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Women in China are telling each other to bring their boyfriends to see 'Barbie' — and to use it as a litmus test for their thoughts on feminism and patriarchy (www.insider.com)

submitted 1 year ago by Woland@lemm.ee to c/world@lemmy.world

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For some women in China, "Barbie" is more than just a movie — it's also a litmus test for their partner's views on feminism and patriarchy.

The movie has prompted intense social media discussion online, media outlets Sixth Tone and the China Project reported this week, prompting women to discuss their own dating experiences.

One user on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu — a photo-sharing site similar to Instagram that's mostly used by Gen Z women — even shared a guide on Monday for how women can test their boyfriends based on their reaction to the film.

According to the guide, if a man shows hatred for "Barbie" and slams female directors after they leave the theatre, then this man is "stingy" and a "toxic chauvinist," according to Insider's translation of the post. Conversely, if a man understands even half of the movie's themes, "then he is likely a normal guy with normal values and stable emotions," the user wrote.

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[-] doggle@lemmy.world 386 points 1 year ago

Women in the US are doing that too.

I guess it works, to a point. If your man throws a Shapiro-esque fit over this movie he probably isn't great to be around the rest of the time.

[-] rosenjcb@lemmy.world 55 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

His critique of it is basically that it's too "woke" but he really has nothing to say about the essential elements of any movie (plot, tone, character development, etc). He's either unable or unwilling to separate politics from his review. It's like he doesn't know movies can be well made even if you disagree with their themes.

[-] leftenddev@slrpnk.net 34 points 1 year ago

If you ever have (unfortunately) heard of his absolutely dogshit book, then his inability to understand deeper meanings, subtext, themes, and to grapple with a competent plot should not surprise you in the least. Robert Evans, Cody Johnston, and Katy Stoll read it through on Behind The Bastards in a few episodes. Imagine the novelization of a Steven Seagal movie adaption of a Jack Ryan plotline. Combine that with how ol Benny really wanted, and failed, to be a screenplay writer, and it makes sense his absolute hatred for modern Hollywood movies that don't say all the things he likes.

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[-] BetaBlake@lemmy.world 44 points 1 year ago

Shapiro-esque is such an apt description.

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[-] Colorcodedresistor@lemm.ee 44 points 1 year ago

Both my wife and i wanted to go equally. I wanted to thirst on Ken and I did...but on the serious note, its a good movie for both genders to see for seperate but equal reasons. Barbie gotta stand up and step out, be herself. and Ken has to learn what it means to be Ken without Barbie. This movie would of helped me not be such an incel in my formative years.

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[-] MercuryUprising@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago

What do you mean? I can't think of anything more stable than a grown man burning children's dolls on the internet after watching a movie based on a toy designed for 6-12 year old girls.

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[-] Arotrios@kbin.social 217 points 1 year ago

I have to admit, Barbie becoming a Chinese feminist icon was not on my 2023 bingo card. Anyone taking bets on when we're gonna get a kpop version of this classic?

[-] SuddenDownpour@sh.itjust.works 39 points 1 year ago

The Simpsons predicted it.

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[-] boredtortoise@lemm.ee 153 points 1 year ago

Barbie starting the revolution in China? Hopefully other countries as well. Good timeline.

[-] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago

Little Pink Cookbook!

Little Pink Cookbook?

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[-] spiderjuzce@lemmy.sdf.org 148 points 1 year ago

I think if anyone gets mad at a Barbie movie or some random article on the internet that has nothing to do with them, that's a good sign they're emotionally unstable

[-] oatscoop@midwest.social 79 points 1 year ago

I'd call it emotionally immature.

A surprising number of the people I grew up or work with act like they're still in high school when it comes to social/interpersonal skills -- these people are all well over 30 years old.

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[-] HawlSera@lemm.ee 122 points 1 year ago

I am genuinely amazed this movie wasn't banned in China

[-] MrApples@lemmy.ca 77 points 1 year ago

Well they included the nine-dash line in the movies silly map (I believe Vietnam banned the movie because of this) and there's no zombies or Winnie the Pooh references so all good as far as the CCP goes.

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[-] Psyduck_world@lemmy.world 74 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I thought the movie criticizes both extreme feminism and male chauvinism, or did I watch a different Barbie movie?

[-] boredtortoise@lemm.ee 78 points 1 year ago

That's what the article is saying as well.

Any gendered chauvinism sucks and patriarchy causes suffering to anyone.

And if someone comes out of the movie angered by this knowledge, they can be a troublesome person to other people.

[-] kraftpudding@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago

Yeah. Barbie Was not the good guy in the Barbie movie, right? Like, even in the end they admit that they will not give the Kens true equality, just enough that they basically won't revolt again. People here calling Barbie a feminist icon, what movie were you watching?

