Wollaston Research Seminar | Origin and Identity

Join us either in-person or online for our next Wollaston Research Seminar on 13th May at 2pm (AWST).

The Rev’d Dr Christy Capper to present: Origin and Identity: “Maybe all the things that you thought made you ‘you’ aren’t really you.”

Abstract: 
In the 2023 film Barbie, the key characters of Stereotypical Barbie and “her” Ken both encounter new experiences that make them question their role in the Barbieland society and their deeper identity. For Barbie, this experience comes with changes in her personality and physicality that lead her to the Real World, where she faces the shock that she has not created a feminist utopia in the real world and, for some, is considered the antithesis of feminism. For Ken, the experience of stowing away with Barbie on her trip to the Real World makes him realise how much he has not been seen in Barbieland. As Ken then encourages the Kens to form a patriarchy in Barbieland, we see him using simplistic and stereotypical patriarchal ideas on which to find his identity and value in a world where his full personhood had not previously been recognised. As the Barbies work to return Barbieland to its usual matriarchal state, Barbie and Ken have a conversation about identity where Barbie tells Ken, “You’re not your girlfriend, you’re not your house, you’re not your mink” And suggests that the things he previously based his identity on may not really be who he is.

Ken’s identity is bound up in being Barbie’s boyfriend, in a 2023 interview with Vogue Greta Gerwig explains “Barbie was invented first… Ken was invented after Barbie, to Burnish Barbie’s position in our eyes and in the world. That kind of creation myth is the opposite of the creation myth in Genesis.”

This paper will explore themes of identity and identity formation within the film within the context of origin narratives and by reading Barbie and Genesis 2-3 alongside one another. I will examine the impact of origin narratives on the identities and relationships of Barbie and Ken and ask whether its power might be overcome to achieve more equal and healthy relationships in Barbieland and the Real World.

Pre-viewing: This short clip from Barbie:

Contact: wtcresearch@perth.anglican.org

Zoom link (for online): 
https://divinity.zoom.us/j/82629497529?pwd=SXJDWkQ2TWtPVFRqY0tlM1I1TnBZZz09