Abstract
Somewhere between meaningful discourse about female agency and the commercial interests of a problematic doll franchise lies Mattel's box office hit film Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. In a script-flipping interpretation of the real-world patriarchy, it catapults itself into overdue discussions about gender norms, objectification, and the pursuit of Westernized beauty ideals. While it may have introduced liberationist theories to a new generation of women, ultimately it is a film bound by cognitive dissonance. This paper will delve into the profit-making protagonist at the center of its story and argue the film's underlying incompatibility with diversity, feminism, and social progress.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
La Porte, Amy and Cavusoglu, Lena
(2023)
"Faux Feminism in a Capitalistic Fever Dream: A Review of Greta Gerwig's Barbie (2023),"
Markets, Globalization & Development Review:
Vol. 8:
No.
2, Article 6.
DOI: 10.23860/MGDR-2023-08-02-06
Available at:
Included in
Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Leisure Studies Commons, Marketing Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Recreation Business Commons, Sociology Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Author Bio
Amy La Porte is a CNN alum and an Emmy®-nominated writer, producer, and television reporter. She graduated from the University of Canberra, where she also taught broadcast journalism, media studies, and research methodologies. Recognized by Forbes magazine for her philanthropy, she is interested in humanitarian services, international affairs, and women’s studies.
Lena Cavusoglu is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Pacific University in Forest Grove, OR, USA. She conducts transformative consumer research, with a focus on underrepresented, disadvantaged and marginalized communities in creative industries like media, entertainment, and fashion. Her work has been published in notable journals, including the European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Affairs, and the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, among others.