‘Barbie’ Critics Trigger Woke Nation, Media
Media, Snowflakes seethe over fair critiques of summer blockbuster
There’s a lovely scene in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” where our heroine meets an old woman on a public bench.
Barbie (Margot Robbie) looks at the woman, whose face reveals the passage of time but can’t suppress her inner spirit. No one ages in Barbie Land, so seeing an elderly person should be a shock.
Unbowed, she says to her, “You’re beautiful.”
“I know,” replies the woman, played by legendary costume designer Ann Roth.
“Do NOT call me the oldest person in the ‘Barbie’ movie.”
Ann Roth is the costume master who helped give the world “Midnight Cowboy,” “Working Girl,” “Mamma Mia!” and more. Now, at 91, she has a pivotal scene with Margot Robbie in “Barbie.” https://t.co/xemXfLMVga
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 23, 2023
It’s the kind of gentle, life-affirming feminism that’s sorely missing throughout the rest of the film.
“Barbie” prefers alienating screeds about the “patriarchy” (uttered at least 10 times in the film) over organic storytelling.
“It is literally impossible to be a woman,” one character cries.
The film’s third act is a disaster, and the screenplay’s rage against men undercuts much of what might have been a sweet, uplifting finale.
RELATED: THE ‘BARBIE’ BAIT-AND-SWITCH IN REAL TIME
This critic’s review of the film inspired silly, sometimes angry retorts on social media over a 72-hour period.
#Barbie is a two hour woke-a-thon brimming with feminist lectures and nuclear-level rage against men
— Christian Toto (@HollywoodInToto) July 19, 2023
Why such energy against a negative review? Isn’t art subjective? Many of the critiques landed before anyone (beyond critics and test audiences) actually saw the film.
Here’s the full Barbie Movie review. Enjoy. I certainly didn’t. pic.twitter.com/vIg9V7u2uN
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 23, 2023
Naturally, the same media which has been offering millions in free advertising for “Barbie” jumped into the fray next. TMZ, which is often apolitical in tone, uncorked a silly story blaming “right wing media” for the anti-“Barbie” barbs.
Right Wingers Go On The Attack …’ANTI-MAN, FEMINIST TRASH’
The film is so obviously anti-male it’s silly to argue otherwise. That’s OK, of course. Art can be almost anything, and if the filmmakers’ rage against men needed an outlet, that’s why the cinema exists.
…the right has folded the flick into its culture wars, lambasting it as a “flaming garbage heap.”
No. The film did the heavy lifting on that front. Obviously. To suggest otherwise is silly and not tethered to reality.
The movie is not only funny, it has a social undertone, particularly sending a message to women about acceptance and self-love. It’s gotten almost universal praise by critics and is expected to have a spectacular weekend in terms of box office.
Undertone? Hoo boy, did this scribe actually see “Barbie?” And if a film has a 91 percent “Fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes, which is obviously very good, it still means 9 percent disliked it.
Do their views matter? Thirty Rotten Tomatoes critics disliked the film, the vast majority of whom don’t identify as “right wing.” Maybe they’re white supremacists… (that’s sarcasm)
Indy100.com cited my Tweet on the film as part of its “‘Barbage’: Angry internet men react to Barbie just as you’d expect” coverage.
So here are some hilarious reviews of a totally harmless movie.
No one said the film would cause harm. It’s a classic straw man argument.
Why point out negative reviews of a film in the first place? How many stories are written by mainstream journalists about a film’s minority opinions?
6 percent of critics disliked “Oppenheimer!”
Is it wrong to dislike “Barbie?” Why? Does this apply to other films?
CNN, of course, says the film’s box office receipts “crush right-wing outrage.” The op-ed, by far-left comic/lawyer Dean Obeidallah, repeatedly says the Right is calling for a boycott of the film. Yet he doesn’t share proof of it happening once.
Does CNN have a single editor overseeing op-eds?
If you’d like to see a legitimate meltdown, consider the press coverage of a film illuminating the horrors of child sex trafficking.
For what it’s worth, when you type “Barbie” into Google the screen lights up with pink sparkles. That may be part of a paid advertising campaign. Or, it’s just another part of the modern media landscape playing favorites on a film with the “approved” agenda.
It’s hard to tell these days.
Misandry at its finest, and I use the word “finest” loosely.
@Arnel Porrinsmack
How did Captain Marvel lecture men?
Did The Left ever think (seriously) that White Supremacy and Patriarchy are Left Wing values? That’s why they keep attacking it as the Right Wing because they want to focus on the “enemy” who isn’t Right Wing, but actually Left Wing. The key is what the Left does and not what they merely talk about, which is an action as well. While the Left Elite is protecting white patriarch Biden’s support of chief briber, cocaine addict, and sex trafficker Hunter, the daddy’s FBI decided to ignore illicit drugs found in the White House.
