the new Barbie The movie is all the rage. Delightful pop music, loud pink houses and the signature super-doll aesthetic jump out of their viral trailer. The hype surrounding the film caused a shortage of pink paint and a viral outbreak “Barbicure” trend on social media. Regardless of all the hype, it’s already sparking unexpected political controversy ahead of its July 21 US release date: Vietnam Banned Barbie Because of a scene showing a map of a disputed section of the South China Sea, According to state-run outlets your three.
Part of the film shows the “Nine Divide Line” as depicted on Chinese maps to show the areas of the South China Sea that he claims. It is not clear which scene shows the map, or which line of land.
In 2016, a court in The Hague rejected China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and criticized the country’s expansion and construction of artificial islands in the disputed territories, but China This ruling was rejected. A number of regions have competing claims Over the sea, including China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia.
the Barbie The movie is not the first To be extracted in Vietnam Because of the South China Sea dispute. 2019 DreamWorks Animated Film loathsome It was banned by the Vietnamese government for the same reason, as starring Tom Holland unknown in 2022.
Warner Bros. did not respond. on luckComment request.
While the film’s plot was unclear prior to its US release, this controversy may have something to do with the question many asked when the trailer was released in April: What’s going on with all the characters, and why are so many people responding to “Ken”?
New Age Barbie
There is no doubt that the filmmakers are going to make Barbie and Ken look far from the stereotypical white dolls with blonde hair. The heyday of the late fifties. The movie is clearly vying for greater inclusivity, as Simu Liu, the muscular Asian Canadian actor best known for Marvel’s fame Shang-Chi plays Ken as well as co-lead Ryan Gosling, who looks a lot like the original mid-century puppet. Glimpses of Liu in the trailer got Asian The community is excited In the lead-up to next month’s release.
“Greta was very conscientious about who she chose. We were able to pick people of all different shapes, sizes, and different abilities to all take part in this dance—all under the message that you don’t have to be blonde or white or X or Y or Z to embody what that means.” Be it Barbie or Ken,” Liu said at last year’s event, according to Vanity Fair.
The film is directed by Greta Gerwig, known for its strong female characters and iconic art house fares such as Lady Bird and conditioning little Women. Gerwig’s partner, Noah Baumbach is another movie star to join her sponsor script. The movie also stars Kate McKinnon, the famous comedian Saturday Night Live and several film roles, as well as a long association with Gerwig dating back to their history college days together at Barnard College, in Upper Manhattan. (One of the famous “Seven Sisters” of American private higher education, Barnard has a partnership with a nearby Ivy League school in Columbia and is a respected home for higher education.)
“If you love Barbie, you will love her; if you hate Barbie, you will love her.” Margot Robbie, actress with the main role, said the guardian. “But if you like a good movie, you’ll love it.”
Barbie has been a global icon for decades. But for most of her history, there has been only one type of Barbie—the heeled, white one. As the conversation about inclusivity and diversity became more pressing, people began to question the relevance of old-school Barbies that looked so different from some of the children who played with them, which hurt doll sales.
“Consumers didn’t think it was relevant. It didn’t reflect the world in which children live,” said Barbie Maker President and COO Richard Dixon. luck Last month.
Mattel has actively attempted to enhance its branding strategy by leveraging the strong suit of the doll series as an empowering figure for girls. They have also released more universal versions of the dolls with different hair, skin, and body types and representing different occupations.
As the Barbie brand has evolved, it has continued to expand its footprint globally. Since its launch in 1959, more than billion dolls They have been sold all over the world. The film’s effort at inclusivity, the extent of which is difficult to gauge until its release, may be a nod to the brand’s efforts toward making the doll resonate with a wider audience.
The new film appears to be in dialogue with these relatively recent changes: Almost all characters in the Barbie world of the film are named “Barbie” and “Ken,” regardless of their skin tone, hair color, texture, etc. Rebecca Haines, Professor of Media and Communication Salem State University, and author of a book Princess Trouble: Guiding Our Girls Through the Princess-Mania Years, Tell luck. “This means that although the movie focuses on a white, blonde Barbie (played by Margot Robbie), the movie reinforces the idea that Barbie can be anything — including not only professions, but also a range of races and ethnicities.”
A little bit of the Barbie Cast members spoke about efforts to represent the characters in a way more appropriate to today’s audience.
Although the Barbie name has traveled far and wide, the worldwide success of the film is yet to be seen in just a few weeks. Currently, the cast is touring cities, with stops in parts of Asia, including Seoul, to promote the film.