SGR's 10 in 10 Note on Servant Leadership - Aug. 9, 2023
It’s a Barbie World?
I’m not a Barbiephile, nor am I a Barbiephobe. I can honestly report that I’ve never given Barbie much thought. But I am a girl dad and poppy to two granddaughters, who are too young to see the new PG-13-rated?Barbie?movie. I chose to see it to see what all the talk was about, but also on behalf of my daughter and granddaughters. I?was about to enter Barbie’s world.??
Barbie?has surprised people. It certainly surprised movie critics, traditional Barbie fans…and me. With fresh insights into people, relationships, and the workplace, this may not be the?Barbie?you expect, but it could be the Barbie you need—especially if you’re a guy.
Barbie is the main attraction—and rightly so. But it’s Ken’s storyline that is generating the bulk of the buzz. Ken, Barbie’s long-term beau, initially embraces a “masters of the universe” ideology and introduces it to Barbieland before ultimately rejecting it due to its toxicity and the damage it does to both women and men.
While?women are often familiar with the downside of anything that tolerates domination by one gender or class, it’s a revelation for Ken. In real life, men are also subjected to problematic behaviors when working in an environment where they have little power.?The tactics may change, and the perpetrators may be different, but the effects are still devastating. And men being men, they keep quiet so the damage stays hidden. In?Barbie, that message is delivered with such power that it’s impossible to miss. If only things were so clear in real life.
When you’re a girl dad or someone’s poppy, life becomes about them. You don’t want them subjected to toxic people or places. You want them treated with dignity and respect. But I am also dad to a son, and I want those things for him, too.?Barbie?didn’t teach me that, but it did make me acutely aware that he faces some of the same perils they face—and in the same places. It's not acceptable for either.
In its third week,?Barbie?is set to exceed $1 billion in ticket sales.?It is smart, gutsy, and insightful in a very?human way, with lessons that are applicable in the real world. I’m proud to report that after sharing the planet with Barbie for the past 64 years (she made her debut in 1959), I am finally a fan.
Have a great week, everyone.
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