What does it mean when the social world reflects on its recent past in ironic and satirical ways?
Is it meta-analysis capitalism?
Is it self-referential fun?
I couldn't stop thinking about this at the Barbie movie.
A ghost creator.
A flip-flopped world of matriarchal order.
It's all good camp, but it's no social critique.
Do you ever get the feeling that when corporations start using the language of feminism, we're fucked?
Yeah, me too.
I liked the Barbie movie for sure.
It was cute.
And funny.
Empowering would be taking it too far.
It neither reflected the reality of my experience of being obsessed with Barbie nor my experience of feminism.
The thing that was very poignant, however, was the accuracy of the ridiculousness of men and what they get away with.
Patriarchy was presented very lightly, to say the least.
And white supremacy was glossed over completely.
Even body and ability diversity was represented without being substantially meaningful.
But there was something about the accuracy of Ryan Gosling's Ken that hit me.
The smarminess.
The entitlement.
The inanity of conversation, thought, and existence.
So resonant.
Recognizable.
Pervasive.
The Ken dance break helped at least.
And the battle.
But I guess what I took away from the movie is how much men get away with.
How much conventionally pretty reigns.
How much we lack real diversity of representation and consistently centre whiteness, maleness, and convention.
Definitely see the movie and let me know what you think.
Jackie is a mommy blogger gone rogue. As Sociologist, motherhood disruptor, poet, and academic in the wild, Jackie shares her heart on social media because she can't successfully contain it in her chest - believe me, she's tried. Follow her on Instagram @eatingheryoung and check out her book of poetry, available on Amazon.