[-] teft@startrek.website 48 points 1 year ago

Obviously she wasn’t the good guy. She developed a nuclear bomb for heaven’s sake. To be fair I did fall asleep for a bit but I’m pretty sure I got the big plot points.

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[-] Naia 35 points 1 year ago

That's the point. They blatantly say "someday, the Ken's will have as much rights as women do in the real world"

The entire point is that treating people as second class like thst isn't good, regardless of which side its coming from and that we should all be equal. The only time I'd see men complaining about that is when they don't get it.

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[-] Phoebe@feddit.de 54 points 1 year ago

My boyfriend and i can't wait to watch this movie 😊 💕 (but cinema got expensiv dudeee 🥲)

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[-] veganpizza69@lemmy.world 52 points 1 year ago

Please partake in the culture war, don't just let conservatives win by default.

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[-] MossBear@lemmy.world 48 points 1 year ago

Of note....American conservatives/confederates absolutely detest the Barbie movie.

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[-] Chriszz@lemmy.world 47 points 1 year ago

For those who saw the movie: do you think this test is valid?

[-] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 92 points 1 year ago

As a man, I would say sort of. The movie does not shy away from a very obvious feminist message combined with an unsubtle (hilarious) spoof of toxic masculinity. On the other hand, it's still a matter of personal taste. I really liked the movie, but I could see how someone would find it a bit too simplistic and formulaic in its story, completely independent from its themes. Not liking female directors in general just because they're female is complete bullshit though.

[-] Laticauda@lemmy.ca 60 points 1 year ago

To be fair it doesn't say the boyfriend has the like the movie, just understand it and not bash it mindlessly.

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[-] Rayspekt@kbin.social 89 points 1 year ago

I don't know I one should derive a scientific test out of it, but if a guy gets batshit crazy over the movie, then he might not have the best relation towards independent women.

[-] archiotterpup@lemmy.world 46 points 1 year ago

As a gay man, I say yes. I get to watch the hetero world from the outside and yeah, Barbie nails it. Folks just don't like the mirror.

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[-] UnbeatenDeployGoofy@lemmy.ml 43 points 1 year ago

That's interesting. I read that the film was about radical feminism, but gender switched with Ken as the feminist to overthrow the Barbie-dominating system. Really look forward to seeing the movie.

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[-] boonhet@lemm.ee 42 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

According to the guide, if a man shows hatred for "Barbie" and slams female directors after they leave the theatre, then this man is "stingy" and a "toxic chauvinist," according to Insider's translation of the post

Nothing against female directors, but the movie went from pretty damn good to pretty damn boring after a while.

You've got a fun and quirky beginning that makes light fun of barbie, mattel and patriarchal society. Then you've got the bits where

spoiler

Barbie and Ken get to the real world, get arrested twice for doing stupid shit.

This part was funny and for a bit there I felt like it was mainly not about driving a message home, but still had SOME things to say. Great! Then you've got the parts where

spoiler

Ken went on his own journey to discover patriarchy (which he thought had something to do with horses and was disappointed to find out it didn't), Barbie meets her owner's daughter, goes to Mattel HQ, then gets chased out and rescued by her owner.

Many hilarious moments here, poking lots of fun at patriarchy again, but it never felt like it was too on the nose. I mean I kinda expected that from the trailers and everything.

Where the movie started changing for me was when

spoiler

Barbie, her owner, and the latter's daughter went back to the Barbie world to help fix the balance, only to find out that the Kens had completely taken over.

While the twist was predictable, it was still interesting because I wanted to know how they would resolve it. But it just kinda... fell off after that? At this point you have the expected low point in the protagonist's life, and then they figure out how to fix everything, but it was just so... boring and uninspired somehow. By this point, the movie's quirky and fun nature has worn down its' course and the

spoiler

battle of the Kens

just did nothing for me anymore.

What's worse, I was expecting

spoiler

the Mattel board of directors, particularly Will Ferrell's characters to be villains and instead they just... arrived by the end of the movie and had a change of heart.

That subverted my expectations for sure, but not in a good way whatsoever. Slightly reminiscent of the last seasons of Game of Thrones.

And lastly, I really expected the resolution of the plot to have something to do with horses and I was sorely disappointed about that too.

TL;DR: Movie starts out great, but foreshadows things it doesn't follow through on very well, ending is boring and sappy.

[-] BurtReynoldsMustache@lemmy.world 37 points 1 year ago

How dare you, that dance-off between Simu Liu and Ryan Gosling (and the other Kens) was incredible!

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[-] astral_avocado@programming.dev 40 points 1 year ago

They're allowed to watch Barbie in China? How censored is it?

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this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2023

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