Barbie: No Genitals. No Problems.

Melanie & Melvin have a blast talking about 2023’s not-so-surprise hit, Barbie! From it’s nonstop comedy to its sensible-yet-kind display of gender and social economics, Barbie has it all!

Topics:

• (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 37-minutes further discussing DC’s biggest flop, The Flash, and why the movie simply doesn’t work on a plethora of levels. (PATREON EXCLUSIVE)
• Melanie liked Barbie, but she didn’t connect with the movie like she expected. She wonders if it’s because of the hype.
• Melvin really enjoyed Barbie and appreciated that the comedy never comes off as mean-spirited.
• Melanie greatly resonated with Barbie’s introduction about the Barbie figure greatly changing the landscape of children’s toys because that’s exactly what it was like for her as a child.
• Contrasting the Barbie figure with the baby doll, there’s simply so much more creativity permitted in a child’s development when playing with Barbie than with a baby doll. It’s incomparable.
• Melvin meditates on the proliferation of products based on products waxing poetic about existentialism, which feels especially strange but makes total sense in a post-post-post capitalist culture.
• Melvin rants about people who don’t think men rule the world and asks them to name one female director from before 2018.
• Casting Ryan Gosling as Ken, and then having Ken be a character like this makes total sense when we observe how Ryan Gosling has become somewhat of an icon of the man-o-sphere.
• The third act of Barbie is undeniably frenetic, but it still works nonetheless.
• Daniel had texted Melvin and said a man at his theater was being extremely rude and cheering on the “playful misogyny” of the movie. Melanie and Melvin frustratingly process why anyone would choose to be so rude.
• Melvin, “You cannot believe sin exists and that the potential for sin exists and then not think that men, by their biological power, [would] then abuse it.”

Recommendations:

• The Devil Wears Prada (2006) (Movie)
• Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt (1995) (Album)
• The Blob (1988) (Movie)

Barbie is Rated PG-13 for suggestive references and brief language. It features Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Sharon Rooney, Ana Cruz Kayne, Ritu Arya, Dua Lipa, Nicola Coughlan, Emerald Fennell, Simu Liu, Kinglsey Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, and John Cena. Directed by Greta Gerwig. Barbie is currently in theaters.

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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

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