Welcome to #TransTuesday! This week we begin a big series so many of you have been waiting and asking for. Do you guys ever think about dying? Tillyvision returns for THE INTENTIONAL (!?) TRANS ALLEGORY OF BARBIE (the movie), PART 1!
This movie ROCKED MY WORLD when I saw it, because I instantly connected with it on a fundamental level… a level below the surface-level feminist story (which I also deeply connected with). But I’m not alone, this movie had a HUGE impact on trans audiences.
Especially we trans women. I knew I needed to figure out why that was, and it’s because there’s a beating heart of transness within. You may not believe me now, but stick with me to the end. Because by then, I believe you will 🙂
Before we begin, let me remind you that BARBIE has real trans representation (in terms of actors, but not characters). You can read more about that in the 2023 TRANS REP IN MOVIES AND TV trans tuesdays.
I’ve heard people say BARBIE is “MATRIX for girls,” but listen, the Matrix films ARE also for girls and nonbinary folks, as BARBIE is very much also for people of all genders. Let’s not play into that reductive gendering of things. That’s part of what BARBIE is about, c’mon!
But I WILL say that BARBIE is… Pink Matrix. Well, Funny Pink Matrix. And that’s very much by design, as you’ll see play out through this discussion. There’s nearly 20,000 words to go, because the movie is just THAT densely packed with transness.
As with many of my trans allegory discussions, I will draw comparisons to the best and platonic ideal of all trans allegories, The Matrix franchise. But for Barbie, that’s going to happen even more than normal. Not just because it’s “Funny Pink Matrix,” but for a very important reason.
I’ll endeavor to make this as accessible to everyone as possible, but you will definitely get even more out of it if you’ve read BEGIN TRANSMISSION: THE TRANS ALLEGORIES OF THE MATRIX. The deeper your understanding of those, the better you’ll understand BARBIE.
I’m saying BARBIE is an intentional trans allegory because, as with many of these discussions, sure some of it may have been subconscious, but that makes it no less intentional. I was writing about my transness without knowing it YEARS before I realized and accepted it.
But you’re also going to see that some of this was very consciously intentional, because it couldn’t have happened any other way. But ALSO it INTENTIONALLY references and calls back to The Matrix in so very many ways.
And if you’re intentionally referencing the strongest trans allegory in existence…
Then you have intentionally (maybe without even knowing it!) made your movie a trans allegory of its own. And it’s not like there’s only one or two things that nod to the Wachowskis’ magnum opus. It happens again and again and AGAIN.
Much like the MATRIX, it’s about one person’s transition from the man society expected them and wanted them to be, to the woman they truly are (which is also pointedly NOT the woman society wants them to be).
But even outside of the Matrix references, Barbie is a strong trans allegory. There’s a whole lot to talk about. But maybe you don’t believe the Matrix references were intentional. In any story about identity and societal expectations, there are bound to be similarities.
So I will direct you to The Editor’s Cut podcast, which is a show that talks to film editors about the movies they’ve worked on. In episode 85, editor Nick Houy is interviewed about his experience working with Greta Gerwig and editing BARBIE.
The Editor’s Cut solicited audience questions, and ya girl submitted one. Which was asked. And answered. At 45:35 into the episode, Nick is asked my question, “were all the parallels to the Matrix intentional?” His reply:
“The short answer to that is YES. Very much so. I’m sure [the listeners] will be happy to hear that.” You can listen to it for yourself here.
There’s your empirical proof. They intended to reference, repeatedly, the transiest franchise in existence. Think about why they would do that, and what that says about what the BARBIE is saying at different key points.
Now I’ve heard some people deride BARBIE as “feminism 101,” and that we need more complex and nuanced representation and exploration of feminism. Because if your feminism isn’t intersectional, it’s not really feminism.
And the same goes for supporting trans people. If your support of trans rights isn’t also intersectional, you’re not really supporting trans people. See the trans tuesday on TRANS INTERSECTIONALITY for more.
