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Every Reference in Barbie, From The Matrix to The Godfather – TIME
This post contains spoilers for Barbie
During the filming of Barbie, Margot Robbie’s production company LuckyChap hosted a film festival of sorts for the cast and crew that would serve as inspiration for the movie. Robbie, the star of Barbie and its producer, had long discussed with writer-director Greta Gerwig how the visual palette of the film would draw from images ranging from the stagecraft of 1950s musicals to the color pops in Jacques Demy films. And the movie’s many jokes riff on some of the most popular moments in cinematic history, from the introduction of 2001: A Space Odyssey to The Matrix and even (surprisingly) The Snydercut of Justice League.
It’s virtually impossible to compile an exhaustive list of every single reference made in Barbie. Gerwig and her partner and co-writer Noah Baumbach have stuffed it with so many gags and nods to various pieces of art that only multiple viewings will reveal all of the film’s secrets. But here is every Easter egg that we could find.
Read More: Our Cover Story on Barbie
The internet has been chattering about this one ever since the first teaser trailer for Barbie dropped. That spot spoofed 2001′s famous opening scene by replacing apes with little girls smashing their baby dolls when they discover the first doll who looks like an actual grown woman: Barbie.
On a plot level, Gerwig and Baumbach are drawing inspiration from the Greek myth of Pygmalion (as written by Ovid), a sculptor who creates a statue meant to represent the perfect woman and then falls in love with his own creation. The story has been adapted many times over, including in George Bernard Shaw’s play of the same name and the musical My Fair Lady. In this case, Ruth Handler is the creator and Barbie is supposed to represent the perfect woman. Gerwig explores the impossibility of a single doll representing an entire gender, not only by adding a multiplicity of Barbies to the movie (played by different actors) but by showing how Barbie’s supposed perfection rubs some of the human girls who play with her the wrong way. Like the statue Galatea in Pygmalion, Barbie eventually does “come to life” by venturing into the real world, learning about death, and trading her Dream Life for an existence that’s more flawed but rewarding.
Read More: Why It Took 64 Years to Make a Barbie Movie
Gerwig told Letterboxd that she asked Margot Robbie to watch Katharine Hepburn’s performance in The Philadelphia Story as inspiration for Barbie. In that movie, the incomparable Hepburn plays a woman who is worshipped by men, like a goddess, because she is so cold and distant. It is only when she begins to fall apart emotionally in the film that she discovers something new about herself. Similarly, Gerwig envisioned a movie in which Barbie’s perfect world is punctured by thoughts about mortality, and it’s only then that Barbie begins to discover the beauty of life.
A classic tale of a young woman venturing into an unknown land, Barbie is kind of Wizard of Oz in reverse: Barbie travels from what we would consider a wonderland to the real world. Barbieland has a pink brick road in place of a yellow brick road, and if you look closely you’ll see The Wizard of Oz is displayed on the marquee of the Barbieland cinema.
Barbie’s getting-ready routine pays homage to another fashion-forward blonde, Alicia Silverstone’s Cher, brushing her hair and browsing her high-tech closet in Clueless. In the Architectural Digest tour of Barbie’s Dreamhouse, Robbie talks about how Clueless set the high bar for cinematic closets, one that the crew of Barbie tried to meet. Just like Cher, Barbie will go on to discover that there is a deeper meaning to life than clothes.
Read More: We’re Ignoring the Real Reason Barbie Might Dominate the Box Office
Barbie’s mornings also mimic how Gene Kelly’s character wakes up and gets ready in American in Paris. Gerwig actually references quite a few Gene Kelly movies in Barbie. We’ll talk about Singin’ in the Rain later.
Gerwig talked to The Truman Show director Peter Weir about how he shot his movie about a man unknowingly living on a reality TV set. Not only does Barbieland mimic the artificiality of The Truman Show in concept, but Gerwig and Weir discussed how to physically light their sets to capture that feeling.
Gerwig has credited the French filmmaker with inspiring how she layered colors (particularly different shades of pink) in Barbie so everything would pop instead of clash. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort, and Model Shop all served as aesthetic inspiration.
Read More: How Greta Gerwig Got Barbie—From the Clothes to the Dream House—Just Right
The disco number at the beginning of the movie (which is briefly interrupted by Barbie querying her fellow dolls as to whether they ever have thoughts of death) is an homage to John Travolta’s dances in Saturday Night Fever, down to the costuming.
