Bill Maher clears Barbie for ‘zombie lie’ that the patriarchy oppresses women and demands to know ‘why we keep pushing this lie’ – but Joe Rogan says ‘it’s just a movie about dolls’
Bill Maher has condemned the blockbuster Barbie for perpetuating a ‘Zombie Lie’ that men have more power and influence than women.
Maher said on Tuesday he went to the cinema “hoping it wouldn’t be preachy, misogyny and a #ZombieLie — alas, it was all three.”
Maher explained that a “Zombie Lie” is a myth.
He said the idea of a male-dominated world was incorrect and outdated, citing the example of Mattel’s board in the film being all-male, when in reality it is made up of seven men and five women.
Of a patriarchy, Maher said, “Yes, there was one, and the remains of it survive – but this movie is from so late 2000.”
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling (left) star in the box office smash over the Mattel doll
He said a scene in the movie where, to distract the men, the Barbies “pretend to act helpless and don’t know how to do things” was outdated and silly – he said he went to the movies with a woman in her thirties, who said no one of her generation would act like that.
The 67-year-old comedian has time on his hands amid the writers’ strike, which led his HBO show Real Time to take an unscheduled hiatus for all of May and June ahead of its scheduled film break in July. He has yet to return to the studio as the strike continues.
Maher continued, “I know, I know, ‘How can I know about the patriarchy, I AM a man!’
“That argument is so old and so silly. Of course none of us can know exactly what others are going through life, but I can see the world around me and I can read data.
Mattel’s real-life board is quite reflective of the country, where 45% of the 449 board seats held in Fortune 500 companies last year were women.
“The truth is, I’m not the one getting out of line — I’m living in the year we’re living in.”
“Barbie is fun, I enjoyed it – but it IS a #ZombieLie.”
Elon Musk replied, “Why do they keep pushing these lies?”
But others found Maher’s criticisms wrong.
Barbie and director Greta Gerwig made history over the weekend, flying over $1 billion in worldwide box office gross, making the Margot Robbie movie the first movie directed exclusively by a woman. Bill Maher was not impressed
‘Oh look. Bill Maher thinks the patriarchy is over. What a shock,” tweeted Abigail Disney, the activist and film producer, a grandniece of Walt Disney.
Molly Jong-fast, a commentator and journalist, said, “Yet another powerful man feels threatened by a movie about a doll. Maybe Greta Gerwig was on to something?’
Chris Lambert, a film critic, told Maher, “I feel like you missed a lot of the nuance and just reacted more to some of the setups or moments instead of seeing them as part of the overall journey to the closing statements.”
And The Daily Beast media reporter Justin Baragona said, “The best part of this diatribe about how Barbie spreads lies about the patriarchy is that Maher just casually blurts out that his date for the movie is at least 30 years younger than him. ‘
On Tuesday, Joe Rogan told listeners of his podcast that he didn’t understand “the outrage.”
Joe Rogan said he didn’t understand the “outrage” over the Barbie movie
“A lot of people are upset about the Barbie movie, and I left perplexed,” Rogan said.
“It was a fun movie – fun, crazy movie about dolls coming to life.”
“But a lot is about the patriarchy. And it’s a comedy. It’s a comedy about dolls.’
He said people were “upset that it’s this, say, progressive metaphor for life that they’re pushing progressive politics into this” — but he felt their anger was unwarranted.
“It’s a ****** puppet movie!” he said.
“It’s a puppet movie. It’s a fun movie about dolls coming to life and trying to interact with the real world.’
Rogan said he was impressed with the originality.
“It was a bizarre movie, but it was a fun, crazy movie. I laughed, but at the end I thought, “How could people get so outraged about that?”
“I personally know some people who said it’s anti-men. I’m like, no, it’s making fun of suckers.”