Discussing Hair, Confidence and Potential with Barbies and Kens in Leicester Square
With pink and Barbiecore taking over, early last month we headed to the London premiere of the Barbie movie in Leicester Square. We loved chatting to all the Barbies and Kens about what Barbie had meant for them, the role it played in their childhood, and how it helped them feel confident to pursue whatever they aspired to!
After these conversations and then watching the film itself, we’ve reflected on some of the key themes the Barbie movie unpacked. This blog shares a glimpse of our Voxpop at the London premiere before diving into our takeaways around seeking perfection, slowing down, asking for help and self-expression.
Key outtakes from the movie
1) You are enough
Today, Barbie represents the idea that girls and women can be anything they want to be. For many of us during our childhood, Barbie helped us dream about the many different careers and goals we might achieve, such as becoming President, a pilot, a business woman or owning a house. As much as that message still rings true today, our key outtake from the Barbie movie was that no one is ‘perfect’. As women we face so many pressures to be good mothers, partners and daughters, to achieve highly in our careers and at home, to look certain ways, to be confident and to have kids. But the Barbie movie reminded us that it’s okay to be who you are. Yes, it’s important to believe in yourself and work hard for what you want to achieve but it’s also important to recognise the pressures we place on ourselves and that are placed on us by others. You are not defined by your role, your possessions or your achievements, you have everything you need within yourself.
2) It’s okay to be tired
Continuing on from this idea of perfection and being able to do anything, the Barbie movie also reminded us of the reality of being high achieving and reaching our dreams. The movie’s female doctors, writers, physicists and Nobel prize winners were inspiring and amazing, but the movie also highlighted that reaching our goals can be exhausting. That’s not to say we shouldn’t strive for what we want to achieve and work hard, it’s just a reminder that it’s okay to be tired and to recognise when you may need some moments to slow down.
“I like not having to make any decisions. It’s like a spa day for my brain forever.”
- Physicist Barbie
3) Ask for help, when you need it
In the movie we see Barbie start her existential crisis with a cold shower, burnt toast and flat feet. But an important moment is when she reveals this to her friends and asks for help. Throughout the film, Barbie is constantly supported by the other Barbies and Kens (and Allan) around her. Yes, it’s important to be independent but it’s also important to seek support, ask for help when you need it and surround yourself with friends and family.
4) Never stop expressing who you are!
As a beauty and fashion team, we couldn’t help but reflect on the incredible clothes, accessories and hair that made up the Barbie movie. The Barbie movie reminded us that we can dress how we want to, clothes are an expression of who we are and we should have fun with fashion (Barbie is excited to change outfits… and quite frankly, so are we!). How we present ourselves can make us feel more confident and comfortable in our skin and we shouldn’t be afraid to lean into that power.
So there you have it, these are a few of the Barbie lessons we are taking with us. Let us know what your key outtakes were in the comments below!
P.S. We recognise that Barbie has not always had a good rep! And there are many issues with Barbie around the portrayal of unrealistic beauty standards, inclusivity, cultural representation and body image to name a few. That being said, we do think there are some positive outtakes from the movie around confidence and self-worth which is what we hope this blog captures today!
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