Kate McKinnon plays Weird Barbie—a Barbie that’s been played with too hard and so has a wonky haircut and marker scribbles all over her face. When Robbie’s Barbie begins having thoughts of death, the other Barbies in Barbieland urge her to visit Weird Barbie for answers. Gerwig modeled the scene of Barbie walking up the stars to Weird Barbie’s abode on a scene from Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell’s 1948 romantic drama The Red Shoes. The soundstage feel of that movie heavily influenced the look of Barbieland.
Weird Barbie is the mystical guide you see in a typical adventure movie, laying out the quest. At the end of her spiel, Weird Barbie offers Robbie’s Barbie two options, represented by two shoes: Choose the stiletto heel and stay in Barbieland or choose the Birkenstock and venture into the real world. It’s a riff on the Red Pill-Blue Pill moment from The Matrix.
Read More: Every Single Barbie Partnership That We Could Find
While Barbie is on the run in the real world, the Mattel executives are endeavoring to put her back in her box. The smell of said box triggers a Proustian sense memory from Barbie of her birth. (In Remembrance of Things Past, a bite of a madeleine has a similar effect on a character.) Will Ferrell’s CEO character then cracks a joke about how poorly “Proust Barbie” sold.
When Barbie ventures from Barbieland into the real world to figure out why she is suddenly having thoughts of death, she discovers that a mom named Gloria (America Ferrera) has been playing with her and has essentially imprinted on Barbie. When they meet, they realize they’re having the same thoughts of death, of depression, and of cellulite. Gloria’s daughter, when she discovers this information, asks her mom if she and Barbie are “shining” right now, a reference to the mystical ability to establish a telepathic connection in the Stephen King’s horror story The Shining.
When Barbie returns to Barbieland, she finds that the beach where the Barbies usually play volleyball has been overrun by Kens. The Barbies are instead serving as fawning cheerleaders. It’s the first hint that the power dynamics of the matriarchal Barbieland have suddenly flipped. You cannot have a bunch of Kens playing shirtless beach volley ball on the beach and not be referencing that scene in Top Gun.
Sylvester Stallone apparently had a thing for fur, often donning mink coats and fuzzy vests in the ’70s. When Ken discovers the patriarchy, he adopts the look in a bid for macho cool.
Read More: How Greta Gerwig Is Leading By Example
Yes, Barbie makes fun of Mattel. But the movie gets in a few barbs directed at studio Warner Bros. as well. When the Kens turn Barbieland into a Kendom, they essentially hypnotize the Barbies into becoming housewives. Gloria, Barbie, and others have to remind all the zoned-out Barbies that they’re actually accomplished writers and doctors and politicians in order to overthrow the patriarchy in Barbieland. When one of the Barbies, played by Alexandra Shipp, wakes up from her daze, she says, “It’s like I’ve been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League,” which if you followed the toxic (male-driven) online campaign around that movie as closely as I had to for work, is pretty hilarious.
Once each Barbie snaps out of her daze, she is sent to distract a Ken while another Barbie is stolen away and reprogrammed by Robbie’s Barbie and Gloria. Issa Rae’s President Barbie pretends to be interested in Simu Liu mansplaining Francis Ford Coppola’s cinematic masterpiece The Godfather. In one of the funnier line readings in the film, she asks “Oh, are you watching The Godfather,” putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable to seem ditzy. Liu’s Ken jumps at the chance to talk over the entire movie in a bid to impress her.
The Barbies eventually trick the Kens into breaking into two factions and fighting one another. The fight turns into a dance-0ff, and Ken’s numbers in Barbie have a “Greased Lightnin’” vibe, especially when Ken wears all black like Travolta.
The other ultra-famous musical involving rival gangs: one can’t help but think during the Battle of the Kens of the many different iterations of the rumble in West Side Story, which usually mashes up dance and fight choreography.
When the realize they’ve been tricked, all the Kens ride on imaginary horses across the Kendom. The sight gag recalls a famous recurring joke in Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which the knights ride fake horses while their squires hit coconuts together behind them to imitate horses’ feet.
The entire aesthetic of Barbieland has a purposeful Golden Age of Hollywood feel to it. The backdrops, including the sky, are hand-painted to give the movie that specific feeling of soundstage musicals from the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. When the Kens are fighting on the beach the background suddenly changes to a pastel background with the Kens dressed in monotones. They perform a rather balletic number which, set against that backdrop, recalls Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse’s famous dream-within-a-dream dance in Singin’ in the Rain.
