Women in China are telling each other to bring their boyfriends to see 'Barbie' — and to use it as a litmus test for their thoughts on feminism and patriarchy
Women in China are telling each other to bring their boyfriends to see 'Barbie' — and to use it as a litmus test for their thoughts on feminism and patriarchy
One user on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu shared a guide for how women can test their boyfriends based on their reaction to the film.
For some women in China, "Barbie" is more than just a movie — it's also a litmus test for their partner's views on feminism and patriarchy.
The movie has prompted intense social media discussion online, media outlets Sixth Tone and the China Project reported this week, prompting women to discuss their own dating experiences.
One user on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu — a photo-sharing site similar to Instagram that's mostly used by Gen Z women — even shared a guide on Monday for how women can test their boyfriends based on their reaction to the film.
According to the guide, if a man shows hatred for "Barbie" and slams female directors after they leave the theatre, then this man is "stingy" and a "toxic chauvinist," according to Insider's translation of the post. Conversely, if a man understands even half of the movie's themes, "then he is likely a normal guy with normal values and stable emotions," the user wrote.
You're viewing a single thread.
Women in the US are doing that too.
I guess it works, to a point. If your man throws a Shapiro-esque fit over this movie he probably isn't great to be around the rest of the time.
His critique of it is basically that it's too "woke" but he really has nothing to say about the essential elements of any movie (plot, tone, character development, etc). He's either unable or unwilling to separate politics from his review. It's like he doesn't know movies can be well made even if you disagree with their themes.
If you ever have (unfortunately) heard of his absolutely dogshit book, then his inability to understand deeper meanings, subtext, themes, and to grapple with a competent plot should not surprise you in the least. Robert Evans, Cody Johnston, and Katy Stoll read it through on Behind The Bastards in a few episodes. Imagine the novelization of a Steven Seagal movie adaption of a Jack Ryan plotline. Combine that with how ol Benny really wanted, and failed, to be a screenplay writer, and it makes sense his absolute hatred for modern Hollywood movies that don't say all the things he likes.
One pump, one cream my friend. I loved those episodes and so many more.
Take a bullet for ya, babe
Take a bullet for ya
Interesting. Have you listened to the behind the bastards take on Scott Adams? That's pretty funny too.
Lol yeah it's always the smaller bastards with the funniest episodes
I mean, I think it's fine to critique a movie on themes as well. It's a key aspect that makes up a film, like effects, writing, casting, or acting. I don't think critiquing it as "woke" is invalid - it tells his audience a key facet of what they want to know about a movie. If a movie was coming out and someone reviewed it saying the themes were pro-fascist, I'd also want to know that and not attend based off of theme.
I just like that a movie which, in no uncertain terms, advocated for strong, independent men is too "woke" for Ben Shapiro. But I guess if you determine your worth as a man by how much control you have over women, that tracks.
Fascism is an actual defined term. Woke isn't, it just means whatever the user wants it to mean, which is usually something like not wanting some minority group to exist.
The fact that it's mis-defined or used as a pejorative does not invalidate its definition nor mean it can't be used as a descriptor of a film. It's literally an adjective.
True but dictionaries (at least for English) are descriptivist, so they can only describe how a word is used. The definitions, especially the second one, are so broad due to how much the word is misused.
But your right that I probably shouldn't have said it has no definition.
"aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)"
Seems like a seller definition to me. I think it's nice a dictionaries often provide samples for how the word should be used, but they always have the actual definition of it above that section.
I think "woke" actually does have a definition, put forth by DeSantis's lawyers, IIRC. I don't want to go find it right now, but it was something along the lines of "aware of and acknowledging the existence of systematic racism in the United States."
But more broadly, these days it just means "progressive" without defining any specific arena, so personally, I think woke is a valid way to describe a movie. In fact, if a movie doesn't have at least some "woke" themes, I'm not too interested in seeing it these days.
"Woke" comes from AAVE meaning to be aware of racial prejudice. As in, "you woke up from a dream". It has a definition, it's just that most white people won't take the time to learn it.
The non-AAVE version doesn't really have a different meaning it's just not black-centric: Every action or speech done (deliberately/emphatically) cognisant of systemic injustice is woke. At least that's how you see it used in wider left circles, and while the right might not understand it they of course see that it's evil because systemic injustice is what they're all about, be it when it comes to economic or social or intergalactic issues. They cannot accept the concept because it would require them to look at the consequences of their actions; exposure to it triggers their phobia.
Sure sure, that's why fascism is a buzzword as big as woke
"Woke" means whatever anyone wants it to mean at any time.
Or is the theme of the movie about awareness of systemic racism in the US justice system? Haven't seen it myself
Pretty sure he decided what he was going to say before he even saw the movie. He can't admit to liking any part of it becausee of his politics.
Shapiro-esque is such an apt description.
The amount of concern a woman should have about their partner is directly related to the amount of Shapiro that is displayed when complaining about Barbie. I had a few parts I didn't like, but I still enjoyed the movie as a whole. I thought the car chase scenes were so unnecessary and terrible product placement.
What's funny is Shapiro, himself, feels Shapiro-esque as if even he were not the genuine article but instead a trick of the light.
Both my wife and i wanted to go equally. I wanted to thirst on Ken and I did...but on the serious note, its a good movie for both genders to see for seperate but equal reasons. Barbie gotta stand up and step out, be herself. and Ken has to learn what it means to be Ken without Barbie. This movie would of helped me not be such an incel in my formative years.
What do you mean? I can't think of anything more stable than a grown man burning children's dolls on the internet after watching a movie based on a toy designed for 6-12 year old girls.
I don't think about him at all.
Wait, people weren't joking about that?
Wait, really? XP
What do I do if my woman does that though?
Watch Oppenheimer, I guess?
I just wanted to know where Ken lived.
He's literally Beach Ken. Why doesn't he just live on the beach?
Either that or ::: spoiler spoiler move back into the Mojo Dojo Casa House since Barbie cleaned it up for him before immediately leaving to be a human. :::
My best guess is that Kens are all homeless. Mattel released many different Barbie houses, but not a single Ken house.
a Shapiro-esque fit
🤣🤣🤣
I'm using that line
It can also work both ways, by seeing how she sees the corporate feminism thrown around by power-hungry corpos only for the profit. Luckily, my gf and I were sharing the same "yeah, it's still divisive and murican corpo trash" mentality about the movie, while both of us saying that it was "almost there"
How about a Shoe-esque fit? Lol. I kinda agree with her that if they were trying to make the patriarchy look bad, they failed hard. The Barbie's seemed to be having more fun in Ken Land. One of them even says as much.
Also there's no way that Mattel would be upset that the Ken Bro-House was outselling Barbi Dream house. They're making money, they'd have leaned into it, not tried to shut it down.
Also there's no way that Mattel would be upset that the Ken Bro-House was outselling Barbi Dream house. They're making money, they'd have leaned into it, not tried to shut it down.
Regarding this, I think the point the movie was trying to make was that Mattel could choose to eliminate the Barbie line of toys and use those resources to create a product for boys that would sell better, but they choose not to. Even though the board (both in the movie and in reality) is dominated by men and they are motivated by profit, they still want to make little girls happy. Of course, they want to make their profit along the way, but that's commentary on capitalism
You missed the point where they all lost agency and just became hollow husks of beings.
It wasn't meant to be super biased towards feminism. In my opinion it tries to show a very well balanced take and just show genderism in general, and uses it as a gateway for some men to understand what it could be like from the other side. The end loses some of it's nuance with going for a mostly status quo. But the rest of the movie is a great exploration of gender issues in general.