American movie viewers were taken by storm when Barbie the movie was released on July 21. 

This film, inspired by the popular doll, is a fantasy-comedy with both unrealistic details and real-world sets and ideas. 

Many loved this film due to the message represented by the character of Barbie. In this movie, Barbie is trying to find the purpose of life, and she has to learn how to choose her own life instead of being subjected to false pretenses that were put there by others. 

Many women and people in general resonated with the plot of this movie as they have experienced the emotional changes that Barbie had to go through. 

The movie stars Margot Robbie as Barbie, and Ryan Gosling as Ken. There were many well known actors in the film, but also many new names that had yet to get their big break. 

The film realistically portrays what life is like as a female. In contrast with the gender and political roles that have been in place for as long as anyone can remember, the film presents an alternate world, or as they call it “Barbie Land” where women are in charge of everyone, and men are the minority.

Barbie Land in the movie is a world where everything is perfect, and there is no competition, prejudice, racism or sexism. The gender roles between men and women are switched. 

We even get to see the cultural shock that Barbie feels when she enters the real world and the roles are reversed. She was unprepared for the feeling of being objectified by men in the real world.

This film hit all of its points: funny, sentimental and meaningful. It was  an all-around joy to watch.

Many reviews discuss this movie as more than just another girl comedy, but as a movie that tugs on heartstrings and shatters standards that have been in place for years. 

A top critic from Rotten Tomatoes had a lot to say about this film, in her response she stated, “Barbie isn’t as streamlined as my favorite girl comedies, but it’s more thematically ambitious than many of them too. And I’ll take flawed ambition over plastic perfection any day of the week.”

Not only did the scenes stand out but also the soundtrack, which has been playing on repeat for many people. 

Songs that had been made specifically for the film are dominating the streaming services. 

Those songs include Pink by Lizzo, Dance The Night by Dua Lipa, I’m Just Ken by Ryan Gosling and What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish. 

Many love the Billie Eilish song, which describes the feeling of being taken advantage of and not knowing who you are anymore. 

In one part of the song, Eilish sings “Looked so alive, turns out I’m not real / Just something you paid for.” Young females, or other marginalized groups, have really taken these lyrics to heart, and have felt seen. 

Another hit, I’m Just Ken, was a fan favorite. 

The audience fell in love with the comedic song when it played during the scene when the Kens went to war with one another and came together to sing the last part of the song united. 

Sophomore Ela Sasmaz, a fan of the movie, said her favorite part was the Ken song, more specifically, when Gosling sang “Where I see love, she sees a friend.” 

“It’s such a powerful moment, especially the hand movement when he said friend, it pulls it all together,” Sasmaz said.

Another fan favorite was towards the end of the movie. 

Robbie’s Barbie shared a heartwarming and emotional moment with Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll, portrayed in the film by Rhea Perlman. 

Handler explained who she wanted Barbie to be and what she wanted Barbie to represent when she first came up with the idea. 

After that moment, a montage came onto the screen of all of the women who were involved in the process of making the movie.

They played home videos of the women during their childhood, or taking care of their children, and it was a tearjerker for most. 

Sophomore Sawyer Borland,  another fan of the film, said she went to the movie with her mother and both ended up crying during that scene. 

Borland loved how the movie portrayed how important a mother is. She stated that she cried a lot when that scene came on. 

“Not enough people are grateful for their moms, and moms do a lot,” she said.

All in all, this was the movie of the summer, and touched the hearts of many people, especially women, all around the country.