Barbie Film Redefines Contemporary Pop Through Permeable Worlds

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's 'Barbie' has become the year's defining film, grossing over $1 billion in less than a month. The movie blends mainstream appeal with sophisticated creativity, drawing on the directors' independent film backgrounds. Gerwig, known for 'Lady Bird' and 'Little Women', and Baumbach, director of 'Marriage Story' and 'White Noise', craft a feminist fairy tale starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The film's central concept, conceived during the 2020 lockdown, explores the relationship between Barbieland and the real world. Barbieland is a utopian-dystopian perfection where every day is identical, until 'Stereotypical Barbie' experiences 'thoughts of death' and flat feet—a Bat-signal of dysfunction. This propels her into the real world seeking truth. The film references 'The Truman Show' and 'The Matrix' but differs in that its two worlds are equivalent and porous, influencing each other. This permeability, akin to the space-time continuum in 'Back to the Future', defines contemporary pop. The movie is part of the third edition of Cinema in Festa, promoted by the Italian Ministry of Culture with the David di Donatello Academy, offering special €3.50 tickets from September 17-21.