Breathe
By Aideé Zamorano
Impossible to stay out of the pink fever for the #Barbie movie, I am 39 years old and of course I played with the iconic doll, I had many favorite editions; my link with her also portrays the beginning of my professional career. The first formal job I had was in the advertising agency that ran Mattel; in production I worked for the Spanish adaptations of the commercials for Latin America and then I was in accounts (those who have direct contact with the clients and the creative team). That group was called the Matteletas. Because yes, complying with gender mandates, the whole team was made up of women.
And what does gender have to do with the Barbie movie? Everything. As Sasha's character rightly notes, Barbie (from a feminist analysis) is an agent of gender socialization; of course, she explains it in a more accessible way than classes and/or books.
The film is fa bu lo sa, a journey through the feminisms of the different waves. I found theoretical references from the likes of Judith Butler, bell hooks and Angela Davis herself, who perhaps would be fascinated by the character of the president in Barbieland, perhaps not. I also thought I heard Marcela Lagarde: "Everybody turn to the Barbie next to you and tell her how much you love her. Compliment her." - from feminisms we explain this behavior as sorority and it was Lagarde who coined the term in Spanish.
I cried, laughed out loud, clapped, sang, shouted and danced while I watched the film hand in hand with my husband, who hugged me when we heard in the movie theater: "Do you guys ever think about dying? According to the World Health Organization, 700,000 suicides are committed every year; that is, 1 out of every 100 deaths. I was infinitely grateful that the production was so vocal about this silent pandemic.
Countless times I have tried to explain patriarchy in classes; columns, publications in social networks, and one day Ken arrives to make everything easier: "Why didn't Barbie tell me about Patriarchy?" and on a huge screen, I could see how in such a simple and multi-millionaire produced way, the reproduction of power relations is explained (See? The only thing I was missing was capital; this is what patriarchy looks like, the power to transmit messages is achieved by men and women who own the means of production).
And yes, I understand perfectly when Gloria thinks of death in the face of the organizational culture reflected in the film: a group of straight white men on the executive board. And she, like me, with her power and Latino phenotype, trying to take a place, always struggling to prove her worth. "Show your worth, you are not enough" I had to hear it in my own production of Barbie.
All the publicity of the film revolves around the couple (which is not a couple) created by the toy brand, and undoubtedly, the highlight is the monologue of America Ferrer (the character of Gloria - perfectly well chosen name, don't you think? - is a tribute to the liberation and equality that feminism implies), just thinking about that scene makes my skin crawl. I saw myself in America in so many ways that I couldn't help but applaud her when she finished her speech, all the time I felt that the film was talking to me, that ordinary Barbie's exist and resist every day against this capitalist, sexist and patriarchal model.
The fact that all Barbie dolls have the same name and that all the dolls are Ken in the film is not a mistake, it is an accurate explanation of how the patriarchy assumes that we are a homogeneous mass that must fit into the binary system, and if we do not - like Allan - it seems that there is no place for us and that we must live in the shadow of gender stereotypes. "Ken is me" is that invitation to occupy a place from the difference, plurality and diversity as people.
I plan to see the movie more times in the theater with a group of friends, my mom and my oldest son because for me, it is the film that has genuinely explained in a clear and simple way the theories of gender and feminisms; although contradictorily it is totally immersed in stereotypes, because of the colors, the clothes and the perfect bodies of most of the cast. I also applaud the bravery of the Mattel team in producing a self-criticism about Barbie and the organizational culture they live in; the only thing they failed to do was to reproduce the offices, having a meeting in Barbie's living room was like entering the set of the movie. It makes perfect sense that the plot is set in Los Angeles, California. It is in El Segundo, California where Mattel's corporate office is located and where I had to talk to several times to contact my clients for approval.
Was I paid to write this column? No, I just recognize that it is a good production, moreover, to add to Mattel's self-criticism, I can share with you that the most violent interview I have endured in my career Godín, was at the brand's facilities in Polanco. The HR director (one Luis Vega), left me talking in the middle of the session and interrupted me in all my answers; I was not surprised because while I was waiting for him, I saw him arrive and he did not even greet those of us who were in the lobby or the staff working at the reception; brave HR director.
It will be necessary to prove if all the knowledge and understanding about feminism, patriarchy and power that was communicated in the film, is also a reality for the workforce. Because as America says in her monologue: You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining.
And just like Barbie, this generation of women, heirs of the waves of feminisms that have preceded us and who today raise our own struggles, we will not ask anyone's permission to talk about the rapists in our workplaces.
I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of Opinion 51.
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