Six Months of Barbie

Sharon Stone turned down a movie role in 2022 after being offered $500 thousand for the part. The reason was that an unknown male actor was offered $8-9 million for his role in the same movie. Furthermore, when the actress presumably objected to the initial offer that did not reflect her market value, she faced a wall. The award-winning actress believes that the opportunities for women in film have not changed much over the past 30 years since she filmed Basic Instinct, as back then she made $500K as the female lead, whereas Michael Douglas earned the staggering $14 million (I suspect that the movie agent had fallen victim to the anchoring bias in decision making, believing that if she had accepted this pay 30 years ago, there was a good chance she would take it now). The glaring gender parity gap observed in Hollywood sadly extends beyond the boundaries of the film industry and the United States.

The astonishing success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie this year is a testament to the calling need to address the socio-economic struggle of women and the ever-mounting social pressures. The movie became the first billion-dollar blockbuster in history directed solely by a female, grossing $1.44 billion worldwide box office sales in 2023; it was also Warners Bros.’ highest grossing film globally in its entire history. Reportedly, the male and female protagonists made the same high earnings in Barbie, where Margot Robbie was both the female lead and a key producer. Nevertheless, only two of the movie’s nine Golden Globe nominations turned into awards and the belittling jokes from the awards’ host affirmed the very issues the film exposed.

Growing up in (then) communist Bulgaria, I knew one little girl who had a Barbie. As if this wasn’t enough glamor, she also had a Ken doll at home! Every time my parents went to visit hers, my eyes would squint in the living room where the dolls were placed. I found the look of the dolls exotic and even though I did not desperately crave one of them, they represented a hidden symbol of social standing that was obvious even to a child. Before the nineties, certain Western products were to be found only at a duty-free chain called Corekom, if one was in possession of foreign currency and a permission from the authorities (having foreign currency was suspicious and subject to investigation). At times, the limited number of parents who worked abroad ‘smuggled’ toys in their suitcases on the way back to the country. The times have drastically changed – today, one can find dozens of rows with different Barbies at every children’s chain, surrounded by racks with transient toys that quickly disappear on the steps of history. By contrast, Barbie has an aura of immortality, as its significance in the life of little (and big) girls is not only unwavering but at times even surging.

And what smarter way is there to address lurking social issues than via the doll that has stratified the first perceptions of beauty and social values in innocent (Western) hearts and minds ever since 1959!

I responded to the invitation of a friend to see the film together. Barbie entertains, ironizes, flips upside down and intertwines themes and ideas – the gap between the thinkers (rebellious human women) and the stereotypicals (automated Barbies), the dichotomy between the mother and the sex symbol, the distorted reflection of feminism in the broken mirror of patriarchy, the fallacy of perfection... Nothing is as it seems, but the viewer is not left to meander for too long, as the poignancy of the messages easily comes to the surface.

The PINK acronym in alliance with the excessive use of pink color throughout the movie stands for ‘’pretty, intelligent, never sad and cool.’’ Yet there is uniformity and boredom in the prettiness, intelligence is conveniently replaced by accessories, the constant joy seems to conceal suppressed trauma and the need to be liked by everyone kills (any) star’s allure. I wondered whether through the dolls Barbie presented Americans as semi-automated agents, controlled by the interests of the executive suite and key institutional players. As fear of punishment and the desire to belong are key factors in steering the behavior of social groups, culture thus intrinsically represents the largest such group, as shaped by historical, geographic, political, institutional and media influences. This would explain the easy spread of cultural behavior specifics, when introduced and nudged by the above organs.

Did the Barbie doll allegory reflect the surreal utopia of the American dream, if one were to tackle the interpretation of the movie’s themes from a different angle? Imposing mediocrity, small talk and consumerism as the behavioral norms of happiness in a society, while shifting the focus away from education and values, instead inducing people to believe that they had access to everything they set their mind to? You can be anything you want to be, as Barbie’s slogan goes. If America is not close to a perfect world, then what is? If common norms and laws keep societies afloat and more easily governed, then how does one ensure that these norms and laws do serve the interest of the entire population – to be well informed, imbued with strong values and given equal access to opportunities from healthcare to business, not only on paper but also in practice? Having a democratic, healthy evolving society also implies having the education to understand what one votes for, the freedom to act upon one’s knowledge and a solid moral foundation. These questions kept pouring into my mind.

The occurrence of dark, out-of-the-box thoughts in Barbie (Margot Robbie) in the movie is labeled a ‘defect’ straightway, as these thoughts lead to the physical malformation of flat feet, to the horror of the other Barbies. In an instant, it becomes obvious that anybody who differs from the norm will be put in the category ‘weird Barbie’ in the fairytale world of Barbieland. The social pressure to be perfect creates a monster in the supposedly perfect world – yet the monster is not the Weird Barbie but the mentality of the general Barbie population. Barbieland at first glance is a fairytale environment, but only for the women, who obsess with their looks and glorious way of living, and who operate cars, boats, rockets or two-wheel bikes, with Kens sitting in the back. Even though Barbie women subjugate men and do not depend on their approval, they are thrown into a state of despair if their physical beauty wanes. Despite all its superficial glamor, Barbieland carries the burden of the Real World – a space presented in the movie as uncompromisingly being ruled by men, who vow to put the doll (Margot Robbie) in the box where she belongs.

