Barbie: The Movie and Comprehension Strategies
by Jennifer Serravallo
I finally got to Barbie: The Movie this past week. I loved it. The nostalgia! The casting/acting/performances! The costumes! The set! There were so many great one-liners, so many parts that made me laugh, and so much to think and talk about. I have some critiques, but I’ll save that for another day.
Days later I’m still thinking about it and today, when chatting with two family members who saw it just last night, I realized I’m using many of the comprehension strategies in The Reading Strategies Book 2.0 in my interpretations and analysis. Here is a small selection from just one of the chapters—Plot and Setting—and some of my thoughts about the movie, deepened by the use of these strategies.
(Note: I only saw the movie once and am going on my memory so check me if I make any mistakes on story details! Also, spoilers ahead.)
Strategy 5.14 Use Story Elements to Identify Problems
Strategy Think through story elements to find the problem(s). Ask yourself: Is there a problem one character has with another? Is there a problem brought on by the setting? Is there a problem based on something the character wants but can’t have? Is there a problem connected to a theme or social issue within the story?
My response: Problems are such a great way to help determine importance which aids in retelling, and also in determining theme. But first we have to find them! In this movie, the problem Barbie has in the Real World, the problem Barbie has with the Mattel Businessmen, the problem that brings Barbie to the Real World (thoughts of death! Cellulite!), the problems that Barbie has with the Kens once they bring patriarchy back to Barbieland. You can also think about it from Ken’s perspective—what are his problems at the beginning, middle, and end? Then, we can think about some of the bigger social issues that this movie is talking about—gender norms, patriarchy, power, self actualization.
Strategy 5.21 Track the Problems as They Snowball
Strategy Notice one main, central problem the character is dealing with. Track how other problems add onto or connect back to the main problem.
My response: This one can help nudge someone who doesn’t immediately generate all the problems from 5.14, or needs help seeing how the problems connect. For example, you could start off with the first problem we see in perfect pink Barbieland – Barbie has thoughts of death. Then, she wakes up with morning breath and flat feet and spoiled milk and a burnt waffle. Then, she learns from Weird Barbie that the girl playing with the doll in the Real World needs help…and so on. Seeing how one problem leads to another helps sequence the plot for summary and retelling.
5.28 Consider How the Setting Impacts the Character
Strategy Notice the details about the time and place. Notice what’s happening in the time or place alongside what a character thinks or feels. Think, “How does the setting impact the character?”
My response: This strategy is a fun one to use for this movie because the two main settings are so starkly different and both impact the characters who travel between the two worlds—-most of all Barbie, Ken, Gloria (America Ferrera), Sasha (her daughter)—in different ways. In the beginning, for example, Barbie lives a charmed life in Barbieland—hosting fun parties, having slumber parties with her best friends, living days filled with joy—as she says, everything is perfect. When she arrives in the Real World, she’s laughed at, objectified, confused, and gets arrested twice. The contrast between the two settings brings into sharp focus what some women feel in (our) real world.
Then think about the relationship between Gloria and Sasha in the Real World compared to Barbieland—they go from being a bit estranged and not connecting, wearing all black, sad, to connecting, on a mission together, donning pink!
You can also apply this strategy by considering more micro-settings such as Mattel Headquarters, the Venice Beach boardwalk, Barbie’s Dreamhouse, and more. It’s fun to think about the impact of one place, and then extend your thinking by comparing and contrasting different settings’ impacts.
5.33 Use Basic Story Archetypes to Think About Plot
Strategy Review the story archetypes you know. Consider which type(s) best fit the story you’re reading. Use the basic plot trajectory of the story archetype to help retell the most important events from the story you read.
My response: A classic story archetype can help you get ideas about the plot, and determine the most important events aligned to the “type” to help you summarize. I think the plot of Barbie could fit into a couple.
“Overcoming the Monster” archetype examples include Beowulf, biblical stories like David and Goliath, or Dracula. In Barbie, we could consider the “monster” that needs to be overcome the patriarchy that Ken brings back to Barbieland. The Barbies work together to deprogram the brainwashed Barbies, distract the Kens, and vote to reinstate female-oriented decision making and social organization.
Alternatively, we could consider the “Voyage and Return” archetype as being a good fit for Barbie. Examples include Finding Nemo, Alice in Wonderland, and most of the stories in the Chronicles of Narnia series. In this story, the protagonist sets out in pursuit of something, usually traveling to a new place, and has to overcome challenges along the way. They return home with the lessons they’ve learned. Certainly Barbie’s journey and return from Barbieland to the Real World and back again, and all she experiences along the journey, would fit this type.
Consider how the different strategies enabled me to think about the story from different angles, and arrive at new ideas and conclusions. And these were only from the Plot and Setting Chapter! Here are some from the Character (Chapter 6) and Theme (Chapter 7) chapters from the book:
6.2 and 6.23 have me thinking about Helen Mirren as the narrator
6.10 has me thinking about Weird Barbie
6.12 has me thinking about Gloria’s journey
6.13 has me thinking about the different Kens
6.20 has me thinking about the moment when Barbie makes the decision to go to the Real World and what that moment reveals about her
6.21 has me thinking about Barbie and Ken’s first moments rollerblading on the beach and around town, when we know something they don’t
6.24 and 6.25 have me thinking about the Mattel CEO, Barbie, Barbie creator and each of the character archetypes and allegories
7.2 has me thinking about different key moments and what I wanted to say to Ken
7.4 has me thinking about Barbie, Gloria, Ken, and Sasha’s changes
7.6 has me thinking about the flashback montage and what Barbie realizes
7.7 has me thinking about Ruth Handler’s character and what she teaches
7.11 and 7.15 and 7.16 have me thinking about what the movie says about motherhood, womanhood, the patriarchy, and more
7.14 has me thinking about why the movie isn’t called “Barbie and Ken”
7.18 has me thinking about the last scene/last words
7.19 has me thinking about what Ken learned versus what Barbie learned versus what Gloria learned…and the many themes in each of these character’s plots
7.20 has me thinking a lot about gender and race and capitalism and democracy
7.22 and 7.23 have me thinking about plastic, shoes, and horses
7.24 has me thinking about Barbieland versus The Real World
I could keep going!!!
So, here are a few takeways. First, Barbie was an awesome movie offering lots to enjoy and think about. Second, a good strategy is generalizable: it will work in a lot of texts (including movies!) at a range of levels. Those “identify the problem” strategies, for example, could help first graders think about a simple picture book or teenagers think about movies with themes of feminism and the patriarchy. Third, in a rich text (or movie!), we’ll find opportunities to utilize many different comprehension strategies to help us think more deeply about various aspects of the text.