Sao Paulo
“Don’t take your little one to the Barbie movie.” The advice of a Brazilian mother who took her daughter, aged under 12, to see the film, which hit theaters around the world, went viral on the internet.
In the video, she says that the film is actually intended for children over the age of 12 and that young children cannot understand the subject matter, the story and the language of the production. She also says her daughter got bored when she asked to leave the session and only calmed down when she handed her the phone.
Opinion is shared by viewers who are heard by the Sheet. “The messages conveyed by the film are really not for small children,” says hairstylist Eliana Veloso.
Eliana’s daughter Vitoria, 12, is obsessed with Barbie — her collection includes more than 30 models of the doll — and for months she’s been telling her mother she wants to see the film at the premiere. They managed to buy tickets for the first day of the exhibition and in their roles, dressed all in pink, they went to the cinema in a shopping center in the east district of São Paulo.
“Since it’s about Barbie, a doll, I didn’t pay attention to the indicative classification. It was free for me,” says Veloso. However, throughout the film, issues such as women’s freedom and obscenity veiled by an audio cue were put on high alert. “I found out in the end that it was a 12+ film,” he says.
For the mother, the film carries important messages such as appreciating beauty regardless of body color and shape, criticism of machismo, and empowering women to pursue the careers they desire, but is aimed more at mature women than children. “Every woman wanted to be a Barbie one day and the film shows that we all are, everyone can be a Barbie in her own beauty,” she comments.
Victoria agrees. “There’s wheelchair Barbie, pregnant Barbie, black Barbie. Anyone can be a Barbie.”
Diversity also caught the eye of teacher Adriana Gomes, who went to the movies with her daughterinlaw and 14yearold granddaughter. “It wasn’t just the pretty blonde,” she says.
She wants to recommend the film to her elementary school students, but only when they are eight or nine years old. “At that age you can already speak of the diversity in film,” he says.
Housewife Patrícia da Silva Santos hasn’t seen the film yet but plans to see it with her 10yearold daughter next weekend. “From some of the comments I understand that this is more of an adult film than a children’s film, but I’m going to take it because I love Barbie so much and have passed that love on to her.”
In the house of journalist Ana Paula Freire Artaxo, the scenario is different. Not knowing the rating of the film, she asked her sixyearold daughter if she would like to go to the cinema, and the answer was unusual: “Barbie is full of frufru for girls. I’m more like Wandinha!”
“I don’t know where she got this stereotype of Barbie admirers from,” says Artaxo. “Since she loves science, I said that today Barbie is more confident and represents women who made history. We have a Frida Kahlo Barbie at home.”
rating of the film
In summarizing the analysis of the film directed by Greta Gerwig, the National Judicial Secretariat, responsible for the indicative rating policy, explains that those in charge of the work themselves indicated that the intended rating was “not recommended for children under 12”, which agreed with the opinion of the evaluators.
For those responsible for the analysis, the film depicts fantasy violence, fear and legal drug use with an average frequency. Characteristics such as derogatory language, stigmatization or prejudice, sexual attraction and disguised nudity also occur, albeit with low frequency.
However, these aspects are mitigated by a few factors. “The use of legal drugs is mitigated by simulation; foul language is mitigated by scene composition; Stigma or prejudice is mitigated by comic or caricatured context and by counterpoint; and the work presents positive content,” the statement said.
In considering these aspects, the evaluators conclude that it is not a work of free classification as it contains violence, inappropriate language and sensitive subject matter.
The teaser was rejected
The age issue had already caused controversy earlier this month, when Conar (National Advertising SelfRegulatory Council) called for the showing of the film’s first teaser to be suspended during screenings for children under 12.
The teaser was designed as a nod to the opening of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and showed several girls destroying their dolls after the release of Barbie.
For Conar, the video contained scenes of “unurbanity, lack of good manners, or violent/unsafe acts,” hence the suspension.