While many are gearing up for the release of Mattel’s first-ever live-actionBarbieadaptation, the film’s director Greta Gerwig has beenvocal about her trepidationswhen initially signing onto the project. When confronting the monumental task of representing the revered children’s doll on screen, Gerwig acknowledges that the challenge is part of the fun while admitting, “Usually, that’s where the best stuff is. … Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender.’”
And that has grown to become a massive part ofBarbie’s press appeal as the July 21 release date rolls around the corner. From the outside looking in,Barbieappears to be a huge departure from Gerwig’s burgeoning filmography. The film’s Techni-Barbie aesthetic and collaboration with Hollywood’s biggest names (Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling) seems like a bit of a betrayal to the A24 cult followers and Saoirse Ronan-loyalists found in Gerwig’s fanbase. To put it plainly, Gerwig’s first two titles feel more likecinema,while this new feature feels more like amovie.
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However, audiences are desperate for a Hollywood picture that delineates itself from the standardized hyper-masculine adventure movies populating multiplexes today, and there is hope that the pristine plastic princess can fill that glaring hole in the market. The creative marriage between Gerwig’s unique cinematic voice and Barbie’s cultural impact has already garnered universal praise from the film’s primary cast. Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, and Will Ferrell describe the film as fun, diverse, and satirically subversive. While this can be easily prescribed as symptoms of living in a Barbie World, the on-set energy and storytelling prowess should be mainly accredited to Greta Gerwig.
The Woman’s Writer
The Barbie-Gerwig partnership is so appealing because of the filmmaker’s reputation for crafting together uniquerepresentations of women in film. There is a certain universality to Gerwig’s characters who, apart from their whimsicality and unnerving wit, demonstrate people who eschew traditional beauty standards, challenge gender roles, openly and unabashedly make mistakes, and redefine what it means to be a woman in Western society.
During early collaborations with Joe Swanberg and now-partner Noah Baumbach,Gerwig gained screenwriting experienceby co-writing and starring in films such asFrances Ha(2012),Mistress America(2016), andNights and Weekends(2008). This fostered a slow transition into directing, as she penned the original screenplay for her 2017 debut film,Lady Bird.
Under the guidance of producer Scott Rudin and distributed by A24,Lady Birdcaptured the hearts of indie lovers everywhere. It follows the titular character, played by Saoirse Ronan, as she navigates young adulthood and challenges the traditions of family, religion, and loyalty with all the signature Gerwig-isms found in her earlier work.
Another reason why Gerwig seems perfect for the Barbie live-action movie is her ability to transform popular IP into inventive narrative masterpieces. Her 2019 sophomore feature was an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novelLittle Womenstarring Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Emma Watson. And, unlikeBarbie,Little Womenhas a lineage of countless adaptations featuring the likes of Katherine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Winona Ryder.
to revive the source material for a modern audience, Gerwig delivered a heart-warming family film that highlights Alcott’s life experiences as well as memorable moments from the novel.
With a proven track record to boost her credibility, the high expectations forBarbieare unlike any Gerwig has seen before. The sheer anticipation over the last year or so will eventually boil over when the film releases this summer, but the excitement will not lack sunburns and sand rashes.
The Challenge forBarbie
Despite widespread acclaim, the representation of womanhood in Gerwig’s first two films has repeatedly received criticism for its whiteness and lack of diversity. BothLady BirdandLittle Womencenter on the white woman’s experience and echo sentiments of white feminism. Understanding white feminism is, asNPR’s Jenny Bhatt explains, “to consider the role that whiteness … plays in universalizing white feminist concerns, agendas, and beliefs as being those of all feminists.”
Related:13 Colorful Movies to Watch Before Barbie Comes Out
The series of trailers and subsequent press coverage for the upcomingBarbiemovie, loaded with buzzwords like “diversity” and “inner beauty,” seems to directly address this glaring issue in Gerwig’s filmography. Unfortunately, haphazardly labeling a film as diverse and inclusive runs the risk of unintentionally appearing inauthentic and performative. AsMedium contributor Lena Potts argues, “[t]he problem with White feminism is that it so ardently calls for representation and diversity, and so often fails to recognize its own position of privilege.”
These challenges also align with Mattel’s recent struggles regarding Barbie’s branding. After years of fending off bombardments against Barbie’s unrealistic, unhealthy body image, the long-standing toy company has surely been searching for a PR reboot worthy of reality television. With familiar names like Amy Schumer, Diablo Cody, and Anne Hathaway all rumored to be attached to the project at one point or another, it’s clear that Mattel has been dedicated to finding the right creative fit when bringing their beloved Barbie doll to life.
What sets Greta Gerwig apart from the previous set of writers is the combination of her dedication to writing interesting women characters, her ability to subvert the traditions of film adaptations, and her keen sense of relating these ideas to feminism and womanhood. Does Gerwig have enough creative fuel to completely subvert and combust one of America’s most popular symbols of toxic femininity?
Ultimately, all we can do is wait for that final moment to unbox.
