Barbie has always been whatever she wanted to be. The imagination we have gives us the power to imagine Barbie as how we want to.

Smashing box-offices with the biggest opening weekend of the year and the biggest opening weekend for a female director, many people have come out of the movie with thoughts on Greta Gerwig’s direction on the doll.

Barbie over the years has been diversifying herself. Mattel created lines of Barbie’s of different races, disabilities and shapes. Gerwig points the movie in the direction of Barbie experiencing the real world and the societal problems that women face everyday.

“Barbie” gives us a reflective look into what women deal with in the real world. Simply being catcalled when just walking around in public, expected to wait on men – I think most women can say they have had an experience like this in the world.

Many viewers have come to say that “Barbie” gives a bad view on men and that it’s “influencing women to pour hatred towards men.” But how cracked up is that statement actually?

The movie does not give the bad representation to men, but their own immorality displayed on women has given the bad representation. 

The movie is centered around women. Men bashing the movie and creating a false narrative about it can almost be compared to what Barbie has to deal with when Ken decides to turn Barbieland into his Kendom. 

As Barbie experiences real world problems, Gerwig opens discussion for many double standards women are faced everyday.

A conversation that gets swept under the rug far too often, the movie follows a direction where Barbie finds herself.

So what Barbie doesn’t need Ken? She’s never needed Ken. She always was able to do and be whatever she wanted to be without him.

Barbie is what girls imagine her to be. Barbie is an astronaut, a teacher, she is anything that can be imagined. Pushing a “women hate men” agenda on a movie about dolls is just ludicrous.

The narrative was never about Barbie and Ken being together. Ken needed her more than she needed him. Women who are able to handle problems on their own should not be frowned upon. Not everything needs to be with the assistance of a male and that’s okay.

Barbie being able to be all these amazing things gives girls the courage to go after dreams in the future. Dreaming big became the idea behind her, so why try and change it?