Read More: The Long, Complicated, and Very Pink History of Barbiecore
As Greta Gerwig shared with me for TIME’s cover story on Barbie, there are two shots in the movie in which Barbie’s hand touches that of Ruth Handler, Barbie’s creator. The trajectory of their hands is modeled after the specific positioning of God’s and Adam’s hands in Michaelangelo’s Creation of Man painted on the Sistine Chapel. In this case, Ruth Handler is God to her creation, Barbie, who as a doll has long represented all women.
Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com.
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On Monday, Nov. 27, the Lake Club returned to the Planning and Zoning Commission nearly seven months after a public hearing brought attention to the increasingly tense relationship between the Club and its residential neighbors — many of whom are themselves active members.
Located at 175 Thayer Pond Rd., the Lake Club operates with a special permit that allows private membership recreation clubs to be located within a residential neighborhood, provided that they do not impact the surrounding area more than a typical residential development would. Earlier this year, the Club applied to convert one of its existing tennis courts into four dedicated pickleball courts, which will include changing the surface material to the hard-court paving typical for the sport.
Pickleball has grown enormously in popularity in recent years and is now the fastest growing sport in America. In June, The New York Times published a story on rising noise concerns about the sport, due to the particularly high-pitched “popping” sound it produces.
Back in May, the Commission asked for further sound analysis and challenged the Club about why it had failed to better communicate with neighbors ahead of submitting the application. Returning to the Commission with a resubmitted application, the Lake Club offered two new concessions in light of neighbor concerns, presented by attorney Casey Healy:
- 12-ft fencing with acoustical panels will be installed on two of the four sides of the proposed courts.
- Pickleball play would be restricted to “daylight hours” or no longer than 8:00 am to 8:30 pm, depending on the season. Attorney Kathleen Royle, also representing the Lake Club, confirmed that the courts do not have lights.
Healy reiterated that the estimated sound impact of pickleball on neighboring properties complies Wilton’s noise regulations. However, this finding and the concessions seemed to do little to convince either neighbors or the Commissioners that the Lake Club was making a serious attempt to respond to sound concerns.
Commissioner Chris Pagliaro called the offer ‘cold,’ and said, “After all this time, we basically got a plan that says we’ll put a fence and acoustical panels on two of the walls. It doesn’t feel like the Club is trying to be particularly neighborly, it feels like you’re just trying to check a box.”
A group of nine neighbors, many of whom testified back in May, returned to speak out against the project once again, this time bringing an attorney and an independent sound analysis to back up their case.
The informal coalition made several claims objecting to the application and in some cases, asserting that regardless of pickleball, the Lake Club is already out of compliance with its existing permit:
- Attorney Wilson Carroll, representing resident Ed Rowley, said that “pickleball is fundamentally incompatible with residential neighborhoods,” and argued that the Lake Club’s activity levels are already in excess of permitted residential uses.
- Ed Rowley himself presented a powerpoint on the unique sound qualities of pickleball and widespread community objection to the sport, which is excerpted below.
- Greg Maroney explained that he had indeed been bothered by the sound of the two pickleball tournaments held over the summer, in response to claims by Healy that the Club never received noise complaints in the past. “Am I just supposed to complain every time something annoys me?” Maroney asked. “To who — the police? That’s not a neighborhood. That’s not what I want to do.”
- Several neighbors testified that they had never been contacted by the Lake Club about the pickleball court proposal.
- In addition to the topic of pickleball, neighbors alleged an ongoing issue of noise creep in recent years, citing early morning leaf-blowing and late-night parties featuring DJs and outdoor movie screenings in particular.
The Commission agreed to continue the hearing and add it to the agenda for the Dec. 11 meeting. Healy said that the sound consultant representing the Lake Club would be available to answers questions from the Commission and neighbors at that time.
Remaining Master Plan Regulations (and More) Approved
Elsewhere that evening, the new zoning overlays for Danbury Rd. near Wilton Center passed unanimously following a public hearing in which only one member of the public requested to speak. Kelly Morron asked for clarification on whether St. Mathew’s Cemetery falls within the East overlay zone, which it does.
The new overlays will allow development up to three stories on the east side of Danbury Rd. in the area south of Wilton Center, and up to four stories on the west. More detail on the areas affected can be found in GMW’s past coverage. With the addition of these two new overlays, there are now 11 sets of zoning rules operating in the 0.68 square mile area designated as Greater Wilton Center.
