The Ben Shapiro Show

Ben Shapiro DESTROYS Barbie for 43 minutes

Sun Jul 23 2023

BarbieMovieFeminismSexismGender PoliticsVotingInconsistenciesControversiesMixed ReceptionPolitical Message

Description

The episode discusses the Barbie movie, its portrayal of Barbie as an independent woman, her journey to the real world, the battle against the patriarchy, gender politics and voting, inconsistencies and controversies, mixed reception and political message. The movie is criticized for its poor quality, lack of humor, and confusing politics. It explores themes of feminism, sexism, and the role of women in society. The film's portrayal of men and women as separate entities is controversial. Despite positive reviews from critics aligned with left-leaning politics, it has faced backlash for promoting divisive themes.

Insights

Barbie Movie Criticisms

The Barbie movie is heavily criticized for its poor quality, lack of humor, and confusing politics. It receives a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes due to its politically aligned message, even though it is poorly executed.

Barbie's Journey to the Real World

Barbie's journey to the real world is marked by overwhelming sexism and a lack of equality between Ken and Barbie. The film fails to address these issues and instead focuses on restoring Barbie land and keeping men subservient.

The Battle Against the Patriarchy

The film portrays a battle against the patriarchy, with the Kens building a wall in Barbie land and women needing to be deprogrammed by feminist heroes. The movie suggests that women need to turn against men to save society.

Gender Politics and Voting

The movie simplifies gender politics and voting, portraying a simplistic battle between men and women. However, the reality is more complex, with diverse political preferences among individuals.

Inconsistencies and Controversies

The movie has inconsistencies in its plot and multiple endings. It also tries to insert nostalgia at the end but may be seen as transphobic for boiling down female power to being biologically female.

Mixed Reception and Political Message

The movie has received mixed reception, with positive reviews from critics aligned with left-leaning politics but backlash from those who feel it promotes falsehoods and undermines basic human values. Its political message revolves around separating women from men to overthrow the patriarchy.

Summary

Transcript

The Barbie Movie

00:00 - 06:00

The Barbie movie is one of the worst movies ever seen, with nice production design and costumes being the only redeeming qualities.
The jokes in the film are limited to the first 45 seconds, making it devoid of humor for the rest of its duration.
The intended audience for the film is moms and their eight-year-old daughters, as evident from the previews and audience demographics.
Despite a strong marketing effort, the movie's repeat business is expected to be non-existent due to its poor quality and mismatched writing team.
The film lacks a clear concept and suffers from plot inconsistencies, character issues, and confusing politics.
It receives a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes due to its politically aligned message, even though it is poorly executed.
The movie takes a cynical view of Barbie and portrays her as bad for the world.

Barbie's Portrayal and Criticism

05:32 - 11:40

The podcast discusses the portrayal of Barbie as an independent woman who fails to liberate all womanhood due to being a tool of the patriarchal capitalist system.
The real world has rejected the message of Barbie that women should run everything, despite successful women in various fields.
There is a lack of logical coherence in the film's criticism of mommy dolls while also criticizing Mattel for discontinuing a mommy doll named Midge.
The podcast references Citizens United and makes gay masturbation jokes during a scene on the beach with Ken and other Kens.
Barbie becomes introspective about mortality, which seems out of place for a kids' movie.
Weird Barbie is introduced as a character who has knowledge about both Barbie land and the real world, and there is a connection between people playing with Barbies and the Barbies themselves.

Barbie's Journey to the Real World

11:11 - 17:08

Weird Barbie informs Barbie that she has to go to the real world and find the person playing with her to heal the problem in Barbie land.
The film sets up a dichotomy between living in fancy land with Barbie or becoming a Portland lesbian.
Barbie experiences overwhelming sexism in the real world, where women are portrayed as victims of the patriarchy.
Ken embraces the patriarchy and enjoys his newfound power.
The film fails to address equality between Ken and Barbie, instead restoring Barbie land and keeping men subservient.
Barbie mistakenly thinks a teenage girl is playing with her and receives a lecture about how Barbie has ruined the world and is fascist.
There is no consistency in character development or plot throughout the film.

Barbie's Escape and Confrontation

16:49 - 22:19

The film criticizes Mattel for creating a fancy land and portrays the patriarchy as evil.
Barbie escapes from the Mattel building and teams up with America Ferrera.
They decide to bring both of them back to Barbie land, but it's unclear why.
The Mattel executives chase after them, even though Barbie is already back in Barbie land.
Ken establishes the patriarchy in Barbieland within seconds of arriving.
The women in Barbieland have no immunity to the magic of the patriarchy.
The movie suggests that if women enjoy men, it's because they've been brainwashed by the patriarchy.
Ken plans to change the Constitution and hold a vote, even though he could just seize power.
Barbie becomes depressed when she realizes that other Barbies have been taken in by the patriarchy.
America Ferrera and her daughter give up on Barbie and leave.
Michael Sarah appears in the film for no reason other than a random fight scene and a Trump reference.

The Battle Against the Patriarchy

22:13 - 28:01

The Kens are going to build a wall in Barbie land, even though no one has ever entered or exited before.
The women in the film have no agency and need to be deprogrammed by a group of feminist heroes.
The film portrays all men as garbage except for one who is a joke.
The take of the film is that it is impossible to be a woman in the modern age due to the patriarchy.
The filmmakers are insecure about their own script and have the narrator comment on it.
The film's thesis is that women need to disabuse themselves of the patriarchy and turn against men to save society.

Gender Politics and Voting

27:35 - 33:38

Women achieved power in Western civilization by lobbying men and men granting it to them.
The amendment allowing women to vote was passed solely by men.
Many good-hearted men support women's rights.
The movie portrays a simplistic battle between men and women, but the reality is more complex.
Married women tend to vote similarly to their husbands.
Some women vote one way and some men vote another way, individuals have diverse political preferences.
The film includes unrealistic stereotypes about women's behavior and desires.
The plot involves turning men against each other while the women vote.
A musical number is inserted into the film for no apparent reason.
The matriarchy is re-established at the end of the movie, with Ken being told he needs to learn to live without Barbie.
Men and women are portrayed as needing to be separate rather than together for fulfillment.

Inconsistencies and Controversies

33:21 - 39:02

The protagonist's motivation throughout the movie is inconsistent, starting with wanting to put Barbie back in Barbie land for profit, then wanting to make ordinary Barbie for profit again.
There are multiple endings in the movie, including a Barbie-Ken ending, a CEO of Mattel ending where they want to make ordinary Barbie, and a Raya Perlman ending where she lectures about the patriarchy.
The movie tries to insert nostalgia at the end with home video footage of moms and daughters to please the core audience.
Barbie is sent back to the real world and goes through experiences that supposedly represent what it means to be a human woman, such as going to the gynecologist.
The film boils down female power to being biologically female and going to the gynecologist, which some may find transphobic.
The movie has received positive reviews from critics despite its flaws because it aligns with left-leaning politics.

Mixed Reception and Political Message

38:35 - 42:44

The movie has received a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, despite being considered boring and crappy by those on the right.
The film's marketing campaign has been successful in portraying it as a charming and fun family movie, leading many moms and daughters to watch it.
However, the movie's negative messages and divisive themes have caused backlash from those who feel it promotes falsehoods and undermines basic human values.
The film is rated PG-13 but marketed towards a PG audience, which may lead to disappointment for some viewers.
The movie's political message revolves around separating women from men in order to overthrow the patriarchy and create paradise.
It is unlikely that the film will perform well in China due to its content conflicting with the Chinese Communist government's values.
Overall, the reviewer gives the film a negative rating, stating that it lacks coherence in plot, writing, and acting.