Maybe Barbie is the lesson for Hollywood. Woke only works for the appropriate target audience. Women will see it, but not men. Thus, The Woke Marvels will be another huge failure. Neither men or women will want to see unattractive women or girls don superhero outfits and fight the patriarchy villains. Superheroes is fundamentally a male interest genre. Keep out girls except for the well endowed and stunning.
@PP
The Marvels is the sequel to Captain Marvel, which made over $400 domestically and over $1 billion globally:
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4154664/?ref_=bo_se_r_1
It is rare for a solo superhero film, male or female lead, to do that well at the box office.
Incidentally, 55% of Captain Marvel’s audience was male. This defied predictions from the Anti-Woke (formerly anti-SJW) Right that the film would scare off male moviegoers.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/why-the-success-of-captain-marvel-is-a-defeat-for-trolls
In light off this success, is it a surprising that Captain Marvel got a sequel?
Captain Marvel came after Infinity War and the audience was teased about a superhero saving them, but the movie proved it wasn’t her. So Captain Marvel was clearly bait and switch. She was very unpopular and her presence in Endgame was little to nothing. The Marvels isn’t a sequel to Captain Marvel. That’s like saying Endgame is a sequel to Captain Marvel.
@PP
The Captain Marvel movie got an “A” grade from audiences according to CinemaScore. So, many enjoyed the film on its own merits as reflected in the film’s box office. The “Infinity War” effect was nice extra.
Still, even superheroine movies without that “Infinity War” effect can do extremely well at the box office. See Wonder Woman:
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0451279/?ref_=bo_se_r_1
Captain Marvel sucked bad, but if you liked it, I’m happy for you. The first Wonder Woman was fantastic, however, and I detected no attempt in it to lecture to men, or compete with them.
For the past decade woke Hollywood has been itching to get “the message” out there to impressionable girls. They thought taking over boy brands like Star Wars, Star Trek, Indy, etc. was the right approach. No, girls never liked those, and it just drove away the boys. Now, they got it. Dig up every girl brand of the last 50 years and turn it into a feminist champion.
Watch for Easy Bake Oven: The Movie, coming in 2025.
@Reb
Actually, Star Trek is WAY more female friendly than most sci-fi franchises. Here is a great article on the subject:
“Women who love ‘Star Trek’ are the reason that modern fandom exists”
https://cafemom.com/entertainment/star-trek-fandom-50th
This is why the “anti-woke” Right boycotting Star Trek never worked. Trek is supposed to be woke (liberal) as indicated by its large female fanbase.
That’s a 2016 article. How successful is modern Star Trek?
ST Discovery has 4 seasons with 55 episodes and will have its last 5th season with 10 episodes to air in 2024. Total of 65 episodes.
Compared with STTNG with 7 seasons and 178 episodes.
ST Picard will end with 3 seasons and 30 episodes.
So what am I missing?
We’ve definitely seen diminishing interest. With their focus on more overt leftist dogma, they’ve alienated the right and moderates. Star Trek used to at least attempt to show both sides of a conflict. Now they tell you the “correct” opinion. I agree that Trek is more liberal, but now it’s just gone full leftist. No nuance. They kill off a “toxic” male and laugh about it.
Doctor Who used to have a large female fanbase too. It appealed to both men and women. Men liked the action and women loved the male lead and companion relationship. They destroyed that with the first female doctor. And the new series with a gay & trans lead will probably be the final nail in that coffin.
@Reb
I was refuting your argument that only guys like Star Trek.
As for newer series, Strange New Worlds is gaining popularity, which explains why it was already been renewed for a third season.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/strange-worlds-makes-nielsen-streaming-122327305.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma
Ironically, last year, a Fox News commentator predicted Trek would “go broke” after sticking to its woke (liberal) roots. Instead, it’s Fox that is going broke after losing lots of viewers following the firing of the very popular Tucker Carlson.
Maybe, the exec at Paramount (Trek’s owners) should run Fox News. They clearly have more business sense than the guys now running the network.
That’s a good point. Star Trek is way more female friendly then Star Wars or Marvel/DC. I probably should have said that instead. That extends to He-Man, GI Joe, etc.
But I do stand by my comment that the corporations that tried to turn boy brands into girl brands have not had good success.
I don’t know why corporations are so quick to convert boy brands to girl brands when they’d have such an easier time using all the girl brands, they already have access too. I suppose that’s their way to attack masculinity. Feminize boys to make them more docile. But it’s hard to fight genetics.
Right on, Reb. That’s why I’ll avoid the coming Miss Jamie Bond movie in 2026.
Went to see “Oppenheimer” yesterday at an early afternoon showing. Riveting. On the way out saw a line of little girls with their Barbie dolls and blankies waiting to see “Barbie”. Doubt they care about patriarchy; just wanted to have little girl fun for the afternoon.
They were in for a surprise when they watched the movie rage against their daddies.