Explained: Why is the Internet obsessed with Barbie memes? (2024)

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Greta Gerwig's new film Barbie is just months away from its theatrical release. The film's character posters have led to some hilarious memes on the internet. But what has led to the rise in this trend? WION explains.

Are you a Barbie or just a Ken? If you haven't lived under a rock so far, then you would have noticed the latest Barbie trend that has caught everyone's fancy on the Internet. Filmmaker Greta Gerwig's highly anticipated film Barbie, featuring Margot Robbie in the titular role, is all set to release in the summer of 2023. The film's makers teased fans as they shared character posters of the film introducing the impressive lineup of actors that are set to play a different version of Barbie or her boyfriend Ken in the film.

Actors like Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Emma Mackey, Sharon Rooney, Dua Lipa, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Helen Mirren, Scott Evans, and Ncuti Gatwa are all part of the film. Interestingly, while actors who areplaying different versions of Barbie have been given distinct character traits, the actors playing Ken are well, just...Ken- devoid of any specific traits.

The posters provide a glimpse of various Barbies, revealing cast members like Dua Lipa, who’s making her acting debut as a Barbie who is a mermaid, and Kate McKinnon, who’s playing a Barbie who is "always in the splits," and Robbie as Barbie who is 'everything'. But all the actors are typically introduced as 'He is Just a Ken'.

Barbie and its problematic past

For years, Mattel- the maker of the Barbie doll, has been criticised for making the most popular doll inthe world stereotypical. Critics have debated that the doll's appearance has been sexualised and it promotes a certain body type among young girls which is unrealistic. A typical Barbie doll has a narrow waist, a full chest, and long slender arms and legs. The doll is always perched on her toes- ready to slip into heels. When it was first introduced in 1959, it was typically blonde haired and adult bodied- inspired from aa German toy doll called Bild Lilli.

Criticisms of Barbie are often centered around concerns that children consider Barbie a role model and will attempt to emulate her. One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a young woman, leading to a risk that girls who attempt to emulate her will become anorexic.

With changing times, Mattel has consciously tried to change the image of Barbie dolls to make them more relatable for young girls. The mould of the doll too has undergone significant change to make Barbie look more realistic-thereby promoting a more positive body image.Over the years, Barbie has adopted various professions and ethnicity. We have a black Barbie, a doctor Barbie, and an Indian Barbie to name a few. While the Barbie doll has gone through changes, its male counterpart Ken has remained more or less the same.

Greta Gerwig's land of Barbie

The exact plot of the Barbie film is not known so far but the character posters seem to address a long-standing debate on how good an influence these dolls are on young girls. Gerwig seems to have used Barbie as a metaphor to represent the modern woman - who are known for more than their looks. Barbie has been considered an example of how women should be and so Gerwig's Barbies have various attributes and are not just sexual objectsof desire for men.

Notice how the men are depicted in the poster? They look brawny, and plastic and have no defined attributes.

Women are typically known to juggle multiple roles in life. They have - for years- balanced both work and home beautifully while men are typically known to just achieve great heights professionally. Gerwig's sly dig on the societal imbalance did not go unnoticed on the internet.

The social media trend

The internet caught on to the Barbie trend almost instantly and made its own version of it- often equating real-life couples and on-screen popular couples to Barbie and Ken. In all the memes, the women were given attributes and the men were just Ken.
Here take a look at the memes.

my favourite part of all the barbie posters is all the women have elaborate and cool career titles and the men are just "he is ken"
— mai (@sadthedreamer) April 4, 2023

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Shomini Sen

Shomini has written on entertainment and lifestyle for the most part of her career. While writing on cinema remains her first love, her other interest lies in top

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