In the days leading up to the much-anticipated release of the Greta Gerwig-spearheaded Barbie, starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, and Issa Rae among others, audiences are getting to see the talents involved in the endeavor speak their minds about what the film and the whole concept behind it is supposed to represent. If you’re acquainted with Gerwig’s directorial pursuits, you’d realize that the acclaimed director-screenwriter favors thoughtful and heartfelt messaging.
It certainly would not make sense for Barbie to be exempted from such a storytelling style.
In a recent interview with Simu Liu, certain remarks made by the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actor allude to the social themes that the Margot Robbie-starrer is set to encapsulate. In doing so, the film seeks to effectively deconstruct and destroy deeply-entrenched social norms and barriers.
Such implications emerged when Liu was asked about his past relationship with the Mattel-manufactured doll.
Simu Liu Sheds Light On His Past With Barbie
At first glance, the star-studded venture appears tinged with a sense of naïveté; with its thematically pink backdrop, archetypal Barbie glitz, and amusingly comical tropes and absurdities. Although, as more gets revealed about the upcoming 2023 release, the first impressions that people may have had are slowly dissipating, giving way to a more smart, critical sense of analysis. It’ll be interesting to see how exactly Gerwig’s narrative brilliance plans to subvert audience expectations.
Nevertheless, with the help of Simu Liu‘s comments, we can deduce, to an extent, what thematic conclusions the seemingly commercial endeavor is trying to draw.
Talking to Screen Rant’s Joe Deckelmeier, the actor provided the following statement when asked about his relationship with the uber-popular fashion doll while growing up:
“I didn’t really have a relationship with Barbie in the past. I don’t know about you, but I grew up in a society where traditional gender norms were pretty heavily enforced and pretty prevalent, and so, you know, I think we, maybe me, maybe you, were taught from a very young age that ‘Boys don’t play with that’ ‘Boys don’t wear pink.’ You know, colors became gendered, toys became gendered, there were all these rules that were imposed on us.”
To the actor, under the imposition and burden of such norms, the doll became a thing that was not to be played with. Simply put, it was not his toy. “That’s like, on the other team,” Liu states, in reference to the societal foisting of gendered toys; where fashion dolls, much like Barbie, are primarily marketed towards girls, and not boys.
In this context, Simu Liu expressed gratitude over the 2023 Greta Gerwig-helmed pursuit differing in its approach. The film attempts at eliminating heteronormative ideals of what should or should not be gendered; it challenges the idea of what gender should represent. Barbie, hence, acts like a finishing blow to prevalent social norms that determine gender expression.
To quote Simu Liu:
“I’m so glad that this movie exists because I think it puts the final nail in the coffin of that very heteronormative idea of what gender is, and what is or is not gendered. How can you make a color gendered, you know?”
The Shang-Chi alum counts back to the number of times he was surrounded by the color pink while filming the movie. Whether it be the sets, the backgrounds, the clothing, or the overarching theme—it was all ostentatiously pink. “And it was so great,” is what Simu Liu said about the film’s general setting. The conclusion to his statement saw the 34-year-old Hollywood star establishing how the aforementioned factors allow people to express themselves freely, in the ways they want to.
It frees individuals from the need to be tied down to concepts that govern whether or not they can do something attributed to a certain gender.
Barbie And Its Scathing Critiques Toward Mattel
Greta Gerwig’s film does not shy away from critiquing what it has chosen to represent. Barbie’s past, as a franchise, has not always been what it is today. For decades, people had complaints about the doll promoting unhealthy and unrealistic physiques and Eurocentric beauty standards among impressionable children. Some also condemned Mattel for promoting an uber-materialistic lifestyle through Barbie.
Many also claimed there to be a “race problem” concerning the franchise, where the doll, despite having variations in other races, was typically associated with its “blonde, white” model. There are many think-pieces that you can find on the Internet surrounding the controversies of the doll. When Simu Liu was asked how Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie elevated the endeavor to “a whole new level of comedy and commentary” with their presence, he pointed out the director’s “scathing critique” towards Mattel as one of the strong suits of the film.
He stated:
“Knowing that Greta is as just talented and intelligent of a storyteller as she is, you knew that she was going to create a story that was just really fresh and exciting and subversive and self-aware … It is a feat to have gotten Mattel on board with this movie. Because this movie really goes there, and it attacks all the criticisms of Barbie in the past … There are some really scathing critiques of the idea of Barbie, what Barbie has been or is. And also some really scathing critiques on Mattel as well, which I love.”
Read also: Simu Liu Reveals Ryan Gosling’s Crazy Regimen To Prepare For Barbie
Simu Liu also voiced his appreciation for Margot Robbie, who he thinks “perfectly” represented the ideas that Gerwig is trying to portray through Barbie. As per the actor’s statement, the movie rejects the pretentious happy-go-lucky cash-grabber approach that is typical of most uber-commercial ventures in Hollywood. It transcends beyond the unnecessary fluff. It is a fun, glittery, and glamorous film, but it also dips its toes into the waters of serious social commentary.
Through its criticisms, the production team behind the film wished for a conversation to start, and they intended for Mattel to be a part of this important discussion as well. This is how Barbie sets into motion its overarching message and theme—which is more than what it seems to appear at the moment.
With all the early reviews for the film flooding in, movie-goers couldn’t be more excited for Gerwig’s potential magnum opus to hit the theaters.
Barbie, starring Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Simu Liu, etc., releases on July 21, 2023.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