As I was watching, I remembered speaking to the CEO of a German manufacturer, who shared an interesting story. On his first day of work, he was taken on a tour around the plants and noticed that as they went from one floor to another, he saw only male workers. A bit surprised, he asked the person in charge of the tour where the women were – the response was that they initially had some women, but these had been let go as they ’distracted the men too much’. The story took place several years ago…

In the Real World, Barbie finds the human teen Sasha and hears from her that the Barbie doll is hated by women for representing ‘sexualized capitalism, unrealistic body, glorification of rampant consumerism…’ Sasha’s mother Gloria in her turn complains that ‘it is impossible to be a woman as women need to be extraordinary, yet somehow are always doing it wrong’. (Some) Real World women seem outraged by their expected stellar performance in all areas of life, yet they feel compelled to deliver on the expectations to fit in and be liked. They are conscious but compliant in their struggle — until all hell breaks loose and the emotions spring into action to achieve a real social change. Gloria makes it imperative for the well-being of humanity to un-brainwash the Barbies and release them from their ultimate conditioning.

Back in Barbieland, things have changed. Ken (Ryan Gosling) has re-entered and shared with all Kens how different men in the Real World are. He becomes the leader of the new male order of chaos and vengeance, and overtakes control of Barbieland. In the meantime, Mattel releases the new Depression Barbie who spends seven hours a day on Instagram…

The last part of the movie highlights a divide and conquer strategy, a power game executed immaculately by the newly un-brainwashed Barbies to foster distrust among the Kens, so that the brainwashed Barbies can be stolen and, in turn, enlightened. The planning Barbies suddenly unleash very human-like manipulative behavior, acting as decoys that pretend, seduce, distract and divide the Kens; the scheme leads to an all-male war that renders the Kens oblivious to the truly important event — the reinstatement of the new constitution. Kenland is destroyed, yet there is a significant twist to the plot — the now un-brainwashed Barbie population displays a preference for individualism over conformity, equal rights over power. They no longer wish to control the Kens — instead, they give way to almost motherly care, compassion and kindness as being key elements to fostering a more equitable society.

Barbie pokes at ripe social issues, even though it does not provide a realistic solution or strategy to reduce the gender parity gap. It does leave a lot of questions open and gender equality does not happen with a magic wand. There is no theater without an audience. The most challenging task of all is to provide the proper incentives to the management to give more responsibilities, power and leading roles to women. This topic is complex and the whole world (with some exceptions in Scandinavia) has not found an easy solution to it, but here are some tips for managers to get started:

1.       Develop and internalize knowledge about unconscious bias and the errors in managerial judgment it leads to — there are consulting companies that specialize in this area. Build awareness and knowledge of existing gender and other imbalances — tackle them through regular employee training, analyses and learnings through past lessons. Companies like Google and Facebook have integrated unconscious bias into their employee programs.

2.       Familiarize yourself with studies on the effects of increased diversity on the performance of organizations. If necessary, employ external diversity consultants to tackle perceived issues. While diversity may not be recommended for very small, start-up companies, it becomes critical as the organization grows and the complexity of tasks and areas increases.

3.       Engage the Human Resources team and team leaders actively in the above topics. Make gender equality progress an integral element in HR and team leader performance reviews. Have an active program in place for supporting and growing the numbers, roles and responsibilities of women, which includes space for family obligations and supports personal growth. Regularly compare salaries and performance reviews of males and females in the same function and analyze the causes of potential disparities.

4.       Question the rules if your gut feeling tells you something is not right, even it is the way it has been done for decades. Artificial bubbles cannot survive too long – what matters is fixing the right issues. If Barbie had gone through the journey and fixed her cellulitis as everybody in Barbieland had advised her, instead of coming across thinking humans, she would not have evolved. Ignorance is bliss, as the poet Thomas Gray once wrote, yet once the illusion is unveiled one may not have the tools to keep moving. I would rather go with John Donne that ‘‘no man is an island, entire of itself,’’ as one must strive to serve a higher purpose and get out of the box.

5.       Ally with people who believe that change is necessary among the top management and the hidden influencers inside the company. Analyze the results of gender related actions on employee motivation and performance, examine negative correlations and standardize the successful practices.

6.       Cultural changes can be devastating if initiated in the wrong way – when Ken goes back to Barbieland, he instills the values of the Real World, but since the men in Barbieland have been suppressed since the beginning of time, very quickly they turn violent and abusive towards the Barbie women. The corporate world contains a lot of people who come from different social moulds. Therefore, a non-negotiable approach to behavioral standards by the top management is imperative to keep the glue together. (The harder topic here is how to evolve a society into producing better leaders who actually possess this set of values.)

7.       Non-conformists are not necessarily ‘‘misfits’’. They can be the harbingers of change. Non-conformists are more difficult to brainwash and culturalize, as they do not try to fit in and be liked by everyone. Find the right non-conformists and listen to their ideas on why change is needed. Ask them what you need to change as a leader.

8.       Inspire women through action. I have been part of environments where women have taken two extremes to be successful at work — either acting like Barbies or acting like the men at work, in order to be accepted by them. Encourage women to find a common language with the team, while providing them with a safe, respectful environment where they can simply be themselves.

Is Barbie a great movie? I am not a movie critic or expert, and the movie isn’t on my personal top 10 list. Barbie uses a colorful, innovative and vibrant approach to speak up openly about fathomless social issues — and that on its own merits makes it a winner. I look forward to the Oscars!