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Singapore

'DEEPER THAN EXPECTED': BARBIE FILM'S FEMALE EMPOWERMENT THEME RESONATES WITH
S'POREAN YOUTH, LEAVES SOME CRAVING MORE WOMEN-LED CONTENT

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'DEEPER THAN EXPECTED': BARBIE FILM'S FEMALE EMPOWERMENT THEME RESONATES WITH
S'POREAN YOUTH, LEAVES SOME CRAVING MORE WOMEN-LED CONTENT

SINGAPORE — When Ms Sri Vidya first learnt of the Barbie movie, she expected a
fun and lighthearted hearted movie, though not something that was likely to
touch her in a profound way. 

The success of "Barbie" will likely fuel the production of more content created
by and for women, analysts said.
Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok, and join our Telegram channel for the latest
updates.
 * Many young viewers say that the Barbie movie was a refreshing twist to the
   usual blockbusters featuring male lead characters
 * They said the movie was more profound than they expected and got them
   thinking about female empowerment
 * Experts say demand for more accessible stories by women and about women has
   been growing
 * Barbie is the first film that has managed to explore female empowerment while
   earning massive success, and this could pave the way for more similar films,
   they say

By

JUSTIN ONG

@JustinOngTODAY
By Justin Ong
Published July 29, 2023
Updated August 4, 2023
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SINGAPORE — When Ms Sri Vidya first learnt of the Barbie movie, she expected a
fun and lighthearted movie, though not something that was likely to touch her in
a profound way.

“Barbie has always been portrayed as the perfect icon, the perfect girl,
everyone can agree to that (but) I didn’t see Barbie as what I wanted to be
like,” said the 25-year-old senior digital marketing analyst.


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So she was pleasantly surprised that the movie moved her deeply.

“I was blown away from the start. The set was beautiful, the cinematography was
beautiful, everything was beautiful, the production value was so good, the
soundtrack was so on point… It was so much deeper than what anyone thought it
would be.” 

More than the visuals and production value, it was the fact that the film is
made by a female director and is largely centred around the theme of female
empowerment that struck a chord with her. 

This was what led her to post a TikTok video featuring a scene in the movie that
she found particularly touching, in which actress America Ferrera’s character,
Gloria, delivers an impassioned monologue about the challenges of being a woman,
a sentiment that Ms Vidya said she “completely related” to. 

This post went viral, and in two days received more than 5 million views and
thousands of supportive comments from all over the world. 


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“In the comments section, there was a whole community that felt the same way,
not just women, but men too. Many people wanted to watch this,” Ms Vidya said. 

Many other young people, both men and women, whom TODAY spoke to agreed that the
movie was a refreshing twist to the usual blockbusters featuring male lead
characters and that they would love to see more of such content. 

This was the same for 20-year-old university student Rebecca Low, who dressed up
in pink with friends to watch the film. 

“Initially, I assumed that the movie was going to be a fun, chill and
entertaining film, but it was so much more,” she said. “Barbie literally
addresses the issues women face in a society, such as male domination."

New media experts and sociologists added that the film is unique because it
manages to explore the serious topic of feminism while managing to enjoy massive
box office success and attract both male and female audiences.


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They added that the success of Barbie could pave the way for more mainstream
films and content by and about women. 

Sri Vidya Ms Sri Vidya (second from right) at a screening of the Barbie Movie
with friends.


SUCCESS OF BARBIE COULD INSPIRE MORE MAINSTREAM FEMINIST FILMS: ANALYSTS

Content created by women about issues faced by women is nothing new, and many
such works have achieved critical success, but they often struggle to attain
mainstream success at the box office, experts noted. 

One such example is "Women Talking", a 2022 film directed by Sarah Polley,
which features a full female cast except for one man, noted Dr Soh Kai Ruo, a
lecturer at the National University of Singapore's Department of Communications
and New Media.

The black-and-white film centres around a group of women who belong to an
isolated religious colony. The film largely features them having an extended
discussion about a spate of sexual assaults that they have been subjected to,
and whether they should stay or leave the colony.

The film was was “very beautifully shot, has a strong message about female
empowerment and agency, but (it is) not mainstream because it's such a tough
conversation", Dr Soh said.


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“Which I think is why Barbie is a good film to start women talking,” she added.
“Because 'Women Talking' wouldn't be able to do that… you can tell by looking at
the box office figures alone.” 

