August 2023
I can relate to the experience of knowledge being thrust upon me that I didn't ask for, that I was forced to reckon with.
Heads up: Spoilers to follow for the Barbie Movie...bookmark this to read later if you still plan to see the movie!
“The Bible is full of heroic men celebrated for their hero’s journeys–from Noah to Job, Moses to Jesus. Men whose stories map the arc of exile from family or homeland, of being tested, of losing faith and regaining it. Men who learn about goodness and evil through the fire of their own experiences. Only Eve has been demonized for answering the same call. While the men of the Bible are allowed to fall in their humanness and rise in wisdom, Eve only falls. And womankind bears the scars of her sin instead of the honor of her courage.” - Elizabeth Lesser, Cassandra Speaks
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As someone who’s done a significant amount of reading and musing about Eve’s portrayal in the Genesis story, I'm convinced that Barbie is a feminist retelling of the Genesis story.
The movie opens with Barbie living in a perfect world. We see that Ken was created as an accessory to Barbie and only exists when she acknowledges him. Some of the most darkly funny moments of the movie are when you see how little Barbie cares about Ken. At one point someone asks her where the Kens live and she chirps, “I don’t know!”