The [Barbie] Discourse? It's Toxic. (lol)
I say this with the utmost UN-seriousness!!!
[Please hear my subject line in the very unserious voice of Matt Rogers in the video below, in which he spent way too much on a luxury bag and is practicing sounding like a rich snob to fit in.]
Dear Readers, a big personal announcement! After three fantastic years of working for myself as a freelance writer, I’m plunging back into full-time employment. This week, I’m starting a new job, and—not to sound like Bradley Cooper fangirling about how surreal it is to work with Robert De Niro—it’s a job I am really excited about! I’ll be working as a staff editor at The Athletic.
I love them! It’s the writing woman’s sports site. The reading man’s team coverage. I have long been a devoted reader of their best-in-class sports stories and beautiful articles full of white space, personality, and investigative scoops. They’re now the sports arm of The New York Times, and I am now embarked upon a quest to get an NYT mug for free. I’m thrilled to join a team of writers and editors who are so talented — and to get better at my craft along the way.
But also—I will still be here! Writing my little rants and raves about pop culture! Because pop culture is, after all, my first love. To put it another way: Whenever Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce inevitably split up, Taylor’s getting me in the divorce.
And, speaking of Taylor Swift, her boyfriend is going to the Super Bowl, and now it’s part of my full-time job to know that! Dreams do come true!
Thank YOU for continuing with me on this journey. :)
Things I Can’t Stop Thinking About This Week
The Traitors Season 2 on Peacock: Should I start watching?? ALL the girls [gay podcasters] are talking about it!? It’s a reality competition series with rules like the party game Mafia, and the competitors are stars from reality TV and competition shows, like a Real Housewife and Survivor winners and Petey 4 Times from The Bachelorette. I started the first season, and it didn’t grip me, but I’ve heard that season two is…uhmazing??
The Ripley trailer dropped! Andrew Scott Hive, unite again! His new Netflix project is based on The Talented Mr. Ripley, and the only thing that would make this better is if Jude Law reprised his role, but also that might cause the Internet girls to spontaneously combust with horniness.
^This Bradley Cooper outfit. The reason this photo is going around the internet is that two VERY famous people, Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid, are allowing themselves to be photographed holding hands — which in 2024 Celebrity World is basically like in olden times having your betrothal announced in the weekly parish bulletin. In other words, they are a public couple now, and only God can separate them.
But all I can think about when I look at Bradley in this photo is this Minion:
Oscar Noms, Snubs, and the Barbie Discourse
If you’ve logged into the internet this week, you’re probably aware that an extremely vocal subset of its denizens are really upset about the Barbie “snubs” at the Oscars.
What happened? Well, Barbie got nominated for eight (8!) Oscars, including one for Ryan Gosling as Best Supporting Actor, but they left out Margot Robbie in the Best Actress category and Greta Gerwig in the Best Director category. The line going around online is how it’s ironic that nominating Ken but not Barbie is basically the plot of the whole movie.
Which, sure! But also, maybe it’s time for us all to take a DAY OFF now? It’s just possible that it’s time to give us all a BEACH VACATION from the DISCOURSE?? And I LOVE a discourse! But, like, what are we even fighting for here? What ever happened to fun?!?
Yes, I love movies and believe movies are IMPORTANT. I think WOMEN in the movies is IMPORTANT. I’m glad that, in fact, there ARE so many movies that were nominated that highlight incredibly deep, complex, nuanced women’s stories and performances. Three of the Best Picture nominees are directed by women, which is a first in the Academy’s almost 100 years. [Tough look for them, though!]
And I also love the Oscars [drama! spectacle! farce!], but I cannot emphasize enough how SILLY it all is, REALLY. In the words of South Korean Director Bong Joon-Ho, the Oscars are “very local.” [The way I would crumble under those words!]
I know that no Real Person in their Real Lives [i.e., just trying to remember to move the wet clothes to the dryer] cares about this. But for those keeping score:
Greta did receive a nomination for adapted screenplay and Margot did receive a nomination for Best Picture as the producer of the film.
Sorry, but Ryan Gosling was fantastic, and that’s a credit to Greta, too.
Saying Margot should have been nominated just means you wish one of the other actresses [women! females! ladies!] didn’t get her nomination. Which is a legitimate argument, but let’s just be honest about what we’re wishing here.
America Ferrara, who gave the Barbie feminism monologue [which I did not like, sorry to all women, but it was just so preachy and bad storytelling and very Huffington Post circa 2015, I’M SORRY], DID get nominated as Best Supporting Actress. [Which, I’m happy for her, but…I don’t know.]
The far-right backlash to Barbie was ridiculous. But this lefty backlash to Barbie’s quote-unquote “snubs” is also devoid of critical thought. It’s just being a lazy audience. There’s a LOT in the world that is happening right now that should have us up in arms to protect women’s voices, rights, bodies, and lives. Maybe this is not really the battle to pick.
That’s my soapbox for the day! It’s really very me of me to write 500+ words to just say: Say Less!
*Cue Greta and Margot blowing the Oscars a kiss while they take their $1.446 BILLION DOLLARS to the bank.*
Finally: Oscars Snubs That I Was Actually Mad About for Reasons of *Acting*
Andrew Scott not getting nominated for Best Actor for All of Us Strangers [a movie I have mixed feelings about, but contained the best performances I’ve seen all year].
Teyana Taylor not getting nominated for Best Actress in A Thousand and One.
Charles Melton not getting nominated for Best Supporting Actor for May December [he broke me in that movie!!].
Claire Foy not getting nominated for Best Supporting Actress for All of Us Strangers.
Greta Lee not getting nominated for Best Actress in Past Lives [this was an extremely slow, pretty boring movie with three performances that made it magnetic, and hers was the top one].
Rachel McAdams not getting nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. [Dare I say, a more effective feminist film than Barbie!]
You put my feelings on the Barbie discourse into actual words! Internet discourse (virtue platforming) is a silly place. Ryan Gosling was the beans in Barbie, standing in for both the patriarchy AND the person "only having identity in belonging to someone else " within patriarchy, which HOW does one pull THAT off?!!?
Your Barbie perspective was so enlightening!! I was so ready to jump on the miffed bandwagon, but what a helpful (and entertaining) explanation of all the things!!!!