“There’s nothing to be ashamed of”: Greta Gerwig Does Not Believe Margot Robbie’s ‘Barbie’ is a Feminist Movie
One of the most eagerly anticipated films of the upcoming summer is Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The movie’s trailer subtly teases fans about what to expect, but on Monday, the British Board of Film Classification assigned the film a 12A rating.
The movies with a 12A rating, according to reports, contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12 and must be viewed with an adult. Barbie is anticipated to have a runtime of 113 minutes and 54 seconds, or one hour and 54 minutes. The plot of the film centers around the exclusion of Barbie and Ken from Barbieland and finding themselves in the real world with challenges.
Greta Gerwig calls Margot Robbie starring movie ‘Humanist’
Ahead of the release of the movie, talented director Greta Gerwig spoke to Rolling Stone to address the feministic theme in the movie, and said, “I think of the film as humanist above anything else.”
“How Barbie operates in Barbieland is that she’s entirely continuous with her environment. Even houses have no walls, because you never need to hide, because there’s nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed of. And suddenly finding yourself in the real world and wishing you could hide, that’s the essence of being human.”
Gerwig recalled that when they were filming Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling at Venice Beach in their viral rollerblading outfits, it was fascinating to them because it was happening in front of them.
“People would go by Ryan, high-five him, and say, “Awesome, Ryan, you look great! And they wouldn’t actually say anything to Margot. They’d just look at her. It was just surreal”
Greta Gerwig mentioned that Gosling had mentioned to her that he wished he wasn’t wearing that vest but it was a different kind of discomfort. She further added that she is a feminist but the movie deals with the idea of any kind of hierarchical power structure that moves in any direction, which is not so great.
The director pointed out,
“We kind of extrapolated out from that Barbieland is this reversed world [where Barbies are in charge and Kens are subordinate]. The reverse structure of whatever Barbieland is is almost like ‘Planet of the Apes.’ You can see how unfair this is for the Kens because it’s totally unsustainable.”
Greta Gerwig explained how she and Margot Robbie got Ryan Gosling on board as Ken
During the interview, the director was asked about how she and Robbie managed to convince Gosling to be the most ridiculous version of himself that one could imagine. She replied that they just wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“From the moment that Margot came to me and I knew we were making this for Margot, I equally knew we were making this for Ryan. And I did not know Ryan at all. I’d never met him. I was just sure, and as soon as I thought of it, it made me so happy. Who else could do this? It’s some combination of Marlon Brando meets Gene Wilder meets John Barrymore meets John Travolta.”
She noted that she had always thought that the actor was secretly a comic actor and his comedy goes back as he takes it very seriously as an actor and recalled that the way she and Gosling worked on Ken in-depth is like the character work she has ever done. On sharing one scene from the movie, she said that it was the last scene they shot and Gosling turns around to say ‘There is not just Ken, it’s Barbie and Ken’, and he is exhausted and has a face stained with tears and she could only think about one thing.
“If what actors do is perform empathetic acts for our benefit, I don’t know that anyone has ever invested more in making people understand the plight of this man. It was extraordinary. I felt with both of them that I might direct movies for a long time and never see anything that uniquely and gloriously unhinged.”
Read this: After Ryan Gosling, Barbie Star Simu Liu Wants Ryan Reynolds as a New Ken: “Let’s get the Ryans”
Greta Gerwig on crafting a moment of the fact that Barbie is not universally liked
The Ladybird director noted that she has addressed the fact that some women in the real world might hate Barbie and find her oppressive. She explained that she felt like they had to give the counterargument to Barbie and not give it a short shift, but more like real authentic intellectual and emotional power.
Gerwig mentions, “And Mattel was incredibly open to it. I said, “We have to explore it because it’s a lie any other way. And we can’t make it a lie.” I think they heard it.”
Gerwig lastly added that she loves the process of direction and she is very grateful that she gets to do this every day and cannot wait for everyone to see what they have done.
Barbie hits theaters on July 21, 2023.
Source: Rolling Stone
