Margot Robbie on Gal Gadot’s “Barbie energy” and why Barbie is sexualised

Margot Robbie in a scene from ‘Barbie.’
| Photo Credit: AP

Margot Robbie is all set to feature on the big screen essaying the role of a Mattel doll in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming feature Barbie. The film which stars Ryan Gosling as Ken also features Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa, Alexandra Shipp, Kate McKinnon and more as different iterations of the doll.

However, the lead actor claims that it is Gal Gadot’s Barbie energy that served as a template during the casting process. In an interview with Vogue magazine Margot explained, “Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork.”

Though Barbie is a children’s doll it carries with it discussions around female objectification and conventional beauty standards — something Margot had to contemplate upon before turning into one on Greta’s sets. “I’m like, ‘Okay, she’s a doll. She’s a plastic doll. She doesn’t have organs. If she doesn’t have organs, she doesn’t have reproductive organs. If she doesn’t have reproductive organs, would she even feel sexual desire?’ No, I don’t think she could,” Margot said. “She is sexualized. But she should never be sexy. People can project sex onto her. Yes, she can wear a short skirt, but because it’s fun and pink. Not because she wanted you to see her butt,” she remarked.

Margot produced Barbie through her production company LuckyChap and had to ponder over the legacy of the brand, “We, of course, would want to honour the 60-year legacy that this brand has. But we have to acknowledge that there are a lot of people who aren’t fans of Barbie. And in fact, aren’t just indifferent to Barbie. They actively hate Barbie. And have a real issue with Barbie. We need to find a way to acknowledge that.”

The official description of the 2023 feature reads, “After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less than perfect-looking doll, Barbie sets off for the human world to find true happiness.”