CHENNAI: Life in plastic, well, it’s touted to be fantastic. The iconic Barbie Dreamhouse is something that has held every child’s fascination. Ever since 1959, the owner of the Dreamhouse, with her fashion sense, blonde hair, and blue eyes, has charmed her way into being a revolutionary figure in pop culture.
To young adults of Tamil Nadu today, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, promises a reminiscent journey back to their childhoods. As the trailer notes, “If you love Barbie, this movie is for you. If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you.” An evolution that seems to have come full circle, let us look at how Barbie has accompanied and affected them throughout their lives.
From coveted to nostalgic
Barbara Millicent “Barbie” Roberts was created by Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel Inc. with her husband, Elliot Handler. She was modelled after the German doll, Bild Lilli — fashioned after a comic strip character, Lilli, that appeared in a German tabloid Bild. Barbie was named after Ruth and Elliot’s daughter, Barbara, while her counterpart Ken was named after their son, Kenneth. Officially released in the New York Toy Fair on March 9, 1959, Barbie became a favourite, built an empire and till date, is deemed one of the most popular dolls worldwide.
From being her fashion icon as a child to admiring her as an adult for becoming one of the most successful brands in the world, Sadhana Amarnath’s journey with Barbie is one that is filled with childhood adoration and nostalgia. “My relationship with her was pretty contradictory according to societal standards,” says Sadhana, a medical student from Chennai. “Despite being a tomboy while growing up, my fascination towards the dolls never ceased. I still have my collection of dolls from when I was a kid,” she shares.
With several variants of Barbie making it to the market every year, it is no surprise that the upcoming movie has inspired a recent line. As you walk into the dolls’ section in the Hamleys toy store in Phoenix MarketCity, you see an entire section of Barbie dolls dedicated to the upcoming movie. Multiple dolls, dressed in chic and stylish clothes are modelled after Margot Robbie and the other Barbies in the movie. In fact, Mattel has launched an entire collection of dolls and playsets exclusively dedicated to Barbie. But it was not just the dolls that garnered the fanfare of the public, but the hit movies as well.
From her first feature movie, Barbie in the Nutcracker, she has charmed an entire generation of kids who have grown up listening to the unforgettable tracks of the iconic Barbie movies of the 2000s. As Rishika Gudipatti from Kodaikanal says, “Till date, I love watching the original movies either with friends or even when I need to pick myself up after a bad day. From remembering lines to dramatically acting out the songs, Barbie, even after all of these years, never fails to remind me of simpler days and fond memories.”
While memories abound, the relationship with the doll has changed for a few over the years. Ananthika Hari from Coimbatore shares, “As a kid, I was completely obsessed with Barbie, to the point of concern. But somehow, as an adult, it just suddenly died down.
Of course, the fond memories associated with Barbie will never go away, but the interest that I held as a child has certainly waned.” Regardless, Ananthika is always up for a Barbie marathon anytime!
Relatability in reality?
Barbie is often critiqued for the high standards that she has set for young girls. And often without adequate representation, Barbie becomes a figure who is less relatable and held on society’s pedestal.
So, how relatable Barbie truly was?
Samyuktha Sreekumar, a student from Chennai, on the other hand, says, “It was not relatable as much as it was aspirational. She was such a perfect person on screen. She always did the right thing, she knew what she was doing, and in the end, forgave the people who wronged her. I understand a few people, especially kids, might have seen themselves in her, but I saw her more as a hero than a girl next door. She was a little too perfect to relate to.”
And not only was Barbie perfect in her character, she also had society’s coveted “perfect body”. Barbie, despite her popularity, has undergone heavy criticism for her lack of inclusivity when it came to representation. “As a young girl, and as much as I loved her, she was never somebody who I could relate to in terms of physicality,” says Ananthika. As a child who had never been outside Tamil Nadu, the fancy ghagras and lehengas did not appeal to her. “Every time I looked at the Indian Barbies around me, they would be fairer, and with long, black hair, essentially the opposite of me,” she shares.
Till date, Barbie has a huge market — close to $7 billion. But what made her so popular, despite her idealistic nature and the standards she set?
Harshita Narendran, a third-year medical student from Chennai, says, “She was an aspirational figure. But that’s what I liked about her, especially in the old movies. I wanted to be as kind, as loving and as empathetic as the character I was seeing on screen.” As a fan of the movies, Harshita fondly remembers the charm that accompanied the simple stories. “Further, as a ballet dancer, Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses and the Island Princess, were my favourites. The fact that I saw another person on screen, dancing like me was something that I adored,” she adds.
In the wake of the female gaze and the importance of representation, one in which Greta Gerwig has excelled in with her movies like Ladybird and Little Women, the audience awaits an amazing retelling of the doll that shaped their childhoods. Aside from the catchy soundtracks, the star-studded cast and the nostalgia associated with the film, the inner children of the audience entrust their childhood fantasy into the hands of a capable director, hoping that the result is justly delivered. And let’s not forget Ryan Gosling as Ken.
With Barbenheimmer! being the slogan of the month, theatres are filling up with stiff competition for the best seats up to 10 days in advance. Despite the ups and downs, and the problems one may have with Barbie, her journey is precious to every child that has been part of it.