For cast, 'Barbie' is truly a world made by 'your creation'

Movies

Published: 03 Jul. 2023, 16:14

For cast, 'Barbie' is truly a world made by 'your creation'

From left, actors America Ferrera, Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig pose for a photo during a press conference for the new film ″Barbie″ at Four Seasons Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Monday. [YONHAP]

Clad in a pink crop top, pink mini skirt and pink jacket with shining blonde hair, actor Margot Robbie was Barbie reincarnated as she stepped on the stage to talk to the Korean press for her new film “Barbie."

The pink-perfect representation of Barbie is just what you would expect to get from a box with the modern-princess doll — and this is precisely what the film is about, women forced inside boxes and the different roles assigned to them by society, according to Robbie.

"We, [director] Greta Gerwig and [producer] Noah [Baumbach], decided to call her stereotypical Barbie," Robbie said to the local reporters in a press conference held Monday at the Four Seasons Hotel in central Seoul to promote the upcoming film "Barbie." Gerwig accompanied Robbie to the press conference along with actor America Ferrera, but co-lead Ryan Gosling did not attend.

Actor Margot Robbie, center, plays the ″stereotypical Barbie″ in Greta Gerwig's new film ″Barbie,″ who goes on an adventure to the real world from Barbieland. [WARNER BROTHERS KOREA]

“I play stereotypical Barbie, which is the first-ever Barbie launched in 1959,” said Robbie. “The word infers that she’s already kind of putting a ceiling on all the things that she could be even in this made-up world. The story ends up being a pretty important one as she ventures into the real world and starts experiencing real life and humanity.”

"Barbie" centers around Barbie, played by Robbie, who finds a crack in Barbieland and travels to the real world with Ken, played by Gosling, to find answers to why she keeps questioning herself, the world around her and the role she's been assigned by life.

Main poster for ″Barbie″ [WARNER BROTHERS KOREA]

The film cleverly weaves reality and fantasy, using the way children play with Barbie in real life to how Barbies — a symbol of contemporary women — are forced into so many roles without realizing how or why. Just as the well-known Aqua song "Barbie Girl" (1994) goes, it truly is a life made by "your creation."

“Women are expected to be a great mother, a great coworker, a great sister, a great friend and a great person,” said Robbie. “It is important to see that a real-life woman and a made-up imaginary representation of a woman are both connected in this impossible pursuit of being. My character Barbie meets Ferrera’s character Gloria and vocalizes how impossibly contradictory that is. If that much is expected of a doll, pretending to be or representative of a woman, then where does that take us as a society?”

Actor Margot Robbie speaks during a press conference for the new film ″Barbie″ at Four Seasons Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Monday. [YONHAP]

The film is not a helpless lament about a hopeless world, however. The representation of women and the idea of a perfect woman has changed over the years for the better, according to Gerwig.

Gerwig, who has also had a long career as an actor, has directed many films that deal with girlhood and womanhood, including “Lady Bird” (2017) and “Little Women” (2019).

“They have such incredible diversity of kinds [of Barbies] now,” said Gerwig, referring to the expanded types of Barbie dolls that have come out since 1959’s “stereotypical Barbie.” Barbies who are politicians, doctors, pilots, and every other kind of imaginable profession, and even Barbies who are plus-sized and of different races have been introduced since then.

Director Greta Gerwig speaks during a press conference for the new film ″Barbie″ at Four Seasons Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Monday. [YONHAP]

“The selfhood of Barbie is contained in all of these different people, which is kind of fascinating on its own. All of these women are Barbie and Barbie is all of these women.”

At the end of the day, the message of the film is that we should love and appreciate ourselves, in this world where there are so many expectations of what women should be and so many different types of representation, according to the cast.

“My biggest takeaway [from ‘Barbie’] is a feeling of self-observation, self-celebration, and that every single one of us deserves to feel like the best version of ourselves,” said Robbie. “And to feel like that is enough, that being who we are is more than enough as a person in this world.”

Margot Robbie plays ″stereotypical Barbie″ in the new film ″Barbie,″ who experiences strange occurrences and goes on an adventure to the real world. [WARNER BROTHERS KOREA]

Playing a widely beloved character such as Barbie gave Robbie a sense of responsibility, according to the actor.

“I felt a big sense of responsibility for my character, knowing that there are so many out there to whom Barbie means so much,” said Robbie. “It was really important that everyone felt like this movie was for them and was speaking to them. The comfort for me was that I was doing everything under the direction of Greta [Gerwig], who I love and admire and who is so smart. I always felt safe in her hands.”

Robbie, Gerwig and Ferrera also spoke of the reception that they received from Korean fans upon their arrival over the weekend. The two actors and director attended a “pink carpet” event in Seoul the day before the press conference.

A scene from ″Barbie″ [WARNER BROTHERS KOREA]

“The event, the reception we got from fans was unlike anything I have ever experienced before,” said Robbie. “It was such an explosion of joy and pink and fun. It was unbelievable and we are so grateful to be here in Korea.”

Gerwig, a self-proclaimed cinephile, compared Seoul to Paris and professed her love for Korean films.

“I love Korean cinema and am in awe of the artists from this country,” said Gerwig. “So for me being here is like the same as being in Paris loving French films, as a cinephile. I was just incredibly touched by the care about all of our individual projects and contributions that the Korean fans have made.”

Robbie, who celebrated her birthday on Sunday, was presented with a birthday cake made out of rice cakes at the end of the press conference. She also celebrated her special day at the “pink carpet” event on Sunday.

“I have never had my birthday celebrated like this,” Robbie said. “Everyone has been so incredibly kind to us and I am thankful for this experience.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]