Worldwide, Barbie grossed US$356.3 million (S$474 million) worldwide for its
opening debut, outpacing other critically acclaimed films that opened the same
weekend, such as Oppenheimer (US$174 million). 

Agreeing, film educator Eternality Tan said that audiences here are becoming
fatigued from watching the typical superhero blockbuster and want something more
refreshing. 

“The superhero genre has been showing some strains of audience fatigue
post-Covid and franchising isn't as appealing as before,” said Mr Tan, who is
also the vice-chair of the Singapore Film Society. 

“Audiences want fresh, interesting content or experiences.” 

He added that Barbie has an edge over other prominent female-led films simply
because of its mass appeal. 

“Barbie may be one of the few more prominent examples of 'Women in Film' going
sufficiently mainstream, doing much more than, say, Chloe Zhao and Jane Campion
winning Best Director Oscars in recent years,” he said. 

Dr Soh said that the movie, having broken new ground in captivating a mainstream
audience, can now pave the way for similar movies in the future. 

“Some may find (Barbie) to be 'shallow' feminism, but it gets the conversation
going, whereas films like 'Nomadland' and 'Women Talking' are for a very
different audience,” she said. 

“I think in the future there will be more films like Barbie, where it's more
accessible and led by women.” 




WHY HAS BARBIE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL? 

Dr Soh said that other than Barbie’s tremendous marketing efforts in the months
before the release, what the film was able to do was to tackle common criticisms
of the Mattel brand and its iconic doll head on. 

“(The film) shows how the conversations have shifted within this generation; how
the environment has changed,” she said. 

Experts added that the persistence of gender inequality in Singapore society
also fuels demand for films like Barbie. 

Associate Professor Michael Schaerer from the Lee Kong Chian School of Business
at the Singapore Management University said that while in Singapore the gender
pay gap has narrowed over time and women’s participation in the workforce has
gradually increased, there is still “more work to be done”. 

“There is still a wage gap, expectations to conform to traditional gender roles,
and a lack of representation of women in C-suite positions,” he said. 

For instance, in 2022, the World Economic Forum ranked Singapore 49th in the
world in terms of gender equality. 

Said Dr Soh: “Inequality still exists and it exists in many forms. Gloria
(America Ferrara’s character) demonstrated this well verbally in her monologue
showing us how ‘invisible’ inequality still exists in our society and how it’s
ingrained in us, especially towards working mothers.” 

In addition to its success in marketing and representation of women’s issues,
Assoc Prof Schaerer said that there are also other aspects, such as the
nostalgic value of the Barbie brand, the intergenerational themes that attract
both adults and children, as well as popular actors Margot Robbie and Ryan
Gosling attracting their own independent fanbases that has also contributed to
the films success. 

Jade Rasif DJ and influencer Jade Rasif (right) with her friends at the premiere
of the Barbie movie.


YOUNG AUDIENCES WANT MORE

Young audiences and fans of the film said that watching Barbie has made them
want even more content created by women and about women. 

Disk jockey and influencer Jade Rasif, who was among the thousands who dressed
up in pink to watch the movie when it was released last week, said that she
found herself still thinking about the film even a week after watching it. 

The 29-year-old said that having grown up in a household that did not have any
male figures, she could not entirely relate to the struggles of having to
operate within a patriarchy, but that the film helped her see things through the
perspective of other women. 

“I can see how women feel when some of the struggles they face are echoed to
them (in the film),” she said. 

Men who had watched the film said they also learnt a thing or two.

Moviegoer Noel Wong, 28, said that he was “refreshed” by the film, and found the
juxtaposition between "Barbieland" in the film and the real world showed him
just how entrenched patriarchal power is. 

“One point that was really highlighted was the privilege of men in the real
world, and highlighting that is important in how female empowerment works and
how effective it has been so far,” said Mr Wong, who works in the tech
industry. 

He also saw the portrayal of Ken’s character, played by Ryan Gosling, as pivotal
to the film’s depiction of female empowerment. 

“It’s difficult to understand Barbie without Ken, and Ken without Barbie… female
empowerment by itself does not have that meaning unless you accord it a
context,” he said. 

Ultimately, Ms Rasif doesn’t just want to see more women represented on screen,
but also women taking a leading role in these films. 

She said that even if women are represented on screen, it may not be women who
produce the films, and so increased female representation “doesn't always count
as female empowerment”.

“Female directors and a female cast — that is empowerment, women telling women
stories, instead of just women acting in movies,” she said.


RELATED TOPICS

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