DEI lessons: Barbie the movie *spoiler alert*

I have never played with a Barbie or Ken but here is why I HAD to see Barbie at the opening weekend. There are DEI lessons embedded everywhere:?

Barbenheimer - the message of inclusion.

The marketing of Barbie has been spectacular. They were actively promoting Oppenheimer, constant mention of their competing film and vice versa. The cast even went to a viewing of Oppenheimer. This sends a message of inclusion.?

Yes I am aware it’s just the 2 movies, but when else have we seen 2 big blockbuster movies going head-to-head and are able to share the spotlight as gracefully as they have? Especially the 2 movies could not be more different from each other, they still found a way to support each other.?

There is enough space for everyone - even the cut-throat Hollywood is starting to understand, we don’t always have to compete against each other, finding a way to co-exist is a WIN-WIN for everyone.

Breaking the glass ceilings, traditional norms, pushing boundaries.?

The Director - Greta Gerwig (also co-wrote Barbie) is already a massive YES for me. With Barbie, she has now broken the opening weekend record for a female director, solo or otherwise.

The Cast - The fact that everyone was Barbie & Ken with a diverse representation (when compared to the original Barbie), you know they are heading in the right direction.?It was such a nice touch at the end credits, all the cast was listed as Barbies & Kens.

Barbie cast had queer representation, we also saw different colours of Barbie as well as shapes and sizes. While I am aware the queer representation was only in the cast’s real life not in the character itself, I feel this will divert the storyline too much.

Speaking of diverse Barbies...I can’t help to notice all the Kens were in very good shape. This leads me onto…?

Authenticity - Feminism & Toxic Masculinity?

I was very intrigued by how they would tackle the traditional stereotype doll Barbie had reinforced over the years. The result was way above my expectation.?

Surprised by how they also tackled what it means to be a man, addressing Toxic Masculinity in such a humorous way.?My favourite line was from Helen Mirren as the narrator:?

‘Men are raised to understand their own value as being inextricably bound with their sexuality.’?

We later saw Barbie & Ken going into the ‘Real World’ and experiencing how distinctly different their gender meant.?

Ken learned about patriarchy and immediately bought into the idea and even brought patriarchy back to ‘Barbie Lland’ out of spite of his own insecurities and shame towards Barbie, specifically Barbie’s lack of romantic interest in him. Something that rings very true in our world.?

Side note: I have always believed the argument against the LGBT+ community really stemmed from toxic masculinity, specifically what we perceive a man should be, and what we perceive a woman should be.?

Barbie in fact encourages Ken to find who he is without her. What are Ken’s interests? The same goes for Barbie, what life does Barbie want to live in the ‘Real World’? We often encourage people to be who they are, live authentically and bring their authentic selves to work.?

What if we don’t know what that means? What if we are all still figuring out who we are individually, let alone what it means to be a woman at work or a people leader??

Learning moments from strangers - Park bench scene.?

One of my favourite moments in this movie was when Barbie headed to the ‘Real world’ in quest to get rid of her cellulite in “Barbie Land’, only to find the immense beauty in imperfect skin with an old woman on a park bench.

We can always learn something if we just slowed down for a second. These seemingly irrelevant learning moments will come to you randomly.

It will help us get out of our own hands and see things from a different perspective & gain new insights. The whole scene lasts maybe less than 20 seconds with just 2 lines but was the most memorable moment for me.?

Later I found out, the old woman was played by Ann Roth, an Oscar-winning costume designer - another incredible touch in giving the spotlight to your behind the scene staff.

This is the value you get from lived experience speakers. By sharing & celebrating everyday heroes, your employees can gain insight and spark their own development, which will contribute to the way they approach a problem or a challenge at work. This can help with team bonding, innovation and just all round inclusive culture.?

Acknowledging Mattel’s history - trial & error.

Massive congrats to Greta to persuade Mattel for including Midge & Allan & other discontinued dolls. Midge was a discontinued doll because it caused huge controversy & accused of promoting teenage pregnancy, however despite being a pregnant married woman (I KNOW!). Earring Magic Ken was also discontinued & recalled because he was associated with the gay community because he wore an earring (YES I KNOW!)?

What is ironic about Barbie was on the one hand they did not want to sexualise the dolls, but at the same time, they have sexualised Barbie in other ways.

Same argument we see today that we shouldn’t be exposing kids to LGBT+ content, but at the same time we are reinforcing cisnormative & heteronormative messages. One of the biggest reasons why LGBT+ folks has a high correlation with Mental health issues.?

They have in fact tried to have a more diverse Barbie collection but perhaps society was not ready for it or Mattel could have also approached differently - who knows??

There is absolutely no shame in this. There will always be good & bad moves when it comes to business, the important thing is that the business stick with what they believe in, and should not just back down whenever it becomes inconvenient.

Could you imagine if Mattel had doubled down on the discontinued dolls, fight for their why & values in producing these dolls, and not backing down, where could we be in the DEI conversation today??

There are just too many DEI lessons we can learn in & around Barbie. I haven’t even talked about how we all are capable of discussing gender & gender roles without mentions of genitalia (yes I know they are dolls), how Ryan Gosling was the perfect actor from the infamous ‘Hey girl’ phenomenon, or how the amazing monologue on womanhood was not delivered by the lead actor Barbie but by Gloria - played by America Ferrera!?

To finish, I want to share a video of Margot Robbie doing sign language with a deaf fan (If you need more reasons to fall in love with Barbie!): ?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvF5A6ZoVqv/?hl=en ?