After a long absence, hello again! Since my film students are creating their own movie blogs this semester, I decided to come back to Flickschick.com–a place I have definitely missed–and document some of my own film thoughts. Oh yes, and it’s awards season. The Oscars are a mere two-plus weeks away; and while I may not be able to view all this year’s nominees before the big show, I hope to at least get to a few.

First up, Greta Gerwig’s very, very pink film about one of the most famous toys to ever be invented: the Barbie doll. As we are reminded by the film’s opening scene in which we watch little pioneer-looking girls having lame tea parties with their 1950s-esque baby dolls in a God-forsaken wilderness, prior to the advent of Matel’s Barbie, girls could only “mother” their dolls (who eternally remained babies). Barbie allowed girls to dream about what else they could achieve. They could be doctors, scientists, astronauts, and more–all while displaying the highest level of fashion, of course.

Although “Stereotypical Barbie” (Margot Robbie’s very blonde character) sees herself in this exclusively positive role, she is shocked to find out that in the “real world,” many people–women included–view her as a negative representation of women, an unattainable standard promoted by Matel’s very out-of-touch (and all-male) executives. Barbie starts to wrestle with concepts of death, patriarchy, and even cellulite, while her pal Ken is seduced by the appeal of a male-dominated Barbie Land.

Why This Film Might Win Best Picture:

For all its over-the-top pinkness, Barbie does ask some interesting questions about what it means to be human and whether human life is worth living even though it ends in death. It also makes some rather powerful points about women and the inconsistent standards our society tries to hold them to. Hollywood has been calling for more prominent roles for women for years now, and this film delivers that for sure. Female Academy voters could choose Barbie–if not for their first choice, at least as their second. And as we’ve seen in the past, while voters bicker about the best movie of the year, the second-best movie can very easily steal the show.

Why This Film Might Not Win Best Picture:

Despite America Ferrera’s powerful monologue about women, the nostalgia of the costumes and sets, and the likeability of the characters and actors, Barbie never ultimately answers the question about where the Kens sleep at night. This bothers me (and it might also not sit well with male Academy voters). As a woman, I appreciate the movie’s portrayal of the pressures women feel, but the answer to the problem of oppressed women does not lie in oppressing or ostracizing men.

Furthermore, the film is slow at parts and has not been doing very well at some of the bigger awards shows (Golden Globes, BAFTAs), despite having hauled in an impressive amount of nominations. It looks rather doubtful that Barbie will be able to out-smile her release date mate, Oppenheimer, when it comes to the biggest award of the year.