Date of Award
5-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Communication Studies
Department
Communication Studies
First Reader/Committee Chair
Algan, Ece.
Abstract
The Barbie movie has been celebrated by fans for its feminist narrative. Although the film garnered appreciation from fans across the world, my thesis illustrates that it ultimately serves as a vehicle to promote a product, leading to question its feminist narrative. This mixed method study, which combines feminist textual analysis and feminist political economy analysis, investigates feminism and postfeminism within the Barbie movie and the marketing for the movie. The feminist textual analysis identified both feminist and postfeminist ideologies that are present within the film. The feminist political economy analysis identified the marketing for the Barbie movie as postfeminist. The results of the analysis indicate that Mattel turns female empowerment into a commodity that perpetuates gendered consumption and reinforces a patriarchal society.
Recommended Citation
Shepherd, Brooke Ashley, "“BARBIE IS AS MUCH ABOUT FASHION AS SHE IS ABOUT CULTURE AND EMPOWERMENT”: FEMINISM IN BARBIE THE MOVIE AND ITS POSTFEMINIST MARKETING" (2024). Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations. 1898.
https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/1898