We’ve all heard of Barbie. The doll that reinvented the idea of imaginative play, and more recently the shockingly realistic movie that motivated kids and adults alike across the country. The movie portrayed a world of dolls who are doctors, presidents, and lifeguards; dolls that can ride motorcycles or fly a rocket; dolls that could wear a skirt or pants, or have their hair done up in a bun or a ponytail, or leave it down. These dolls helped girls and boys imagine and offer a way to become someone new. Barbie taught us that we can reimagine our world, be anyone, and do anything we want.
Barbie tells the story of a young doll living her normal life in Barbie Land. But suddenly someone in the Real World starts to feel sad and have “irrepressible thoughts of death.” Barbie learns that she is interconnected with this person, and so she starts to feel the same way. As Barbie struggles to locate the person affecting her, she notices depictions of sexism and patriarchy. Men dominate businesses, while women struggle to achieve recognition. Ken sees this and is motivated by the power that men have in the real world. He decides to bring the patriarchy back to Barbie Land. He returns from the real world, spreads the word, and Barbie Land turns into Kendom. Then, Barbie and her newly found real-world friends Sasha and Gloria work together to save Barbie Land and restore order.
Following the release of the movie on July 21st, only a surprisingly small number of people were nominated for Academy Awards. Ryan Gosling, who played Ken, was selected for Best Actor in Supporting Role, and America Ferrera was nominated for Best Actress in Supporting Role.
However, two of the people that made the movie so powerful were not nominated. The movie’s producer, Greta Gerwig and the main character Barbie, played by Margot Robbie were not included in the nominations.
The fact that some of the women who played such a huge role in the success of a movie were not nominated, and the men were is bizarre, but relatable. The movie perfectly portrays the idea that women do so much work, and men get all of the credit. And somehow, the nominating members of the Academy of Motion Pictures have decided to give men credit for a movie that is obviously about women and by women
Gosling said, in response to the nomination, “… there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.” Gosling couldn’t more accurately describe the sexism in our world today; and Robbie sets a perfect example of how women fight their way to the top.
In the uproar of Barbie’s controversial nominations, it seems that most people are talking about Ryan Gosling, Greta Gerwig, and of course, Margot Robbie. While these nominations are certainly important, interesting, and telling on the state of feminism, it’s caused someone else to be forgotten: America Ferrera. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress; an award equal to Gosling’s. Ferrera played Gloria (Sasha’s mom; a Mattel employee) in the film, and delivered the monologue that became one of the most talked about events of the summer.
It seems, in a way, that Gerwig and Robbie not receiving nominations has outshined Ferrera’s success. This thought has led to substantial internet debates on which one matters more, who deserves it more, and who they should forget about – but this is only making matters worse. Instead of appreciating, discussing, and recognizing each woman’s situation, we’re pitting them against each other like our still patriarchal society tends to do. We’ve seen this countless times; a recent example is this summer when people compared Taylor Swift’s eras tour to Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour, rather than seeing each of them for the success they’ve had.
Speaking on her nomination, Ferrera told Entertainment Weekly, “It’s so surreal and a dream come true for me. I can so viscerally remember being a kid watching the Academy Awards and watching Halle Berry win, watching Julia Roberts win, and just dreaming one day that I would be in that room. It’s a lot to process. It’s exciting, to say the least. I think words kind of fail.”
Ferrera’s comments on Robbie and Gerwig’s nominations include, “I was incredibly disappointed that they weren’t nominated. She [Robbie] brings so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun to the character. In my book, she’s a master,” and, “Their work in both of those categories was phenomenal and in my book [they] deserve to be acknowledged for the history they made, for the ground they broke, for the beautiful artistry. They’re my girls, and I want to see them celebrated for their amazingness, so that part of it is definitely bittersweet.”
Inall of the commotion, there is controversy about how the Oscar selections are chosen. Vanity Fair says, “The Academy Awards are voted on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a massive group of industry professionals totaling more than 10,000 members, with almost 9,500 eligible to vote.” The real question, however, is how many of these people are black and/or female?
“As the Los Angeles Times reported, the 6,261 Academy members eligible to vote on the 2016 Oscars were 96 percent white and 76 percent male,” says Popsugar. However, the most recent data indicates that more women and black people participate in these nominations. Even though there are more than there were before, it seems that racism and sexism still play a role.
According to Today, many of the people that vote for the nominations are people that have won Academy Awards in the past. In this case, it is reasonable to assume that the people choosing the nominations are mostly white males.
Aside from the disputed nominations, almost everyone has to agree that this groundbreaking film reinvented the idea of Barbie. From Margot Robbie’s incredible portrayal of a plastic doll, to Ryan Goslings amusing “I’m Just Ken” performance, to America Ferrera’s moving speech, and finally, to Greta Gerwig’s astounding creativity, this film has accomplished things that go much deeper than Oscar nominations. Despite there being many controversies and debates about this movie and its nominations, Barbie brought more than just female audiences together across the world.
