(CNN) – The movie “Barbie” is a true cultural moment. Not only did it break box office records and spark a massive surge in Barbie sales, it also sparked fascinating conversations about childhood and mental health.
Since the film’s release in July 2023, adults on TikTok and other social media platforms have documented how they reconnect with their inner child through small rituals like buying so-called “Emotional Support Barbies.” (CNN and “Barbie” film distributor Warner Bros. Pictures share a parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Some videos show people carefully browsing through toy shelves to select dolls that fit their career, identity or simply their sense of imagination. They open them carefully, stroke their hair reverently and suddenly they are children again.
The comments on these posts pack an emotional punch:
“The way everyone, child or adult, strokes a Barbie’s hair after she unwraps it.”
“I bought my daughter her first Barbie. It meant a lot to me to buy it from him.”
“I also bought a Barbie a few days ago and I think something inside me changed forever.”
As if that wasn’t poignant enough, some younger generations are documenting how they introduce their parents to Barbies and other children’s toys that they never had as children. In a popular TikTok video, a daughter surprises her mother with a Day of the Dead Barbie and no one leaves with a dry eye.
“A month ago I asked my mom if she would ever have a Barbie doll,” the post reads. “I now understand his childhood better and know that he was still better off than he was as a child. I love you mom”.
The power of play for mental health
Kristin Flora, a psychology professor at Franklin College in Indiana, said she enjoyed seeing how the film opened people’s eyes to the importance of play, even in adulthood.
“We have a lot of research that shows the benefits of play for children. But we have increasing scientific evidence that gaming is also beneficial for adults, particularly in the area of mental health,” he told CNN. “Some research suggests it may help prevent depression. It can help us develop a sense of optimism, which is very important in uncertain times. “It can help us decide what disposition to make as we live in unprecedented times.”
Flora said women and girls uniquely benefit from this eternal sense of play because it can build confidence and positivity in critical moments.
“In my courses I teach that the self-confidence of boys and girls is more or less the same up to the age of 13. And then we start to realize that confidence really breaks down and changes in girls, whereas it’s different in boys. Confidence tends to stand out,” he explained. “This suggests that the psychological pressure on girls at this age is really enormous. The purpose of play can help buffer these changes.”
When Cameron Greene, a 29-year-old software engineer from Lanham, Maryland, decided to buy her own emotional support Barbie, she had many options: There are many Barbies with different careers; much more than when she was a child, Greene said. But Greene opted for something more decadent: a mermaid Barbie doll with a sparkling rainbow tail.
“I loved dolls when I was a child, but when you grow up you forget about that world, especially if you don’t have stereotypical interests,” she told CNN. Greene initially thought the idea of an emotional support Barbie was a bit silly, but one weekend she found herself in a Target and gave in.
“I mean, I’m an adult now, right? That means I have adult money, and if I want to buy a Barbie and brush her hair, I can!”
Barbie items are on display at a Macy’s store in Corte Madera, California on July 25. Retailers around the world are seeing a surge in sales of Barbie-style fashion and accessories as the new film sets box office records. (Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
How is the game for adults?
When adults think of “play,” they often think of juvenile and potentially unseemly activities, such as running around outdoors or pretending to hold a Barbie doll in each hand. Although both options are completely valid, new opportunities for more adult fun arise each time. Summer camps for adults are all the rage, as are classic favorites like recreational sports, crafts, and special interest conventions, to name a few.
“There is a real need for this,” says Flora. He also noted that our idea of “play” often grows with us. So instead of doing the same activities we enjoyed as kids, we found new ways to have fun, like dressing up to watch a movie about the world’s most famous doll.
When Flora saw the movie “Barbie” with her daughter, she says that almost the entire audience was dressed in pink, with glitter and sunglasses, full of enthusiasm.
Dressing like that is a game.
“We can have that sense of play through our clothing,” he says. “And what surprised me most was that this moment of play transcended age, race and ethnicity, ability and all identities. Everyone enjoyed this cultural moment together.”
Pat Cafaro, a 65-year-old woman from Sarasota, Florida, saw the film with her 8-year-old granddaughter, and they both dressed for the occasion: Cafaro wore a pink rhinestone top; her granddaughter with a tutu.
“I probably enjoyed the movie even more than she did,” Cafaro told CNN with a laugh. She was pleasantly surprised by the layered story she saw, with various characters based on real dolls and little jokes that only someone who had played with dolls would recognize.
“I’m pretty sure I had a few of these dolls myself,” she says. “When I was young, Barbie was something new. And you don’t forget that.”
Cafaro says her most prized possession as a child was a highly detailed, pastel-colored plastic Barbie kitchen set.
This type of nostalgia has its own mental health benefits. Although the term comes from the Greek words “return” and “pain,” memories of the past can comfort and lift your spirits. A study published in the journal Emotion in 2023 found that feelings of nostalgia helped lonely people regain meaning in their lives.
Maybe it’s painful to watch Barbie embrace her humanity or reflect on the joys and challenges of being a woman. But in a crowded movie theater or a toy aisle stocked with “adult money” and childhood pain to soothe, a little pink — and a little play — can make us feel a whole lot better.