And I think it’s because the surface story in BARBIE is all about feminism. Explicitly. But it’s not explicitly about *intersectional* feminism, right? Except that it is, because BARBIE makes a point of inclusion in terms of race, disability, body type, and yes, transness.
BARBIE is very clearly intersectional in execution, if not in the dialogue spoken. But all of that is to say that I actually agree that we need more nuanced and deep depictions of feminism in media.
But BARBIE is “feminism 101” for an important reason, and it’s also your very first Matrix connection. I’ve long said THE MATRIX is Trans 101, because it’s the absolute basics of transness.
It’s about realizing and accepting the truth of your transness, and choosing to transition. And despite what you might think on the surface, that’s a very universal story.
EVERYONE has had moments in their lives where the expectations laid on us by society, family, friends, careers have forced us into boxes we didn’t belong in. Everyone knows that feeling (at least a little), and the fight to get to be true to yourself and who you really are.
But I’ve also said that MATRIX RELOADED, MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, and MATRIX RESURRECTIONS are like Trans 303 level classes. What they are saying about trans life is incredibly complex and nuanced.
And I believe this is why so many people deride the Matrix sequels as “confusing” or “bad.” If you don’t understand the allegory at work in THE MATRIX, you cannot understand the much more complicated things the sequels are saying about transness (especially if you’re cis).
But the Wachowskis couldn’t have said all those complicated, difficult things about trans life WITHOUT the trans 101 basics coming first. You NEED that base to work from. You can’t jump into 300-level classes without taking the prerequisites and have any hope of understanding.
And how many movies have you seen that are directly about feminism? How many movies have you seen that say even a FIFTH of what BARBIE has to say about womanhood and misogyny? BARBIE is feminism 101 because it HAS TO BE.
You NEED that foundation to branch out into deeper and more complicated discussions afterward. And one of the genius things about BARBIE is that its feminism 101 is NOT allegory! It’s all the SURFACE story!
In the MATRIX discussions, there’s a term I use: SUPERtext. It’s the opposite of subtext, it’s stating things plainly, right in your face, so that you can’t deny them. BARBIE often takes that a step further into SUPER-SUPERtext.
Whereas the surface story of the MATRIX franchise is a sci-fi parable of humans vs machines. BARBIE’S surface story is one of misogyny, and the oppression of women, and feminism! And that’s part of its genius.
As a movie that intentionally ties itself to the MATRIX movies, it may not surprise you to learn that BARBIE also uses color in very specific ways, to say very specific things. And is also allegorically about a trans woman’s journey to self-actualization.
BARBIE is the story of one person’s transition, from Ken (yes, from Ken!) to fully-realized Barbie, as she gets hung up figuring it out because she doesn’t want to be stuck as the only kind of woman society says you can be. Evidence abounds! Read on, true believers!
I won’t go into all the details here, but red, blue, and yellow (and combinations thereof) and how they’re used are a HUGE part of the trans allegories in the MATRIX films. When you know the visual language of the movie and what the colors stand for, an entire world opens up to you.
In this discussion of BARBIE, what’s most important are the colors Barbie is IN. In the hyper-saturated world of Barbie Land, intense colors are everywhere. But keep your focus on Barbie herself, and you’ll learn a whole lot.
If she, or people that represent parts of her, are in PINK, she’s dealing with doubt, which comes in many forms. Or lies. False dichotomies… like the gender binary and stereotypical ideas of what a woman “should” be. See the trans tuesday on THE FALSE DICHOTOMY.
If she, or other characters who represent parts of her, are in ROYAL BLUE, she’s experiencing connection. Mostly with her true self. A lot of blues appear in the movie, but those characters in ROYAL BLUE are what you’re looking for.
If she is in EARTH TONES (brown, green, yellow, earthy oranges or reds, anything “natural”) she’s experiencing TRUTH. Of existence, of herself, of reality.