Chair Rick Tomasetti, who also chaired the subcommittee that spearheaded the master plan and resulting zoning regulation changes, recused himself from the vote and did not participate in the Nov. 27 meeting. Vice Chair Melissa-Jean Rotini chaired the meeting in his absence.
The Commission also voted to approve three items that appeared in the Communications/Discussion section of the agenda, a move that seemed unusual to Rotini, who asked Town Planner Michael Wrinn for clarification that a vote could be held “from this place in the agenda.” He confirmed that it could, and so the Commission went on to unanimously approve the following:
- A zoning text amendment and special permit allowing ASML employees working at the 77 Danbury Rd. facility to use overflow parking at the company’s 20 Westport Rd. property; and
- A special permit approving a three-season patio at Cactus Rose restaurant in Wilton Center.
Looking Ahead
New zoning regulations on childcare facilities and electric vehicle charging stations are also in the works, in light of recent state requirements.
The next meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 11. This will also be the first meeting of the new Commission, which will now include Commissioner-elect Anthony Cenatiempo. He replaces Commissioner Matthew Murphy, who is stepping down. The Commissioners thanked Murphy for his service to the town before concluding the meeting.
Disclosure: GOOD Morning Wilton’s editor is a member of the Lake Club.
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ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WTVD) — A man was shot and killed during an altercation at a motorcycle club, Rocky Mount Police said Monday.
Officers responded just after 9:30 p.m. on Sunday to All Round Huzlerz at 309 Tarboro St. Shots were fired during the fight and 55-year-old Donald Joseph of Rocky Mount was struck. He died at the scene from his injuries.
Police said Joseph was shot by "a known individual" but did not release a name nor mention anyone in custody.
No other injuries were reported.
The Rocky Mount Police Department Criminal Investigations Division continues to investigate. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Rocky Mount Police Department at (252) 972-1411, call Crimestoppers at (252) 977-1111 for cash rewards, or Text-A-Tip (text RMPOL and your message to 274637).
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Mizzou women’s basketball is halfway through its non-conference schedule and sits at 5-2 before its matchup with Virginia. The Tigers will take on the Cavaliers in Charlottesville Thursday afternoon at 4:00 in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Virginia enters the matchup with a 4-2 record and has losses to #25 Oklahoma and #7 LSU.
Mizzou is coming off a loss in the Daytona Beach Classic to Kent State and looks to gain its first road win of the season. The Tigers’ first road game resulted in a loss earlier this season to SLU.
“Disappointed in our trip to Florida, it just didn’t feel like our offense,” head coach Robin Pingeton said. “We’ve got four players averaging double figures, but our offense didn’t travel with us. You’ve got to be really strong on the defensive end, especially on the road. I thought our transition defense has definitely made some strides, really pleased where that is, I like where that’s trending”.
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Heading into this game Mizzou is averaging 80.6 points per game and is being led by Hayley Frank with 17.9 points per game. To this point in the season Mizzou is shooting 47% as a team from the field and 39% from behind the arc. Defensively the Tigers are allowing just 68.1 points per game.
Pingeton spoke highly of the Cavaliers ahead of the matchup on Thursday: “Virginia is really talented. They’ve got good size, good athleticism, and a good balance in their inside-out game”.
Virginia currently averages 17 offensive rebounds a game and is limiting opponents to scoring 61.5 points per game. Pingeton believes the way the Tigers have to fight this is with more grit on the defensive end and by taking these matchups personally.
“I think we take a lot of pride in our offense, and we’ve got to get to that point where defensively we’re really taking it personal,” she said. “We have to be finding ways to be gritty in our rotations and putting out fires for each other and it comes down to not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight the dog. We’ve got to have a mind shift, our mentality is just got to be a little bit grittier on that defensive end”.
Mizzou must get better every week as the season goes on, Pingeton believes. The Tigers expect this game to be a battle, but they will not do anything different than what they are capable of according to Pingeton.
“It’s just continuing to do what we do and improve in the areas that we need to improve on. It’s these days in practice that lead up to Virginia, that we’ve created better habits and awareness and a sense of urgency. In regards to our rotations, be more disruptive. To our attention to detail, getting a body and making sure we’re getting somebody boxed out. Low man always wins on the boards. It’s some of those kinds of things that we have to continue to be mindful of in practice”.
Thursday’s game will be televised by the ACC Network.
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