Barbie should be a bishop. The modernist fantasy in response to the wokest film of all time.

The new Barbie film is a deeply Catholic experience (Cathcon!!!!!!!!!)

Does it need a Barbie as a bishop?

It is the film event of the year. The new "Barbie" film has been in cinemas since Thursday. Barbie is many things: advertising, social criticism and in a certain sense an analogy to being Catholic in the 21st century. A film review.

One thing up front. I am absolutely not the target audience for a Barbie movie. I am a 34-year-old man. I have not played with dolls, nor do I have a single pink item of clothing in my closet. When I first heard about there being a movie about the Barbie doll, I thought, "What do I care?" Now there is talk that the film could become the movie of the year. It is expected to gross three times as much as was predicted weeks ago. The Barbie movie is a social event like no movie has been in a long time. I'll even go a bit further. I think: watching the Barbie film can become a deeply Catholic experience (again !!!!!!!!!).

What do you see when you go to the cinema for the Barbie movie? Pink. A lot of pink, especially in the first half hour. It is quite impressive how the set and costume designers bring the world of the dolls with their houses and cars in all different shades of pink to the screen. But even more surprising is the story told by the self-confessed feminist director Greta Gerwig: In the Barbie world, women are in charge. They are president, doctor, judge. Barbie's boyfriend Ken doesn't really have anything to report or think about that doesn't have to do with Barbie. So it goes, day after day, until this perfect façade begins to crumble for Barbie.

The Catholic Barbie experience

For no apparent reason, Barbie (Margot Robbie) is thrown into the real world and has to come to terms with having all her beliefs and experiences turned upside down. Here, women are not in charge. The world is not as colourful, bright and perfect as Barbie actually always knew it to be. And here the parallel to the Catholic Church in the 21st century is obvious.

Many devout Catholics, too, have had a rock-solid concept of faith and the world for most of their lives, which no one has shaken: The Pope and the bishops have the power and want to strengthen us in the faith. We go to mass on Sundays and everything is fine. But especially in recent years, not much has remained of this world view for most Catholics. Three quarters of church members in Germany are thinking about leaving. There is hardly ever anything positive to be heard about the Church in the news. In the headlines, the Catholic world consists almost exclusively of abuse, scandals and lawsuits.

Professor Agnes Wuckelt (German Catholic Women's Association)

"Who knows, maybe Mattel will come out with a Barbie as a bishop soon?"

If Barbie has to say goodbye in pain to her uncritical childlike belief in the seemingly perfect world, surely many Catholics can also understand this pain.

Equality for the dolls and the Church 

The question of equality plays a major role in the film. When Barbie realises that in the real world it is not women who have the power in politics and society, but men, this also poses many pressing questions for the Catholic Church.

Striving for gender justice is at least as important in the Church as it is in the movies, explains the deputy federal chairperson of the Catholic Women's Association of Germany (kfd) Prof. Agnes Wuckelt to DOMRADIO.DE: "The Church is still far from implementing this topic. It can look into the mirror that the Barbie film holds up as a social satire. And who knows, maybe Mattel will soon bring out a Barbie as a bishop. That would be really supportive in terms of equality for us as kfd."

Criticism of consumption - not only in films

Is Barbie therefore a modern masterpiece of feminist cinema? There is not only praise for the film. Despite the really refreshingly clever and humorous screenplay, in the end it's still about a time-honoured ideal of beauty, even if Barbie dolls today are a lot more diverse than they used to be. At one point in the film, it is even mentioned with a wink that the blonde, traditionally pretty leading actress Margot Robbie is not necessarily helpful in overcoming this stereotype.

Source