The Barbie Paradox: Embracing the Aesthetic but Snubbing Its Architects

The triumph of the Year of Barbie was the marketing, right? Whether or not you saw the film (and if you haven’t, you should!), you saw Barbie everywhere in 2023. It represented a cultural moment in feminism, a triumph in risk-taking by Mattel, and a future of female-centric stories that get the recognition they deserve. 

Barbie (2023) surpassed a billion dollars worldwide, making Greta Gerwig the only female to direct a billion-dollar film. For many, it was a shock when, of the 8 Academy Award nominations that Barbie received, Greta Gerwig was not nominated for Best Director. But despite this snub, Barbie is the center of marketing once again, this time for the Oscars themselves. 

A month before the Academy Awards, host Jimmy Kimmel has already put out a 5 minute commercial using Barbie’s brand equity: having fun with the iconic feminist soliloquy, poking fun at the Oscars In-N-Out culture, calling out Greta being snubbed, and highlighting that Margot Robbie, Barbie herself (or one of them anyway), was also snubbed for best actress. 

Barbie has undeniably shaped the cultural zeitgeist. Its global economic impact is undeniable. Yet, the Oscars' decision not to nominate Gerwig for Best Director or Robbie for Best Actress raises questions about the metrics of value and acknowledgment in Hollywood. Are blockbuster revenues and social media buzz enough to secure recognition from the Academy? Evidently not. 

The irony of the Oscars embracing Barbie for its commercial, while excluding its key contributors from 2 important nominations, epitomizes the interplay between commercial success, cultural impact, and critical acclaim.

According to the Academy of Motion Pictures, the Academy Awards “Recognize and celebrate all aspects of the film industry and the diverse, talented people who make movies.” Using Barbie for promotion, in the midst of nomination controversy, highlights the ongoing debate around gender and acknowledgment in Hollywood, but also serves as a critical examination of what we value in cinema, when we value it, and who gets to decide. Does Barbie, which has impacted the culture enough to be the brand for the Oscars this year, not deserve critical acclaim? 

P.s. Barbie was way better than Oppenheimer.