world map shown in the movie was used by Hollywood to act “as a mouthpiece for the Chinese communists.” According to Reuters, Vietnam banned “Barbie” because the map includes “the so-called nine-dash line” that is used on Chinese maps to illustrate China’s claims over vast areas of the South China Sea, including swaths of what Vietnam considers its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions. Warner Bros responded that the map was simply a childlike drawing and not intended to “make any type of statement.”
Fox News played a role in the #BoycottBarbie movement by promoting a review from Christian site MovieGuide, which claims the movie is promoting LGBTQ+ character stories, according to Rolling Stone. Charlie Kirk, founder of conservative group Turning Point USA, and a conservative radio talk show host, criticized the casting of Hari Nef as one of the Barbies in the film because she is a trans actor. Kirk called the film “trans propaganda” and “the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen” on his radio show before floating the idea of a boycott. Despite the boycott, "Barbie'' has a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has been the summer and year-to-date box office winner.