What Was Barbie Made For

By Amira S. Z.

Edited by Wan Nur Amrina

Warning: Please proceed with caution, as this article contains spoilers for those who have not watched the movie Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig.

(Yes, this is definitely a sign for you to go and watch it if you haven't yet!)

As I write this, I think to myself, “What does being a woman mean?”

Does being a woman mean dressing up all pretty, spending hours and hours shopping at the mall with my girlfriends, and dishing and giggling about cute boys at school?

Or does being a woman mean having to work myself to the bone, pushing myself to meet deadlines, and hoping that my work is good enough so that other people would take me seriously?

Maybe being a woman means locking myself in my room, crying my eyes out while waiting for a reply from a boy who probably cares less about me, only to end up binge-watching Gilmore Girls for the millionth time, hoping I would finally feel like myself again.

Regardless, we can't ignore the fact that we women share something in common—a universal experience of being a woman, womanhood.

Before we became one, we were naive little girls who ran around the playground and sang the k-i-s-s-i-n-g song as we climbed trees. Some of us had baby dolls in our hands, some had Barbies, and some might not have anything at all. But it doesn't mean that we are any less of a girl.

See, that is the interesting part because it all leads to the one particular question I have been asking myself.

“What does being a woman mean?”

Congrats! You have learned what the plot of the Barbie movie is!

Well then, surely these toys bring some significance in life, not only to girls but to society as a whole, right? The Barbie movie perfectly encapsulates that message to the watchers, whether they catch on or not.

For those of you who didn't know (which I doubt), Barbie is a play doll created specifically for young girls since the late 1950s. They would use their imagination in their make-believe world with Barbies. It was made by a toy company named Mattel, also the creator of Hot Wheels.

Barbie comes in different clothes, styles, occupations, and even hobbies. As the modern era approaches, Barbie has become more and more diverse and inclusive, not only with people of colour but also people with disabilities and different religious backgrounds.

One misconception about Barbie is that she looks like the typical girl who meets the beauty standards designed by society. Although that's true, you will learn throughout the movie that Barbie is actually way more than that.

And what perfectly explains that is the film soundtrack, “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish. This song plays a significant role in portraying that Barbie, especially in the movie, represents women all over the world. Both the movie and the song wish to prove that there is nothing quite like womanhood that only we women feel and experience.

In the song, Billie was questioning her purpose, as she was no longer certain about what she was made for. However, she did realise that people were only seeing the idea of her and they weren’t seeing her for who she truly was.

She then proceeded to say that she was just something that was paid for, probably referring to her music career, in which people would pay to see her show but not treat her like a human being, as they would go over her boundaries.

Similar to Barbie, people would normally see the idea of Barbie, but not for who she really is and what she really is made for. There is a possible double meaning that Barbie is just something that people buy and play with. And that most women can relate to feeling used and being expected to dress a certain way and behave a certain way. In return, some men would shower them with gifts and play with their feelings. But is that fair?

In the third verse, Billie asks herself again about when the enjoyment in her relationship with her boyfriend ended. The dread feeling of being toyed made her upset, but she couldn't tell her boyfriend that because she didn't expect him to understand her, knowing that a man could never truly understand what a woman goes through.

The same goes for Barbie, as she is usually paired with her boyfriend, Ken, who is also a doll. However, in the movie, she wasn't attracted to him romantically like how he was with her. Throughout the movie, we would see his multiple attempts to win her over. Perhaps Greta Gerwig, the director of the film, wanted to prove that a girl’s life doesn't necessarily revolve around a boy.

On the other hand, Ken couldn't understand why Barbie wasn't attracted to him, and why she was more focused on herself and her girlfriends in Barbie Land instead. Then, in the film, Barbie suddenly started questioning her existence as her feelings became real and more realistic. Determined to seek the truth, she travelled to the real world to look for answers.

At the end of the movie, she met with the true inventor of Barbie, Ruth Handler. Ruth was portrayed as the old lady hidden in the Mattel building, where the company was ironically male-dominated. Ruth revealed that she created Barbie for her daughter and even named Barbie after her daughter, Barbara.

This was when the beautiful soundtrack was playing in the background as Barbie told Ruth that maybe she was not Barbie anymore. But what would that mean for her? What would happen if the Stereotypical Barbie is no longer Barbie?

Barbie confessed that she wanted to be a part of the people that make meaning, not the thing that was made. She didn't want to be an idea but wanted to do the imagining. Soon, Barbie discovered she was human when she started to feel things the way a human does.

Ruth then told her that she had to know what it meant to be a human by just feeling. Feel that you are just a human. Feel that you are weak, helpless, and you want to be seen by others. Feel. It is okay to be human.

In the chorus of the soundtrack, Billie hoped that someday she might know how to feel, when, in reality, all a human is, is to just feel.

That is why I think this movie is very special. It doesn't bring down any gender or race to make a point. Because, in the end, we are all humans. And being a woman is to just be human.