The movie Barbie (2023) is a live-action production, drawing inspiration from the iconic brand and its associated dolls. It stars Margot Robbie in the lead role as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken starring Margot Robbie as the main character and Ryan Gosling as Ken. After an existential crisis, Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) departs from Barbieland to embark on a quest to the real world. Upon her arrival, Barbie discovers a reality that diverges significantly from the idyllic and aesthetically pleasing environment of her own world. Meanwhile, Ken learns about the persuasive influence of patriarchy and feels seen for the first time ever, as Barbie was too busy and preoccupied to notice him before. When Ken returns to Barbieland prior to Barbie, he assumes a new position of authority and teaches all the Kens about what he has learnt in the real world. This forces a restructuring of roles within Barbieland, where the Kens impose traditional gendered expectations upon the Barbies, relegating them to stereotypical positions such as girlfriends and maids. This changes drastically from what Barbies were used to form the previous distribution of roles, where Barbies occupied positions ranging from President to physicists. Upon Barbie’s return, she is confronted with the mess Ken has made in her absence. Despite her efforts to rectify his mistakes and restore, Barbie is unsuccessful, precipitating her into a state of depression. In a turn of events, Barbie encounters Gloria, a human working for Mattel with whom she had previously interacted in the real world. Motivated by a speech of hers, Barbie takes action and works out a way, along with the other Barbies, to regain power. Barbie and Ken apologize to one another, and peace is restored in their world. Nevertheless, Stereotypical Barbie still feels like she does not belong in Barbieland anymore. She meets with the spirit of Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll, who sagely tells her that Barbie’s story has no ending and she can do whatever she wants with her life. Barbie thus decides to permanently depart from Barbieland and to become a human in the real world.
The movie was critically acclaimed and achieved substantial commercial success, amassing a global box office revenue surpassing 1.446 billion dollars. In addition to these achievements, the film received numerous nominations and accolades, notably from the Golden Globes, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, the Golden Globes Awards and the Academy Awards. These recognitions show the film’s artistic and cultural impact, affirming its position in the cinematic landscape.