“Barbie”: is it still a movie or a full-length toy commercial?

Earning your first million is no longer even the rags-to-riches dream of Americans, but rather throwing simple pennies down Hollywood Boulevard at the painted hats of those who failed. Of course, it’s a joke, but even if you multiply that amount by a hundred, it’s still not enough to buy cotton balls for a major film studio, just a little change, which is a pity to stoop for.

Only if you add three more zeros to this symbolic legendary million, will the high-chair decision makers really smile broadly. A billion in income is certainly a huge profit that will compensate for the exorbitant expenses on marketing, advertising and public relations, which today often exceed the amounts allocated to the production of a film. And they are not empty words, nor guesses nor conjectures, because we are talking about a very specific title here. Of course, much has already been written about Barbie, perhaps too much, which doesn’t change the fact that it’s an excellent case study and a grateful subject for analysis not only in film criticism, but also in sociology and media studies.

Rowena Robinson

“Amateur social media maven. Pop cultureaholic. Troublemaker. Internet evangelist. Typical bacon ninja. Communicator. Zombie aficionado.”