Barbie director Greta Gerwig has responded to the onslaught of criticism from rightwingers in the US by saying it’s “an invitation for everybody to be part of the party”.
In an interview with the New York Times, Gerwig was asked if she had anticipated “the degree to which rightwing pundits are bashing the movie as being ‘woke’ and burning their Barbies”. Gerwig, who co-wrote the movie as well as directing it said: “Certainly, there’s a lot of passion. My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men.”
She added: “I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people.”
Barbie’s feminist themes have incurred the wrath of conservative commentators such as Ben Shapiro, who burned Barbie dolls in a YouTube video, and Ginger Luckey Gaetz, wife of Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, who said the movie “neglects to address any notion of faith or family, and tries to normalise the idea that men and women can’t collaborate positively”.
Elsewhere in the interview Gerwig responded to criticism that Mattel, which owns the Barbie doll range and executive produced the movie, interfered creatively in its production, in particular a scene where one character described the dolls as “sexist and fascist”. “It wasn’t like I ever got the full seal of approval from [Mattel], like, ‘We love it!’ I got a tentative, ‘Well, OK. I see that you are going to do this, so go ahead and we’ll see how it goes.’ But that’s all you need, and I had faith once it was in there and they saw it that they would embrace it, not fight it. Maybe at the end of the day, my will to have it in was stronger than any other will to take it out.”
Despite the rightwing backlash, Barbie has already become a huge hit, recording the highest-ever opening weekend figure for a female director at US$356m (£276m, A$527m), including $162m in North America. After four days on release the worldwide gross is now estimated at $414m.
• This article was amended on 27 July 2023. An earlier version said the film made $162m “in the US” on its opening weekend; rather than North America, which includes Canada.
