Consultancy Report 755 views 379 downloads
Pretty in Plastic: Aesthetic authenticity in Barbie Land
Katrina Pritchard 
,
Helen Williams
,
Helen Williams
Swansea University Authors:
Katrina Pritchard , Helen Williams
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PDF | Version of Record
Copyright: 2024, BBR. Katrina Pritchard & Helen C Williams.
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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/sureport.65542
Abstract
Our report critically applies aesthetic authenticity as a theoretical lens to interrogate the multimodal reproduction of gendered relations in the Barbie (2023) movie. Recent research has focused on how the aesthetic authenticity stakes are being continually elevated, such that this requires ongoing...
| Published: |
Swansea University
2024
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| Online Access: |
https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65542/ |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65542 |
| Abstract: |
Our report critically applies aesthetic authenticity as a theoretical lens to interrogate the multimodal reproduction of gendered relations in the Barbie (2023) movie. Recent research has focused on how the aesthetic authenticity stakes are being continually elevated, such that this requires ongoing labour and continual renegotiation. It is not surprising that even Barbie finds this exhausting! We offer an analysis of character arcs across the movie, before exploring how a plastic doll enables conceptual insight regarding aesthetic authenticity. We discuss how the movie reconfirms neoliberal postfeminist perspectives on how women should seek their happy ever after. Finally, we consider the implications of representations of patriarchy and matriarchy before setting out suggestions for future research and concluding our report. |
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| Item Description: |
Breaking Binaries Research (BBR) programme.Citation: Pritchard K & Williams HC (2024). Pretty in Plastic: Aesthetic authenticity in Barbie Land. BBR Report 2401.v1, January 2024. |
| Keywords: |
Political economy, aesthetic authenticity, gender |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Funders: |
The authors received no funding in relation to this report. BBR logo and illustrations were designed by Frank Duffy. |