The ‘Barbie’ trailer we can’t stop thinking about

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Quézia Arruda Cunha, Reporter

It doesn’t matter your age or where you live. There are certain things in life that we only know as if they were common elements among all human beings.

No, do not think I am about to elaborate on a profound humanist feeling or a historical philosophy. I’m talking about Barbie.

Yes, Barbie.

For decades, this multifunctional doll with its plastic body and smile has invaded every individual’s mind at some point.

I believe that there is a social memory that leads us to remember the standardized and pink world that Barbie brings and lives in.

Not only the doll itself but all other social debates related to it are still verbalized in one way or another in today’s society.

Other people, particularly girls, who grew up playing or watching the Barbie movies tend to correlate certain standards of gender and beauty with her meticulously proportioned, pink and feminine world.

But I’m reminding you of this global figure for a reason.

In the midst of worldwide chaos that is far from rosy — with wars, school shootings and economic crises — on July 21, Greta Gerwig will release her most colorful film yet: “Barbie.”

As with any other film, it’s crucial to understand the mind of the director and writer.

Among the most awarded and well-recognized films written and directed by Gerwig is “Little Women,” a timeless story about four different women in a context in which women’s bodies and minds were disposable and disrespected.

Gerwig’s take and touch in her movies are marked by her cleverness in writing dialogue (her best skill) in an organic way, which tends to sound like an improvisation, but a well-thought-out one.

Each scene in her films touches on extremely relevant social issues, such as the role of women in a structurally sexist society.

I know you may be frowning right now wondering why she would dedicate herself to writing and creating a film about one of the most standard figures ever sold by the media: Barbie.

When we are talking about Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach creating this film, we know it will be anything but ordinary.

Just by viewing the trailer, we identify certain points that deserve attention.

The first is there is no plot explicitly presented. And that is genius.

We all know who Barbie and Ken are (played by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, respectively).

We all know about Barbie’s dresses and her replicas, all accompanied by different hairstyles and fashion but sharing the same name.

And even so, without having the plot very clear, the trailer brings us a need to watch the film, for its cultural impact is still strong in our minds.

Furthermore, when observed carefully, we can realize that there are certain subtle references to other classics that may perhaps indicate the focus of the narrative.

In the scene depicted in the trailer where Barbie is driving in her emblematic pink car, she passes by three movie posters that show characters from the “Wizard of Oz” movie, especially Dorothy.

By the end of the trailer, this element starts to make some sense, as Barbie is thrown out of the ideal world and gets into a new gray and real world — very similar to what happens in the classic “Wizard of Oz.”

Whatever Gerwig’s exact intention was to include such references in this film, I believe it will not be a political film or one with acidic criticism all the time.

The whole aesthetic, light humor and pastel colors indicate that this will be a quietly social and urgent film, and I cannot wait to watch it.