The Barbie movie took the world by storm within the past year. The film brought along many different opinions from viewers. Many individuals felt that the movie encapsulated what feminism was all about, while others seemed to heavily disagree. Some viewers criticized the movie for building up women, at the expense of tearing down men. Specifically, the musician, Shakira has recently voiced her criticisms of the film, resulting in backlash from social media users.
I watched the Barbie Movie when it first came out in the theaters and I personally enjoyed it. This movie seemed to do a phenomenal job at addressing the issues that women all over the world face in modern day time, while addressing the patriarchy and promoting the notion to build up both women and men at the same time. According to Allure Magazine, Shakira took her two sons to see the Barbie movie, and they felt that the film was emasculating. Overall, her main reasoning for this take was because she felt that men were being robbed of their ability to act in a masculine nature, or the will to “protect and provide”. The singer stated “I think that men have a purpose in society and women have another purpose as well. We complement each other, and that complement should not be lost.”
DOES SHAKIRA DESERVE BACKLASH FOR HER STATEMENT?
Critics of Shakira’s statement flocked to social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter to claim that her opinion was misogynistic and that she “missed the whole point of the movie.” I believe that all films, especially ones that were as widely promoted as Barbie should be expected to receive criticism. While I do not necessarily agree with Shakira’s stance on the film, I can respect it and am glad that society is able to have conversations about conflicting opinions. Femininity and masculinity are both core aspects of humanity, but the Barbie movie did not seem to take away from this notion. More so, the film demonstrated the normalization of gender roles not having to be forced upon individuals.
Shakira’s opinion is valid and creates room for further discussion on gender roles, but can be harmful in promoting the standardization of an individual having to take on specific gender roles. As an international celebrity, Shakira has such a large platform and a ton of influence in all different parts of the world. Regardless, I saw the Barbie movie as promoting the notion that it is perfectly fine to associate with as much or as little masculinity or femininity as an individual wants, no matter what, that person will always be enough (or “Kenough”), and it seemed that many others can agree.
Overall, it is clear that when certain celebrities have such huge platforms, promoting bold opinions will almost always be met with backlash and differing opinions. It is important for these controversial conversations to be had in order for others to be educated and realize potential harm within these statements. While the Barbie movie received many critiques, the film also garnered an overwhelming amount of praise. A feminist movie receiving as much success as this film has, while focusing on going against gender roles has not been a common phenomenon. Hopefully, following the success of the Barbie movie, we will see the rise of these issues being addressed more often within the media.
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