Summary
- Some viewers felt that Barbie apologizing to Ken was unnecessary, as Ken was the one who caused problems in Barbieland. Both characters should have recognized their mistakes for true equality.
- While Barbie explored feminist themes, some viewers found it clumsy in its execution. They believed important topics were skipped and that it focused too much on surface-level humor.
- The Kens in Barbie were better written and showed more vulnerability than the Barbies. Some viewers felt that the Kens had more depth and were more compelling characters.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is one of the biggest movies of 2023, but even though it was a critical and commercial success, it also made way for a variety of divisive and unpopular opinions. Barbie took the famous Mattel doll and brought it to life in a story that explored themes like gender inequality, feminism, mental health, and other struggles women go through in the real world. For this, Barbie took the audience to Barbieland to see how a Barbie-led society works and how different it is from the real, human world.
Barbie follows Barbie is the box office champion of 2023, and it was praised by critics and viewers, but it has also made way for unpopular opinions that have been shared on social media – and here are 15 examples of these.
15 Barbie Shouldn't Have Apologized To Ken
After the Barbies regained control after the Kens took over Barbieland, Stereotypical Barbie and Stereotypical Ken shared an emotional moment in which they recognized their mistakes and apologized to each other. Some viewers found Barbie apologizing to Ken unnecessary, as it was Ken who led the other Kens in their takeover of Barbieland after he completely misunderstood what being a man is about. Ken should have definitely apologized to Barbie for everything he had caused, but in order to reach the equality they were looking for, Barbie also had to recognize she made mistakes.
14 Barbie's Feminist Themes Were Handled Clumsily
The main theme in Barbie is feminism, exploring different sides of it, including when it’s misinterpreted, as happened in Barbieland before Ken’s takeover and Barbie’s realization of what gender equality is really about. However, while this was one of the most praised elements of Barbie, it’s also one of its most criticized. Some viewers argue that Barbie didn’t do a good job handling feminism, and did so either too superficially, for the laughs, or skipped important topics within feminism that could have been included in the stories of the Barbies, Gloria, and Sasha.
13 Barbie Should Have Dropped The Mattel Storyline
Some viewers weren’t totally on board with the Mattel storyline in Barbie. As Stereotypical Barbie and Ken arrived in the human world, Mattel’s CEO and the entire board began working towards finding Barbie and sending her back to Barbieland. The Mattel executives were portrayed as clumsy men, which made them a key part of the movie’s humor and commentary on real-life issues, but to some, this storyline was unnecessary or could have gone harder in its satire of Mattel’s board.
12 The Kens Were Written Better Than The Barbies
Barbies and Kens coexist in Barbieland, where Barbies were in control while Kens did other activities, like “beach” (as is the case of Stereotypical Ken). However, the Kens took the spotlight when they took over Barbieland, turning it into a patriarchy, with the Barbies being brainwashed into accepting this new type of world. Although the Barbies were the main characters in Barbie, to some viewers, the Kens were better written than the Barbies, as they showed more vulnerability and depth than all the Barbies.
11 Barbie’s Themes Were Too Heavy
Although Barbie is full of jokes and fun moments, it also has some emotional scenes, especially those that explore womanhood. These have been praised by critics and viewers, even making way for heartwarming trends on social media, but to some viewers, these moments were too heavy and messed with the tone and pace of Barbie. Some viewers have expressed that the message of Barbie left them depressed rather than inspired, while others believed it should have been more lighthearted given that the protagonist is a Barbie doll.
10 Barbie’s Trailers Were Misleading
Linked to the above unpopular opinion about Barbie are complaints about how the trailers were actually misleading. The trailers for Barbie did a great job of showing the type of humor it was going for, and of course, it never showed its most emotional and serious moments, mostly because these would have been major spoilers. Some viewers took issue with this, as they were expecting a fully comedic, lighthearted movie, and were taken by surprise by Barbie’s most emotional scenes.
9 Barbie Was Too Much Cinematography & Not Enough Plot
Barbie is a visual spectacle, especially the scenes set in Barbieland, as the production and design team truly captured the essence of Barbie’s colorful world and brought it to life – but for some viewers, this is all that’s worth in Barbie. Various viewers have taken social media to express how they found that Barbie is visually stunning, but the same care and attention wasn’t given to the plot, making way for a movie where there's too much cinematography and not enough plot, making it boring
8 The Barbies Should Have Been Nicer To The Kens
At the beginning of Barbie, Barbieland was controlled by the Barbies, mirroring the patriarchy from the real world, only that Barbieland was a matriarchy. Unfortunately, this wasn’t entirely clear for some viewers, who took issue with how the Barbies treated the Kens before Stereotypical Ken returned from the human world and turned Barbieland into a patriarchy. Some viewers have argued that the Barbies should have been nicer to the Kens from the beginning, not just after they reached an agreement in the third act of Barbie.
7 Barbie Should Have Been Only For A Mature Audience
Although Barbie is about the most famous doll in the world, it isn’t exactly a children’s movie, but the topics it addresses are important for viewers of all ages. Some viewers believe that Barbie could have benefited from being entirely for a mature audience, arguing that a younger audience wouldn’t be able to fully get the concepts of feminism and gender equality, while others find it to be an important movie for younger viewers.
6 Barbie & Ken Should Have Been In Love
Barbie and Ken are one of the most famous couples in pop culture, so it came as a surprise to some that their movie versions in Barbie weren’t in love – in fact, Stereotypical Barbie wouldn’t exactly consider Ken her boyfriend, and as Ken said in his song, “where he sees love she sees a friend”. Along with this complaint is how Barbie portrayed Ken, as he was far from the “perfect boyfriend” that Mattel has promoted for years, thus breaking the brand’s own stereotypes, but that didn’t sit well with some viewers.
