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"Men are pink"
We've heard it before, but it didn't have to be so pink.
All over social media these days, we're seeing men heading to the movies dressed in all things pink. This unexpected "feast of pink". Their destination: a screening of the movie Barbie.
Greta Gerwig's new movie, "Barbie," is on its way to becoming a "phenomenon," breaking the record for the highest opening in North America. "The most powerful pink energy in the world." Cheers and reviews are pouring in.
But it's not all "pink" - there's also been rating terrorism for its blatant criticism of male-centered thinking and more.
Could the movie "Barbie" be "pink" until the end?
Barbie in the real world
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The movie tells the story of Barbie (Margot Robbie), who lives in "Barbieland," a place where she can be anything she wants, until she discovers a crack in the portal to the real world and embarks on an unexpected journey with Ken (Ryan Gosling) to fix it.
Barbie changed the face of the toy market when she was first released in 1959, selling 350,000 units. It's a doll that most girls around the world dream of getting as a gift, and it's still a huge seller, with 58 million units sold worldwide every year.
In the movie, Barbie lives in "Barbieland," a world exclusively for Barbie dolls, where there are presidents, astronauts, airplane pilots, Supreme Court justices, and Nobel Prize winners.
But Barbie's boyfriend, Ken, is "just Ken." He doesn't exist unless Barbie sees him, and in a world full of pretty, smart Barbies, he's just a backdrop and a supporting character.
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In his familiar life, Bobby suddenly utters the word "death" without realizing it, and strange things happen the next day: his breath smells bad in the morning and his heels, which are always raised, go down. To solve this problem, Bobby leaves for the real world.
Once in Los Angeles, Barbie realizes that she's not welcome by all girls - she's attacked for her perfect looks and the burdens that women have had to bear because of it. Ken, on the other hand, is fascinated by the male-dominated "patriarchy" that doesn't exist in Barbieland and tries to bring the "patriarchy" of the real world to Barbieland.
In the end, however, Barbie and Ken are not equal in Barbie Land, and the inequality that exists between the genders of women and men continues. But Ken finds his own sense of "I am me."
"Barbie thinks she's perfect, but she realizes that the imperfections that are gradually revealed make her human and whole," Gerwig said at a press conference on the third day.
North American success, domestic reception mixed
Barbie was touted as the must-see movie of 2023, earning a Fresh certification on Rotten Tomatoes, the international criticism site, and even topping the North American box office, beating out Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which opened in North America on the same day.
That's not all, "Barbie" also broke the record for the highest North American opening of 2023, earning $70.8 million on its first day of release and surpassing $155 million by the end of its first weekend, the largest opening for any movie released this year. The previous top spot went to "Super Mario Bros." in April with $146.4 million.
In addition, "Barbie" set another new record for the largest opening weekend score ever for a female-directed film, surpassing "Captain Marvel" (directed by Ana Boden and Ryan Fleck)'s $153.4 million in 2019 and "Wonder Woman" (directed by Patty Jenkins)'s $132.3 million in 2017.
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However, the domestic response has been quite different. According to the Korean Box Office Ticketing System on the 23rd, "Barbie" barely exceeded 200,000 viewers, a paltry performance compared to the large-scale promotional events held by the film's lead actress Margot Robbie and others before its release.
This is especially in contrast to the Japanese anime "Detective Conan the Barbarian," which overtook the movie "Barbie" and remained in third place at the box office for the 22nd day, attracting over 280,000 viewers.
Its Golden Egg Index also scored 87%, the second lowest of any movie in theaters, behind horror "Insidious: Red Door.
This was due to the polarization of reviews from male and female audiences, with male audiences uncomfortable with the film's explicit critique of patriarchy and male-centered thinking based on the Barbie doll.
The male community criticized the movie, saying that Barbie was a movie that proclaimed female supremacy instead of gender equality, and the female community countered, leading to a "gender debate".
In fact, according to Naver movie ratings, female audiences gave the movie an average score of 9.38 (out of 10), while male audiences gave it an average score of 5.99. Furthermore, the ratio of female and male audiences was 81% and 19%, respectively (CGV audience analysis), making it the most polarizing movie in theaters.
Still, Barbie is Barbie, and men transformed into 'pink princesses'
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In the US, on the other hand, the popularity of the movie Barbie is inspiring men to go "pink," with challenges on social media like TikTok where men drink a pink drink and then suddenly transform into Barbie dressed in pink.
According to US Insider, the challenge was sparked by a joke about "feeling pretty after a 'pink drink,'" and it didn't stop with the outfit: men turned their cars from blue to pink, or donned blonde wigs and pink roller skates.
There's even been a trend of men Instagramming their way to the movies in pink - it's a world of pink.
The fashion industry also went "barbie-core," and it didn't matter if you were a woman or a man, each brand featured a "pink item.
According to fashion platform 29CM, even men's fashion brands have made pink items their main products this summer, with LF's 'Patou' brand selling more than twice as many pink outfits as other colors in June.
Still, the positive message that 'Barbie' gave us is that 'we are not all perfect' and that it is a process of realizing ourselves. Whether 'Barbie' will be remembered for its 'pink energy' instead of conflict is still being evaluated by the audience.
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