Also look for moments where any pink or blue show up together. Would you believe that, like the trans pride flag, it’s an indicator of transness? It’s true, my babies. It’s so true you won’t even believe it.
And here’s another MATRIX connection for you. Some of the people around Barbie represent aspects of her own psyche (and also like the MATRIX, one very pointedly doesn’t). The relationship between Barbie and Ken is VITAL.
However it’s the opposite of the Neo and Trinity connection. In the MATRIX, the entire thing is about Neo trying to become his true self, which Trinity represents. Every kiss between them is a vital moment of self-acceptance on the journey to self-actualization.
In BARBIE, Ken is the man Barbie does NOT want to be. The allegory is about someone REJECTING masculinity but thinking only forced woman stereotypes await, and not knowing what to do about it. Barbie NEVER KISSES KEN.
Do you know how huge that is when this is based on toys where Ken has been her romantic interest for over half a century? Did that not seem odd to you? Especially in a society where everything is gendered and compulsory cisness and heterosexuality are forced on us?
Even in, ESPECIALLY in, media aimed at children? And this is a movie based on TOYS, which are FOR CHILDREN? See the trans tuesday on GENDERED CHILDHOODS for more on that.
That Barbie and Ken never kiss is a CHOICE. It is the OPPOSITE of the Matrix’s self-acceptance. This is part of Barbie’s REJECTION of the man society told her she was and had to be, but never knew how to be or wanted to be.
If you’ve read my MATRIX breakdowns, you’ve maybe already figured this one out: WEIRD BARBIE is Barbie’s subconscious, our stand-in for Morpheus. Weird Barbie knows the truth and spends the entire movie trying to help Barbie accept it and become her true self.
Ruth is Barbie’s heart, our stand-in for the Oracle in the MATRIX films. Our heart always knows the truth, but we can’t hear it or accept it until we’re ready to. It helps us figure out what we really want, and just like the Oracle, she’s played by an older lady.
The Mattel CEO is our stand-in for Agent Smith, who was the personification of transphobia (both implicit and explicit). The CEO serves the same function, and is also the stand-in for misogyny in the surface-level story.
He tracks much more closely to the representation of Smith in RESURRECTIONS, however, where he operates under the guise of being on your side, someone who “gets” it, but only because he can use that to solidify his own position of oppressing us.
Gloria is the woman Barbie is inside. Not Barbie’s self-actualization, like Trinity was for Neo, but her inner woman that’s been in there and experiencing all the misogyny of our society for Barbie’s entire life, even while she was trying to be the Ken society said she was.
Sasha is the little girl Barbie has inside. The little girl she was, but never got to be because society told her she wasn’t a girl and couldn’t be one. I think this is why Gloria and Sasha are mother and daughter, because those two versions of us are inextricably linked.
Now you’ve got the basics! I spent 9.5 hours watching the movie and taking notes, and 15 hours doing the write up. Add in the time it takes to post this, convert the text for the podcast version, and actually recording the podcast? Well over an entire day. For one movie! Bananas.
For the timestamps, I used the 4k Blu-ray disc version. Depending on where and how you’re watching, timestamps may differ slightly. ARE YOU READY?
Let’s gooooooooooo!
1:19 – The dawn (of time). Since girls existed there have been dolls. But they were baby dolls, so girls could only play at being mothers. This is showing you right from birth, girls were expected to serve only one function. This plays a huge part in Barbie figuring herself out.
1:46 – We get the shot of Barbie like the monolith from 2001 with “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” playing here, as it did there. If you’re not familiar, it’s used in 2001 to represent forbidden knowledge, and a sign or symbol of change… also known as TRANSITION.
The music was inspired by a novel of the same name, by Nietzsche, which is difficult to explain concisely. It’s about trying to reject the prejudices of human society by creating our own value, to become something better. It’s about rejecting expectations in search of eternal joy.
And if that DOESN’T read to you like a trans person rejecting who society says we have to be, living a life faking a role that makes us miserable, in pursuit of self-actualization and finding joy as our true selves… then what are we even doing here?
