“That reality-challenged woman”: dreams and matter in Barbie
Published version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
McNeill, Isabelle https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4301-6729
Abstract
This essay will explore some of the ambiguous interactions between imaginary spaces and material reality as articulated by Barbie, considering the implications for its understanding of womanhood. First outlining a series of oppositions between fantasy and reality, Barbie and “real women” in the film, I will then highlight the ways in which this binary framework is ultimately undermined. With reference to both media theory and trans theories of embodiment, I will argue that the film resists oppositions between imagination and reality in ways that are generative and progressive, yet which simultaneously serve to enhance the film’s marketability.
Description
Keywords
36 Creative Arts and Writing, 47 Language, Communication and Culture, 3605 Screen and Digital Media
Journal Title
Feminist Media Studies
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
1468-0777
1471-5902
1471-5902
Volume Title
Publisher
Routledge