to empty your head so you can think clearly
Barbie says she needs to clear her mind before she can work out what's happening.
I just need to clear my mind so I can think.Barbie · 2023 — Chapter 9 of 26 · 5'05" · B1
The Mattel Men Celebrate Themselves, Explained: man up
Between scenes, the film cuts to the Mattel boardroom, where a roomful of men congratulate themselves on being officially important and chant that men rule the world. The satire is broad, and then a phone call arrives: two dolls are loose, and someone is told not to mess up.
What happens
Barbie walks and tries to think, asking who is playing with her, while Ken is sent off to wander. In a Mattel boardroom, the executives shake hands and crow that men rule the world and that they are officially important. Then the FBI calls: two dolls, answering to Barbie and Ken, are loose in the city.
Listen for
crap the bedman upsassclear my mind
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Phrase of the scene
man up
to toughen up and face something
A group of guys pump each other up by calling on each other to man up.
You don't need to man up, you need to rest.
Also in this scene
- crap the bed
to mess up badly at a crucial moment
- sass
to talk back disrespectfully
- clear my mind
to empty your head so you can think clearly
Everything marked in this scene
27 notes across 58 lines
Faster I figure it out, the faster we get to go home.the more the more
Faster I figure it out, the faster we get to go home.flap
Faster I figure it out, the faster we get to go home.Go for a walk or something. - By myself?Go for a walk or something. - By myself?Don’t go far. - Okay!to toughen up and face something
A group of guys pump each other up by calling on each other to man up.
- We’ve got to man up on this one. - Great workout, man.have got to
- We’ve got to man up on this one. - Great workout, man.Based on the ROI, we are exceeding expectations.Based on the ROI, we are exceeding expectations.present continuous
Based on the ROI, we are exceeding expectations.Good stuff. So I’m not worried about it. - Excuse me-- Not now, Margaret. Let’s shake on this.- We are gonna make a lot of money. - We are officially important.flap
- We are gonna make a lot of money. - We are officially important.I’m actually trying to make this work. - [sniffles]That’s not how you make things work.We’ll go at the same time. - Okay.elision
We’ll go at the same time. - Okay.- She’s at school. - Men rule the world!I don’t give a flying squirrel who you are, Aaron.Two of your dolls have gotten loose.present perfect
Two of your dolls have gotten loose.- How do you know? - Don’t sass me, Aaron.- How do you know? - Don’t sass me, Aaron.Couple of blondes, answering to Barbie and Ken.Don’t crap the bed, Aaron!The Mattel Men Celebrate Themselves, explained
What's really going on
The scene is the film's satire at full volume. The men in the boardroom are pure caricature — they shake hands, chant "Men rule the world," and decide they are officially important — and the point is how thin their power really is. Meanwhile the plot snaps forward on a phone call: "Two of your dolls have gotten loose." The man on the other end brushes off the person beneath him, "I don't give a flying squirrel who you are, Aaron," and then barks an order not to fail. For all the swagger, everyone here is reacting to two escaped toys. The joke is that a company built on a doll has no idea how to handle one that talks back.
Theme
PowerA boardroom of men celebrates ruling the world while the plot shows how little control they actually have.
SatireThe executives are drawn as loud caricatures, and their big talk collapses the moment two dolls go missing.
Listen for
- figure it out — flap
- make a lot of — flap
- at the same time — elision
Faster I figure it out, the faster we get to go home.Barbie's impatient logic: she treats the mystery as a chore to finish so she can get back to her old life.
That’s not how you make things work.A blunt reply in an argument about a relationship, insisting that insults will not fix anything.
I don’t give a flying squirrel who you are, Aaron.A colourful stand-in for swearing, as the caller dismisses a Mattel employee's authority.
I hate it when people think. I get so bored.A joke about a doll who has never needed to reflect, now forced to think and hating every second.
Questions about this scene
Why does Barbie say she needs to clear her mind?
She is trying to figure out who is playing with her, and she wants to think it through. Ken, meanwhile, is told to go for a walk rather than distract her.
What does the Mattel boardroom scene satirise?
The executives celebrate themselves as all-powerful, chanting that men rule the world and calling themselves officially important, while the company is about to lose control of events.
Why does the FBI call Mattel?
Two dolls, answering to Barbie and Ken, have gone loose and are rollerblading in Santa Monica. The agency wants Mattel's help to bring them back.
What does "crap the bed" mean?
It is a crude way of saying someone messed up at a critical moment. The caller uses it to warn the employee not to fail this time.
Barbie · 26 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10with all due respectMattel Panics Over Barbie in LA
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
Watching · 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
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 9 of 26 · about 62 min to go