I can’t hold them off forever. Where can we go?Barbie · 2023 — Chapter 16 of 26 · 3'04" · B2
Barbie Flees to Barbie Land, Explained: dream up
Barbie, Gloria and Sasha skate for their lives toward Barbie Land with Mattel on their tail. Once they arrive, Barbie Land itself looks wrong: the president is handing out beer and the Supreme Court is a cheer squad. "This is so much better than being president," someone says, and it lands like a warning.
What happens
Barbie, Gloria and Sasha roll toward Barbie Land with the Mattel men chasing them. Gloria confesses she never gets to do anything, and Barbie promises they are going somewhere women run everything. But Barbie Land has changed: the president is passing out beer, the Supreme Court is a cheerleading squad, and Ken is serving drinks.
Listen for
dream uphold offbrewskisuperfluous
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Phrase of the scene
dream up
凭空想出；虚构出来
美泰的人得知人类被带进芭比乐园，警告说这可能给他们的世界带来任何人都想不到的怪事。
Somebody dreamed up a holiday where everyone swaps jobs for a day.
Also in this scene
- hold off
to keep someone or something away for a while
- brewski
a slang word for beer
- superfluous
more than is needed; unnecessary
Everything marked in this scene
23 notes across 69 lines
Wait, I have an idea. Can you get us to Venice Beach?flap
Wait, I have an idea. Can you get us to Venice Beach?get to do
Yes, and you wanna know why? Because I never get to do anything.because I didn’t have enough vacation days and your dad’s allergic to sun.liaison
Ready for fun?How did we get into this vehicle?When I was a kid, I lost these boots and my mom wouldn’t let me buy a whole new Barbieinfinitive of purpose
just to replace the boots.They look so good on you. - Why, thank you.Women hold all major positions of power, control all the money.hold a position
Women hold all major positions of power, control all the money.I mean, that sounds kind of cool.They Rollerbladed in that direction.Nothing any of our collective imaginations could ever dream up.could ever
Nothing any of our collective imaginations could ever dream up.A podcast hosted by two wise trees.Not even close. We’ve got to get to Barbie Land.Go! Find some blades now! Just pick a direction and run!liaison
Go! Find some blades now! Just pick a direction and run!It feels right. - It does.This is so much better than being president.Have a brewski beer. My big guy is thirsty. - Ah.Barbie Flees to Barbie Land, explained
What's really going on
The scene moves fast and keeps the film's argument moving with it. Gloria's complaint is the emotional centre: "Because I never get to do anything," she says, and it explains why a mother would follow a doll to another world. Barbie's description of Barbie Land as a place where women run everything is offered as a promise, and then immediately undercut by what they find: a president with a beer and a Supreme Court in pom-poms. The joke is that the perfect world has been colonised, and the line that should be triumphant — "This is so much better than being president" — plays as the sound of something already lost. The comedy is loud, but the turn is real: the place Barbie is selling no longer exists as she remembers it.
Theme
SatireA perfect world turns out to have been quietly taken over, and the takeover is played for laughs.
IdentityBarbie returns to the place that defines her and finds it no longer matches who she has become.
Listen for
- get us to — flap
- Ready for fun — liaison
- pick a direction — liaison
Yes, and you wanna know why? Because I never get to do anything.Gloria's honest reason for following Barbie: not adventure, but a life in which she is always the one who gives things up.
That’s because Ken is totally superfluous.A dry put-down of Ken, said lightly and landing hard, and one of the film's sharpest jokes about the dolls' design.
Women hold all major positions of power, control all the money.Barbie's proud summary of Barbie Land, offered as proof of how the world should work.
Do giant hands come in and play with you?A child's innocent question that cuts to the strangeness of the dolls' existence, and gets a quick denial.
Nothing any of our collective imaginations could ever dream up.A corporate-style line about the danger of Barbie Land, before it deflates into something absurd.
This is so much better than being president.The president's claim about her new life, which should sound triumphant and instead sounds like a world already emptied out.
Questions about this scene
Why does Gloria go to Barbie Land?
Because she never gets to do anything for herself. She is tired of always being the one who stays behind, and she chooses the adventure for once.
What is wrong with Barbie Land when they arrive?
It has been taken over. The president is handing out beer, the Supreme Court is a cheerleading squad, and the world no longer looks like the one Barbie described.
Why do the Mattel men chase them?
They want Barbie back under control, and they fear what will happen if she reaches Barbie Land with humans in tow. They are a step behind the whole way.
What does Barbie say about women in Barbie Land?
She says women hold all the major positions of power and control all the money. It is her proud summary of home, and it is about to be contradicted by what they see.
Barbie · 26 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 17fly off the shelvesBarbie Finds Ken's Casa House
Chapter 1burst their bubbleBarbie Rewrites the Doll Story
Chapter 2the voice of a generationBarbie's Perfect Day in Barbie Land
Chapter 3beach offKen Beaches Off and Gets Hurt
Chapter 4dying toBarbie Asks About Dying
Chapter 5fall into disrepairBarbie's Heels Touch the Ground
Chapter 6be that as it mayBarbie Opens a Portal to Reality
Chapter 7a figure of speechBarbie Leaves Barbie Land
Chapter 8hold it against meBarbie and Ken Hit the Real World
Chapter 9man upThe Mattel Men Celebrate Themselves
Chapter 10with all due respectMattel Panics Over Barbie in LA
Chapter 11the last resortSasha Confronts Barbie
Chapter 12seek my fortuneKen Tries to Bring Patriarchy Home
Chapter 13up the wazooMattel Execs Try to Box Barbie
Chapter 14Isn't that marvelousBarbie Meets Ruth at Mattel
Chapter 15come off itSasha and Her Mom Pick Up Barbie
Watching · Chapter 16dream upBarbie Flees to Barbie Land
Chapter 17fly off the shelvesBarbie Finds Ken's Casa House
Chapter 18snap out of itKen Takes Over Barbie Land
Chapter 19make a run for itBarbie Hits Her Lowest Point
Chapter 20existential crisisIt's Impossible to Be a Woman
Chapter 21tie herself into knotsGloria's Monologue About Women
Chapter 22the old standbyThe Barbies Plot Their Return
Chapter 23take advantage ofThe Kens Build a Patriarchy
Chapter 24took you for grantedBarbie Apologizes to Ken
Chapter 25hold on toBarbie Tells Ken to Find Himself
Chapter 26living in the shadowsBarbie Says Maybe She's Not BarbieChapter 16 of 26 · about 40 min to go