America Ferrera rejects the critique that ‘Barbie’ is oversimplified feminism
America Ferrera has hit back at Barbie critique and the suggestion that the film is oversimplified feminism with the simple response that sometimes that is exactly what the world needs.
As award nomination season gets underway, the most highly anticipated list is no doubt the Academy Award nominations. Barbie is expected to bag a fair few nominations, with America Ferrera in the race for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ in her role as Gloria.
As the human who helps Barbie understand the complexities of womanhood, the centre point of the film comes in the shape of a three-minute monologue from Ferrera. The scene is a Greta Gerwig signature, boiling down the themes of the film into a bite-size package as she does in Little Women and Lady Bird.
“It is literally impossible to be a woman,” Ferrera begins in her role as Gloria. Delivering a passionate speech, breaking down the many double standards and inequalities women have to navigate daily, it was a moment that split opinions. While some loved the scene, others critiqued it for being too simple.
However, in an interview with The New York Times, Ferrera reminds the world that some need that. “We can know things and still need to hear them out loud. It can still be a cathartic,” she said of the speech. “There are a lot of people who need Feminism 101, whole generations of girls who are just coming up now and who don’t have words for the culture that they’re being raised in.”
Not only reminding people that a lot of the younger audience for Barbie may never have heard these thoughts said aloud, but Ferrera also addresses the speech’s impact on male viewers. She added that the moment was also for “boys and men who may have never spent any time thinking about feminist theory.”
“If you are well-versed in feminism, then it might seem like an oversimplification, but there are entire countries that banned this film for a reason,” Ferrera added. Algeria banned the film for promoting “homosexuality and other Western deviances”, with a similar reason being given by Lebanon’s film boards.
Ferrera turned the whole argument on its head as she added, “To say that something that is maybe foundational, or, in some people’s view, basic feminism isn’t needed is an oversimplification.” Reminding people that not everyone has had access to this school of thought before, the actor believes the speech is not only powerful but necessary. “Assuming that everybody is on the same level of knowing and understanding the experience of womanhood is an oversimplification.”
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