You could say Barbie fans are going Oppenheimer on some far-right criticisms of the film.
Late last week, some fans of the patriarchy attempted to discourage people from going to see the new Barbie movie, with one critic on Twitter calling it a “two-hour woke-a-thon” full of “nuclear-level rage against men”.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro seemed to lead the charge on Friday — the day the movie premiered — by tweeting that his producers “dragged” him to see the movie, and called it “one of the most woke movies I have ever seen”.
He also promised to release a full review of the “flaming garbage heap of a film” the next day on YouTube, which he did, in a video called “Ben Shapiro DESTROYS The Barbie Movie For 43 Minutes”.
In the video, Shapiro makes his thoughts clear by burning a trash can full of Barbie dolls.
But Shapiro wasn’t alone in his hatred for the movie’s feminist themes.
Billionaire and Twitter X.com owner Elon Musk also ridiculed the film, tweeting: If “you take a shot every time Barbie says the word ‘patriarchy’, you will pass out before the movie ends.”
Far-right media figure Jack Posobiec struck a similar tone, calling Barbie a “man-hating Woke propaganda fest” and “possibly the most anti-male film ever made”. Ginger Gaetz, wife of Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, called for a boycott of the film despite attending a premiere event all decked out in pink and posing in a Barbie box. She criticised the movie for neglecting to “address any notion of faith or family”, trying to “normalise the idea that men and women can’t collaborate positively”, and for portraying Ken as not masculine.
The movie has been described as highlighting very basic feminist themes by many people on Twitter, with HuffPost’s culture writer, Candice Frederick, describing the tone as “feminist-lite”.
“Barbie is not particularly feminist. It’s a lot more complicated than that, just like most people are — and how any great character should be presented,” Frederick wrote.
Regardless of whether or not Barbie is too woke or not feminist enough, many Twitter users had some pretty funny responses to the whole conservative backlash — and female camaraderie they felt while watching the film in theaters. To read the most hilarious responses, strap on your favourite rollerblades and roll, er, scroll on down!