Don’t tell me Barbie is a ‘hit’ – it only makes me want to see it less

In case your wifi has broken, you’ve recently emerged from some sort of pop-cultural coma, or you simply haven’t left the house in months, there’s a new Barbie film out. That’s right – the world has been soaked in sequins and fuchsia merch all because of the mass-marketed new Greta Gerwig film based on the famous Mattel doll. Put simply, this film has been inescapable ever since it was announced.

Remember those photos of stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling rollerblading on the beach in coordinating outfits last summer? All it took was a few candid shots of two gorgeous people in silly outfits to spawn an entire cultural and sartorial movement: Barbiecore. Since then, the phrase and aesthetic it depicts is ubiquitous. 

Pink has taken over our shop fronts. Our social media feeds. Our entire walking, living, hearing, breathing, seeing lives. There isn’t a single kind of brand that hasn’t collaborated with the film or tried to tap into its guaranteed commercial success in some way.

Everyone from Crocs and Gap to Bumble and Burger King has cashed in with some sort of loosely-related product or campaign. The Barbie-mania has reached such heights that when photos of Barbican Tube station with a new “Barbiecan” logo went viral last week, TFL had to deny that the station had changed its name. 

Ostensibly, all of this has happened for one singular reason: to promote the Barbie film and encourage people to buy tickets to see it.

But this is having the opposite effect. At least it is on me. In fact, I’m so sick of seeing Barbie-related merch, discourse, and imagery everywhere I look, it has put me off watching the film altogether. I feel as if I’ve reached my capacity for Barbie content without having even seen more than a few minutes of the film’s footage. 

There has been a lot of talk about how this mega campaign represents a capitalist switch-up for Gerwig, an indie darling best known for films like Frances Ha and Mistress America, as well as her solo directorial debut, Lady Bird. The director has been accused of selling out, and so on.

But I’d argue that this isn’t about Gerwig at all. Surely the ones who are selling out are the ones buying all of this Barbie merch, getting amped up by the global hype, and heading out to watch a film that literally everyone, everywhere is telling us we must watch.

The trouble is that the more something is celebrated, the less subversive it feels. Hence why someone stubborn like me can be turned off so easily. When everyone is telling me to watch something, do something, or feel something, I want to do the exact opposite. Sort of like a toddler throwing a tantrum; my autonomy feels as if it has been removed and I want to find a way of regaining it by making my own decisions. 

This has happened before, too. I’ve never seen an episode of Game of Thrones, for example. Or The Wire. Or The Sopranos. Or Breaking Bad. Or Stranger Things. I haven’t ever watched The Godfather or Citizen Kane. And at Glastonbury this year, I left just before the start of Elton John’s set. 

This is obviously to my own detriment. The aforementioned TV shows, films and musical legends are clearly excellent. And I’m only missing out by disengaging from them. When it comes to these sorts of things, perhaps it would be healthier to adopt a different kind of attitude, particularly where something like Barbie is concerned. Besides, I love Gerwig and all of her previous work. Plus, the film looks and sounds genuinely brilliant; maybe it’s time to leave my ego at the door. After all, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.