It ranges from the banal: someone claiming the only reason someone could possibly be criticial of the Barbie movie, is because they’re not a woman.
I don’t like the Barbie movie because its themes of sexism are confused. Ken is too sympathetic to be a good villain in a movie about misogyny, and he’s too abusive to be a good victim in a movie about misandry. Ultimately, Ken is exactly what incels think they are: a victim of mean women who is denied personhood itself through being denied attention by women. Creating the perfect incel self-insert is a bad idea in a movie about how misogyny is bad.
While I enjoyed it, the main reason I found the Barbie movie problematic, was because it is effectively purple washing corporate propaganda for a male led company, with a horrible record on treatment of foreign (often female) workers, and with a product that has historically caused girls serious body image issues. Which is why it could never be a truly feminist movie.
My main point was that, according to people who have a superficial understanding of identity politics, you have no right to voice this criticism unless you are a woman because you can’t truly understand what the movie was about and don’t truly understand what it’s like to be oppressed like a woman. Even if you may have had similar experiences, have people you love who have experienced similar issues, and have read up on a lot of the relevant literature.
Ie. the idea that men might as well be from a different planet, so have no way of relating to women, so don’t get to voice their opinions on something like the Barbie movie. “Men are fundamentally different from women, they have no way of understanding the oppression we have faced.”
I don’t like the Barbie movie because its themes of sexism are confused. Ken is too sympathetic to be a good villain in a movie about misogyny, and he’s too abusive to be a good victim in a movie about misandry. Ultimately, Ken is exactly what incels think they are: a victim of mean women who is denied personhood itself through being denied attention by women. Creating the perfect incel self-insert is a bad idea in a movie about how misogyny is bad.
You raise a good point.
While I enjoyed it, the main reason I found the Barbie movie problematic, was because it is effectively purple washing corporate propaganda for a male led company, with a horrible record on treatment of foreign (often female) workers, and with a product that has historically caused girls serious body image issues. Which is why it could never be a truly feminist movie.
My main point was that, according to people who have a superficial understanding of identity politics, you have no right to voice this criticism unless you are a woman because you can’t truly understand what the movie was about and don’t truly understand what it’s like to be oppressed like a woman. Even if you may have had similar experiences, have people you love who have experienced similar issues, and have read up on a lot of the relevant literature.
Ie. the idea that men might as well be from a different planet, so have no way of relating to women, so don’t get to voice their opinions on something like the Barbie movie. “Men are fundamentally different from women, they have no way of understanding the oppression we have faced.”