Finally, Mattel Gave Us Depressed Barbie
In the film, the one Barbie we really need made a cameo. And if you're reading this Mattel, we'd like to dress her.
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It's official. Barbie has made her reentrance into mainstream culture — Margot Robbie has captured our attention, we’re singing along to Ice Spice, pink is the hero color of the season, and you bet the Halloween costumes are brewing. And if you saw the movie, you know there is a bevy of Barbie personas to consider: There’s stereotypical Barbie, mermaid Barbie, Midge, the pregnant Barbie, president Barbie, doctor Barbie, and even weird, always-in-the-splits Barbie! That’s not even including all of the discontinued iterations Mattel has released over the years, such as Earring Magic Ken and Video Girl Barbie. Everyone is accounted for, right?
Of course not. This was director Greta Gerwig’s biggest hurdle: How do we convey the message that Barbie is not human? She does not, in fact, embody all of the things we can be. Gerwig addressed this quandary from many different angles over the course of her two hour film. My favorite, however, was with a cameo of Depressed Barbie.
After Barbie encounters the Real World, there’s a 2-minute ad for a doom-scrolling, in-bed, Pride and Prejudice binging Barbie. And honestly? This is my favorite Barbie. I wanted more of her. Who is she? Is she going through something, or is she a neurodivergent queen? Or both! Is she simply down due to our failing climate and economy, is she thinking too hard about her role in society, has she reached existential burn out? This Barbie is down bad — no, down atrocious — and I love her.