Even the wildest Barbie fan theories are automatically true

There are a thousand layered visual and verbal gags in Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s script for Barbie, but one in particular stands out because it’s a light joke with such huge implications for the story that it feels like an ethos. When Aaron (Connor Swindells), a low-ranking Mattel employee, learns that “Stereotypical Barbie” (Margot Robbie) has escaped the fantasy world of Barbieland and entered reality, he immediately alerts Mattel’s CEO (Will Ferrell) and the board of management of the company. directors. But then Aaron takes a moment to think about the ontology of the world he lives in.

“So… is Barbieland an alternate reality?” He starts to ask. “Or is it like a place where your imagination…” In absolute unison, the entire board interrupts him with a resounding “YES!”

The message is clear: Doing not think about the foundations of this world. Just stop asking questions now. Further, because of the way Aaron is cut off with a yes before he even finishes listing the possibilities for what Barbieland could be or could mean, there’s an extra layer to all of this: a suggestion that all theories about Barbieland are certainly equally valid, and equally pointless. And because the entire Mattel board pronounces that verdict in emphatic refrain, there’s an added air of impatience and authority to it all, an air that says We’ve asked this question a thousand times, we’re tired of it, and we’ve come to a consensus. We just want you to follow the party line on this and move on.

It’s a funny moment, both because it’s so abrupt and because there’s so much nuance in the way Gerwig photographs and presents it. But it’s also fun in a way that’s pretty rare for movies, because it’s a friendly, funny invitation to just accept the metaphor and not worry about the details of the story. Barbie‘s cosmic construction at all.

A lot of us like it to think about the details in movies. Some of us can’t help it. For people who have made their living from analyzing and discussing film “Just turn off your brain and enjoy!” or “Don’t know how to have fun?” is annoying and pointless. Thinking about movies is pleasure! If not, why would there be so many online forums dedicated to discussing and deciphering pop culture? Why should wingnut ideas like the Pixar Universe Theory getting so much viral traction, as fans toy with ridiculous ideas about their favorite movies or shows and share them in front of an audience of like-minded armchair analysts?

That said, sometimes we can all get too obsessive about the details, in ways that can distract from a story. Just look at the rise of the Reddit detectives, the kind of people who band together on Reddit to share and break apart pop culture microanalyses and mysteries. The Reddit Detective is a concept, not a specific circle of people — a way of summarizing the type of online sleuths that obsessively engrossed in the evidence in the Serial podcastmeticulously decoded the online breadcrumbs laid out for fans of West world as part of that show’s viral marketing, or explored every possible hint as to who Jon Snow’s mother could be Game of Thrones.

This kind of online sleuth — a detail-oriented, collaborative fan, always looking to be the first to notice and post about an Easter egg or secret connection — has done a lot of useful work on behalf of the rest of us, such as mapping bringing in every story path and possible ending Black Mirror: Bandersnatchor in a less pop culture oriented sphere, tracking down evidence of malicious moderation fraud on Reddit. But the dark side of that analytical drive is the drive to take it all apart and unravel every secret in every story – like, say, figuring out every major twist in West world well before it happened. This kind of analysis also takes each plot point to its logical extreme.

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Barbie invites and defangs that impulse by announcing that yes, all possible theories about the nature and implications of Barbieland are true, and you get to come up with all the options you want. Does the existence of Barbieland suggest that every other popular toy or character that plays a major role in children’s imaginations has its own actual, tangible alternate reality universe? Of course why not? Is there a Sonicland, a literal Mario World, a Legoland where the action is from The Lego movie actually took place? Yes, that’s fine with us. But wait! Gasp! If Barbies can just walk into reality from Barbieland, then Pikachu and Mewtwo could too, leading to an actual Detective Pikachu situation? We’ll allow it. Could all of these IPs collide in one huge real-world crossover? If you can imagine that, go ahead! It’s as real as anything else in this movie.

Barbie“Sure, any theory is allowed” attitude gives us all permission to dream, while keeping us free from any idea we come up with. But more importantly, the Mattel board tells Aaron (and the rest of us) that figuring out those details isn’t an important aspect of this movie. Does it make sense that when Ken claims Barbie’s DreamHouse and turns it into Ken’s Mojo Dojo Casa House, that house suddenly and immediately manifests itself as a real-world product and starts flying “off the shelves”? If Barbieland characters are just reflections of real-world toys currently being played with, why are there still so many dolls and fashion items that are no longer sold in Barbieland? Why is there only one Allan?

Did any of these questions matter when writing Barbie? As Roger Rabbit would put it, “Only if it was funny.” There isn’t anything Short history of time-level guide to the math rules of Barbieland out there somewhere, covering all possibilities – you get to make up your own rules.

Gerwig and Baumbach treat Barbie’s weirder fantasy elements with just as much lightness and momentum as the film needs. They waste no time in boring disbelief and debate. Will Ferrell, the CEO of Mattel, points out that Barbie characters have been leaked into reality before — so there’s no need to expend a lot of energy on some characters wondering what Barbieland could really be like, perusing the metaphysical implications, or slowing down the movie by complaining about its fundamental premise. They can just move past that and get on with the humor and sharp analysis of gender relations.

Photo: Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.

And when disgruntled teen Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) and her friends are confronted with a living Barbie, they don’t spend a boring portion of the movie asking how she can really be, or what it means to exist – they just resign themselves. with her for all the negativity she represents. It’s easy enough to argue that at the time they don’t believe she’s Barbie the doll’s real avatar, that they just think she’s a perky bimbo styling herself after the toy. But the movie doesn’t bother splitting those hairs. You can read the scene either way and it works fine. Are they talking to the doll or a human female admiring the doll? Yessays the Mattel board in unison.

This kind of light-hearted hand-waving doesn’t work for every movie — in serious horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, it is much more important to have some idea of ​​what the rules are, because otherwise there are no clear storylines. But for a comedy completely focused on other details – exactly what a Ken-dom macho man’s gear is, or why Barbie floats all over Barbieland – it just doesn’t matter to pin down the scientific details of the world .

Barbie takes just the right path through its fantasy elements by blowing past the analysis aspects that would make the film more real than it needs to be, while giving viewers enthusiastic permission to fill in the rest any way they please. Is this a movie for the Neil deGrasse Tyson style nitpickers of the world? No. Is it a movie that asks the audience to imagine who they want to be and what kind of world they want to live in, completing the metaphor by leaving everything else in the movie to their imagination? A hearty, resounding chorus Yes.