Erika Baumann

Perfect. Perfectly satirical, heartfelt, inspirational, historical, plastic, real, meta. Barbie is reborn. Mattel’s self-awareness & willingness to evolve has revived an entire industry.

Not nearly as much gore & shock factor as critics complain about. It’s an amazing period piece incorporating politics, morality, sexuality, identity, religion, sexism, racism, ableism, corruption, addiction... so many layers woven together to create a “bigger picture” of the human condition. Rich with character development that unfolds perfectly, constantly raising questions about what the hell is going on and what different motives are at play, but by the last episode there aren’t loose ends or unnecessary side plots left unresolved. The reality of the situation is deep and still relevant in the modern day. The portrayal of mental illness isn’t offensive (as a mentally ill person) or wildly inaccurate, the inhumane “medical treatments” were widely accepted at the time, so the suspense doesn’t need any artificial dramatics. The things you’re left questioning are debates that we face in the real world. Topics like the long term affects of childhood abuse, trauma, merciful euthanasia, nature vs nurture, good vs evil, sacrifice, forgery and lies that come from a good place in the hopes of helping people, living in the closet, accepting your sexuality, the power of love, capital punishment, are brought to the surface of your mind and are difficult or impossible to fully understand, but hit close to home and are personal quandaries that go far beyond any fictional story.