"how did they let Greta Gerwig make this movie"

December 30, 2023 6:48 AM

Deconstruction is a term that has a very academic meaning but in faith circles deconstruction has a different meaning. And while this video covers a really wide range of topics that are brought up by the movie, at its center Barbie is a Deconstructionist Text [1h30m] holds forth that the destruction of previously-held personal belief systems is intrinsic to the Barbie experience. It's an in-depth look at this movie that I wasn't expecting but probably needed.

In the post-Hbomberguy Somerton Video world, this entry seems to be doing really good practices showing its sources, both on screen and in the video description. I appreciated that, and hope it becomes standard practice.

posted by hippybear (22 comments total)

haven't yet watched the media processing video linked above, but another interesting review and analysis of the movie comes from jessie gender, who approaches it in the context of gender, transness, the matrix, and how barbie as a film may pull its punches.
posted by i used to be someone else at 8:34 AM on December 30, 2023

Previouslies:

The Plastic Feminism of Barbie

Todd in the Shadows' One Hit Wonderland retrospective of Aqua's "Barbie Girl"

"These methods are hardly Bolshevik. He is no Ken-in."
posted by AlSweigart at 9:09 AM on December 30, 2023

I loved the movie, and definitely give it 3.5 out of 4 stars, but, my huge problem was the portrayal of Mattel as essentially hapless doofuses. I do understand that Gerwig couldn't come out with a flamingly serious, overt critique of patriarchy, corporations and capitalism. Within the constraints of the license she did admirably. But it was a lot like really wanting some vintage Laphroaig and having to order Miller Lite, because that's all that's on offer.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:33 AM on December 30, 2023 [4 favorites]

As a 12 year old little queer in 1959 I really wanted that thing for Christmas. Instead Santy Claus brought me a BB gun. I mean it was fun, but it was no Barbie..
posted by Czjewel at 9:42 AM on December 30, 2023 [3 favorites]

"how did they let Greta Gerwig make this movie"

one word
posted by philip-random at 10:02 AM on December 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

an in-depth look at this movie that I wasn’t expecting…

Matryoshka Barbie?
posted by jamjam at 10:21 AM on December 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Previouslies:
Fanfare
posted by one for the books at 10:26 AM on December 30, 2023

Faith deconstruction, such as exvangicalism, is widely understood when phrased as "recovery from [blank]" in the sense of an enforced belief and expectations. Nothing fancy there, and the hint of addiction and assumptions of independence are both helpful and encouraging.
posted by Brian B. at 11:54 AM on December 30, 2023

Trevor needs more experience in the business.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:14 PM on December 30, 2023

how did they let Greta Gerwig make this movie

someone’s French philosophy reading hasn’t got to the bit about “récupération” yet
posted by atoxyl at 3:57 PM on December 30, 2023 [10 favorites]

Concerning the previous comment for those whose philosophy coursework was, well, sparse:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recuperation_(politics)

At least, I belief that id the referent.
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 4:56 PM on December 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

That is the intended meaning but I was really just being a smart ass.
posted by atoxyl at 5:08 PM on December 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

Really? Given the meaning and the topics of this post, it works as a sincere - if rather arch - comment.
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 5:13 PM on December 30, 2023

Has anyone commenting on this post actually watched the linked video? I thought it was interesting.
posted by hippybear at 5:39 PM on December 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Yes, watched the whole thing and found it to be really good. Here’s a guy who went through some stuff, and went to a movie expecting to just have fun, and instead, saw something that encapsulated a lot of what he went through and needed to expound upon it. He struck me as being really sincere about what he was saying. Who’s to say what you can learn from what is essentially just pop culture? I haven’t seen the movie, I’m really no longer a movie goer, but I’m really glad to have seen his take on the movie. I don’t feel a need to now run off and see the movie. Instead, I feel the need to think about what he said. Self reflection, gender roles, escaping belief systems, power dynamics, there’s a lot here. And I’m really glad I watched the whole thing. Thank you, hippybear, for posting something that has some real meat on the bone…
posted by njohnson23 at 6:01 PM on December 30, 2023 [6 favorites]

Excellent point, hippybear. No, I have not. Admittedly, I read the comments first with such long videos hoping the thesis has been usefully summarized here. But alas. Could someone help a time-poor fella out?
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 7:47 PM on December 30, 2023

That said, the first ten seconds of the video implies that the destruction of previously-held personal belief systems is intrinsic to the Barbie experience is accurate but also elicits a "no duh. did we all not see the same trailers or who the production was by?"

Please, I know that comes across dismissively but, while the concept still interests me, it's quite long and the concepts in the comments here were amusing (and probably got to the core exposition?).
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 7:54 PM on December 30, 2023

Really? Given the meaning and the topics of this post, it works as a sincere - if rather arch - comment.

It is a sincere comment in the form of an arch response to the question of “how did she get away with this?” presented out of context, but I made it without knowing whether the quoted commentator addresses the question more thoughtfully in the actual video.
posted by atoxyl at 9:07 PM on December 30, 2023

"Deconstruction" has a popular meaning that the linked Wikipedia article, which is crap, doesn't really grasp: using familiar tropes and conventions in a conscious, subversive way to critique something.
posted by jabah at 7:18 AM on December 31, 2023

There are two different uses of the term “deconstruction”. One is from French philosophy. The term in the video is from the movement of people leaving evangelical Christianity. The linked article was about that. Two different meanings, people.
posted by njohnson23 at 8:28 AM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

Isn't Barbie more détournement than deconstruction?
posted by the sobsister at 8:59 AM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

@njohnson23 I'm just making the point that the first linked Wikipedia article is such a mess that it doesn't even mention the most common usage of the term as it applies to movies.
posted by jabah at 9:20 AM on December 31, 2023