How 'Barbie' Deepened Community Bonds And Encouraged Critical Thought

Through the film and fashion, families, friends and strangers connected in a meaningful way.

Barbie, the self-aware, ultra-femme fantasy film, holds a special place in America’s heart. Lifelong Barbie girls giddily participated in various meme formats, planned informal parties and mused over what the doll meant to them. For the movie’s premiere, groups of attendees leaned into the moment and dressed alike, strengthening bonds between family and friends, and establishing them between strangers. In addition to connecting over style and Barbie’s legacy, necessary conversations, including ones about race and gender, came out of the packed viewings.

“Hey Barbie!”

When Bridget Kyeremateng, a marketer, saw the trailer for the film, she knew she wanted to pull out all the stops fashion-wise. She also wanted to bring her pals along for the fun. "I was like, I have to show up and I have to dress up for this movie, because it's been a long time since I've been able to dress up to see a movie,” she says to Kindred. “I wanted to bring a group together. So, I immediately started thinking of Black women or just women in my community who I knew would enjoy getting dressed up.”

As someone who likes “theatric” fashion moments, Kyeremateng wore a pink bodycon dress, thick, clear heels, and a platinum blonde wig. She carried a bag only large enough to carry her cards. A hot pink manicure and matching pedicure completed the look. She caught eyes and received warm greetings throughout the day.

“We went to brunch, all of us. Everybody was walking and turning their heads and they would say "Hey Barbie!" and we would say, ‘Hey, Barbie!’ back, or, ‘Hey, Ken,’ she said. Of course, young girls were most enamored by her crew’s ensemble. “There were so many kids who came up to us and were like, "Oh my gosh, you're a real life Barbie.”

A Family Affair

Other Barbie attendees, like Ashley Pride, Tina Cozart, and Mylissa Veal, chose to go with family.

Pride’s mother, Rita, gifted her Black Barbie dolls when she was a child. She was elated to hit the premiere with a person who kicked off her passion. During our interview, Pride fondly remembered a Halloween when Rita made matching costumes for her and her Barbie doll. “I saw her using the craft to create something out of thin air, and it inspired me to do the same,” she says. She now designs clothing.

For her first Barbie viewing (she’s seen the movie three times in theaters and plans to see it a fourth), she pulled pink pieces from her pre-existing wardrobe, just as her mother had taught her to. Pride was shown early on that fashion could be a means of autonomy. “I got the idea from my mom, who did that for me as a young child,” she says of piecing together her outfit. “She wanted to give me a sense of control and allowed me to build confidence in myself with my clothing.”

Of the overall experience she says, “I was in gratitude and happy that I was able to see it with my mom, who's the one that really started it all. She created the space for me, and I had been [feeling down], so it was exactly what I needed at just the right time.”

Cozart, who is in her 50s, remembers the early days of Barbie. “For me, it was the head dolls,” she says of her childhood relationship with the toy. “I enjoyed doing the hair and the makeup.” Even though she was a self-proclaimed tomboy, she laughs as she thinks back on arguing with cousins about who would get to style the toy’s hair. As someone who’s now a mother and an aunt to a host of nieces and great nieces, she believes the toy is the gift that keeps on giving across generations. "

When Barbie premiered, Cozart posted about how excited she was to see the film. Her daughter commented, sharing her mother’s eagerness. Together, along with her daughter’s friend, they made plans to see it in theaters. They dressed up (Cozart’s style was on-theme but more laid back with a tee and leggings; her daughter wore a pink pantsuit and white shoes, while her friend wore a pink dress) and communed over dinner—complete with pink drinks. They found themselves at home amongst what she calls “a sea of pink.” The group plans to continue the hang out after the film was done, but tiredness from the night of fun wiped the younger women out. "This young generation, they can't hang," she says with a chuckle.

Veal recalls racing to stores’ pink Barbie aisle as a kid. So with Barbie, she looked forward to seeing the doll she grew up with grow up, too. She took her 8-year-old daughter to check out the movie, seeing it as an opportunity to bond. Veal knew her child would enjoy dressing up in a pink dress to match her mom’s dress, shades and slides. Their outfits opened the door for them to talk about gender.

Real Talk

“[My daughter] asked me after the show, ‘Why do people like pink so much? Why is pink such a big deal?’,” Veal says. “I just told her, ‘Well, it's a very warm color. It welcomes everybody.’ I told her, "There are boys who like pink too." She was shocked at that—like, I thought it was only a girl color. Now I'm explaining there's no such thing as a girl or boy color, it's just a color.”

Kyeremateng also found room to engage critically after watching Barbie. “Greta [Gerwig, the director of Barbie] is very much aware of the nuances within race and ethnicity and how that plays within feminism,” she says. “This movie was definitely more on the second wave of feminism in terms of whiteness. But I think that the topics that were hit [on] about womanhood and feminism kind of had to start somewhere. The work that I do is focused on intersectionality. Even I felt really happy with the representation that was portrayed there.”

A Multifaceted Experience

For the people watching Barbie, catching a film with loved ones and wearing hot pink was meaningful enough. It was a chance to build on a long-established community and engage, regardless of age. "Even my great niece, she went with her mother," Cozart says. "It's interesting to be able to share a movie that crossed all the generations."

The real world outcome of the film is already being deeply felt—and made actionable in a way that'll have a direct, positive impact on others. “They created an immersive world that has inspired me to do what I can to take that from onscreen and bring it into my world, into my community,” Pride says.

We can't wait to see what else Barbie can do.

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