And yeah, it absolutely also works for the surface-level feminism story, and that’s the genius of using it here. As with the MATRIX films, there are layers to everything, and much of it works on multiple levels.
And the knowledge that we DON’T have to conform to what society says we have to be and who it says we are? That is very much FORBIDDEN knowledge. Society has worked really hard to keep trans people hidden, so we can’t see each other and know we can do it too.
See the trans tuesday on TRANSMEDICALISM (and WPATH standards of care 1) for more on that.
And so, when the little girl touches the Barbie monolith, the forbidden knowledge that she doesn’t HAVE to conform to stereotypical gender roles, what happens? A loud WARNING BUZZ scares her off.
2:18 – And that leads to the smashing of the baby dolls, the rejection of the false binary of society. For more on that, see the trans tuesday on THE FALSE DICHOTOMY.
2:50 – Here’s our first visual Matrix reference, Barbie in the white void, just as Neo was. For Neo, this happened when he was in a CONSTRUCT. Not the real world. And this is absolutely setting up that at the beginning of our story, that’s where Barbie exists.
3:40 – Thanks to Barbie all problems of feminism and equal rights have been solved. That’s what the Barbies think, anyway, and they’re all living in Barbie Land. Which, note, is ENCASED IN PINK. Barbie is IN pink. It’s a lie, obvs, misogyny has not been “solved”.
3:53 – Look at this shot of Barbie in bed with the roof opening. Remember when I said to look for when blue and pink were together? She’s BETWEEN the blue and pink, BETWEEN the gender binary. She’s not a cis man OR a cis woman. Transness falls between/outside the binary.
Barbie’s still IN pink though, everywhere. Conforming to strict gender stereotypes and roles is NOT her “best day, every day.” This is all shot to show you she’s very clearly going through the motions. She does this every day. It’s always the same.
And her smile… look, you’ve seen the entire movie already, right? Margot Robbie is incredible in it, and THIS smile is not Barbie’s REAL smile. It’s faked. It’s plastered on because that’s what’s expected. Every trans person has plastered that on to hide the pain, pre-transition.
4:34 – Barbie’s feet are forced into the high-heel position. Which is a GREAT visual gag based on the dolls, but my friends, it’s so much more. Like the machine ports on human bodies in THE MATRIX, this represents the same thing.
This is showing you Barbie’s body HAS BEEN CHANGED WITHOUT HER CONSENT. This is a visual representation of the wrong puberty that society forces us through, which contorts and modifies our bodies against our wishes, putting us through traumatic body horror.
In the allegory, this shot right here, shows you Barbie is an adult who’s gone through the wrong puberty, and whose body has been changed in ways she never wanted. She didn’t have access to puberty blockers as a kid, this is an adult trans woman figuring herself out.
4:56 – Barbie DOESN’T HAVE A MIRROR. If you’re not familiar with how reflections and photos are so difficult for trans people, see its trans tuesday for more info.
Here, Barbie is in pink (her dress), IN pink (the mirror border), IN PINK (her entire house). She is buried under a mountain of lies and doubts about who she is and who she can be, and she cannot see her own true reflection. She doesn’t know who she is and can’t see herself.
5:05 – Barbie walks on the water of the pool. Is this a symbol of the artificiality of the world of lies she’s living in? Absolutely. But ALSO, consider this… walking on water is a very religiously heavy concept, right? A miracle performed by the one son of the divine.
And in the MATRIX, “The One” is not, in fact, a single savior of humanity, but OURSELVES. WE are “The One” we’ve been waiting for, because we can self-actualize and save ourselves. And so, just maybe, this moment is telling you Barbie can also save herself. By transitioning.
It took me almost an entire essay just to give you the context through which I’m discussing this. There’s a truly remarkable journey ahead of you, so keep an open mind and join me on the ride!
Maybe we’ll get closer to fine.
Tilly Bridges, end transmission.
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