From the early, lo-fi days of her career as something of a muse for the mumblecore movement, Greta Gerwig has been interested in messy tales of nascent adulthood. And from her partnerships with now-husband Noah Baumbach, most notably 2012’s Frances Ha, to her own solo directorial work (2017’s Lady Bird and 2019’s Little Women), her films have continued to bear the mark of a storyteller who understands the ways that modern adults, but especially women, are burdened by the weight and expectations of responsibility.
Gerwig’s Barbie is partially inspired by psychologist and author Mary Pipher’s Reviving Ophelia, a 1994 bestseller about how adolescent girls lose their identities while navigating a looks-obsessed, media-saturated culture. That should be enough to quell expectations of the film playing out as a show of allegiance to one of the most recognizable brands in the world. And if it doesn’t, the subversive streak of...
Gerwig’s Barbie is partially inspired by psychologist and author Mary Pipher’s Reviving Ophelia, a 1994 bestseller about how adolescent girls lose their identities while navigating a looks-obsessed, media-saturated culture. That should be enough to quell expectations of the film playing out as a show of allegiance to one of the most recognizable brands in the world. And if it doesn’t, the subversive streak of...
- 7/18/2023
- by Greg Nussen
- Slant Magazine
The minds of teenage girls have always beguiled us. From the Salem witch trials to the Satanic Panic to the college rape crisis, young women’s memories have been weaponized, dissected, repurposed, debated. But the experiences of this group are rarely earnestly considered without agenda.
It naturally follows that much media about and for teenage girls approaches them shallowly. Notably, “Euphoria,” perhaps this season’s most popular series about teenage girls, only managed to keep its protagonist, Rue — whose arc is inspired by writer Sam Levinson’s own life — three-dimensional. Its other young women were sacrificed to inane stories of romance and cattiness.
Luckily, change has been coming. A few recent shows have demonstrated some much-needed interest in the teen girl psyche. Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” Amazon Prime’s “The Wilds” and Freeform’s “Cruel Summer” all center young women’s experiences. These girls are often unreliable narrators, and their accounts...
It naturally follows that much media about and for teenage girls approaches them shallowly. Notably, “Euphoria,” perhaps this season’s most popular series about teenage girls, only managed to keep its protagonist, Rue — whose arc is inspired by writer Sam Levinson’s own life — three-dimensional. Its other young women were sacrificed to inane stories of romance and cattiness.
Luckily, change has been coming. A few recent shows have demonstrated some much-needed interest in the teen girl psyche. Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” Amazon Prime’s “The Wilds” and Freeform’s “Cruel Summer” all center young women’s experiences. These girls are often unreliable narrators, and their accounts...
- 6/17/2022
- by Lena Wilson
- The Wrap
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