This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by editor Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here.
I remember when the first Harry Potter film came out in 2001. I was [redacted] years old. Weeks ahead of time, a group of friends and I sent one of our parents (probably my dad) to the movie theater (singular) in the county where I grew up to buy advance tickets to the opening-night midnight showing. Most of us liked the Harry Potter books, but we weren’t among the wild obsessives you imagine when you hear about Harry Potter fans. Still, we were excited.
We made T-shirts. Mine said, “Honk if you’re a Potthead.” (I had never smoked pot; I thought it was hilarious anyway.) A girlfriend of mine’s shirt said, “Show me that 11-inch wand, nice and supple,” a reference that several parents did not like to Harry’s magical wand in the book. We stood for hours in a line that snaked through the strip mall and into the parking lot, to make sure we could get seats together.
I don’t think we even took a photo, which would be unheard of now. But in 2001, what were we even going to do with one? MySpace didn’t exist yet. There was no thought of memorializing the moment or trading it for online likes and clout. It was just… fun.
I bring this up now, because the current widespread enthusiasm for the Barbie movie reminds me of that experience. Barbie is still two weeks from its July 21 release date, but is seemingly all anyone can talk about.
Obviously my Harry Potter story is a personal one. Maybe you have a similar memory related to the Twilight films, the Lord of the Rings franchise, a particular Marvel movie, or Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. (OK, that last one might just be me.) It’s now a regular occurrence for an “event” release to take over the pop-culture news cycle, sell scores of advance tickets, and be greeted with people in costume to celebrate.
It’s at a point, thanks to social media and the rise of memes, where the enthusiasm has morphed into something ironic: the #GentleMinions phenomenon/fiasco, for example. That’s why I cherish my Harry Potter moviegoing experience. It was innocent and genuine, and I’ve loved seeing some of those earnest feelings return in the lead-up to the Barbie movie. It’s not that there haven’t been other examples of that type of anticipation for a new release. With Barbie, though, it seems to be on a whole other scale.
The unrelenting nature of this Barbie press and promo push is particularly remarkable in that, at least anecdotally, people don’t seem to be exhausted by or exasperated with it yet.
The on-set photos of stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in their fluorescent costumes sparked a curiosity last year that not only hasn’t waned, but it also has helped set off a fireworks show of eager giddiness online whenever there’s a new trailer, clip, red carpet interview, or announcement about the film’s soundtrack. The reaction to an advanced clip of Gosling as Ken interacting with several of the film’s Barbies was akin to the viral footage of that time all of San Diego’s fireworks went off at once, which resurfaced over the holiday weekend. People loved it.
Personally, I don’t believe in hyperbole or over-exaggeration. That’s why I’ll merely say that, based on that 44-second clip, Gosling deserves to win Best Actor at the Oscars, or else the Academy should be legally forced to disband and each voter required to write handwritten letters to every American expressing their shame and begging for forgiveness.
Each new stage of this Barbie press tour sets a new bar for what fans who have been following it would expect, and it has yet to disappoint.
Were you expecting great fashion from the Barbie red carpets? Not only does Robbie look spectacular—rescuing what was a not-so-stellar red-carpet reputation, if we’re being kind—but each of the ensembles is also meticulously inspired by classic outfits worn by Barbie dolls.
Did you think that Gosling would obviously be entertaining doing interviews in support of this film? Not only is he handsome and charming, but he is also more handsome and charming than I could have fantasized about. I watched a clip of an interview where he tells the male interviewer that he is “Kenough,” and now I am with child.
As for stunts: Maybe we should have predicted that someone would build an actual Barbie Dreamhouse in Malibu. Still, we were stunned when someone built an actual Barbie Dreamhouse in Malibu, which can be booked as an Airbnb. (Watch my colleague Fletcher Peters tour it here.) And should anyone be worried that the Barbie hype may not be reaching those who are not terminally online like me, HGTV will be airing Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge, where teams compete to makeover a home into a Barbie oasis. Now my parents can join in the fun.
The Barbie pandemonium is most noticeable because the pre-release buzz for the other major, sure-to-be blockbuster being released the same day, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, throws it into sharp relief.
It’s not just the color scheme: Barbie’s all neon pinks, in contrast to Oppenheimer’s black-and-white and sepia. It’s not just the stereotypical demographics, if we wanted to be reductive: the female-targeting demo of Barbie versus the cinema bros who thirst for Nolan’s films. It’s that the reaction to the Barbie marketing is so loud in comparison to Oppenheimer that you might forget that the latter film is about the testing of the atomic bomb. (Memes comparing the two films’ PR strategies are delightful and also fascinating looks into how movie fans view the film industry.)
Listen, I’m no Ken Doll—for many reasons, including that I’m not delusional enough to ignore that this hoopla is directed tied to capitalist, commercial interests. Barbie is a product owned by a toy company that is expanding its IP into cinema and flooding the field to garner interest in the film. But similar interests controlled the Harry Potter film rollout all those years ago. Two things can be true: the cynical nature of corporatism defining art… and the desire to have fun. Barbie is giving both—and all before any of us has even seen the movie.
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Read more of our Barbie coverage HERE.
