5 Timeless Lessons from Barbie
It’s been almost a year since Barbie first came out, and yet, it’s still having an enormous impact on our cultural conversation. As we move through this Women’s History Month, we wanted to highlight five of our favorite quotes from this movie which is fun, fantastic, and above all, female-forward.
“She might have started out as just a lady in a bathing suit, but she became so much more.” – The Narrator
No kidding! Since her inception in 1959, Barbie went on to win Olympic gold (1975); dance ballet (1978); travel to space (1985); practice medicine (1987); join the military (1989); and run for president (1991). She taught us how to shed outdated values by embracing change and not being afraid of reinvention, even when the world tries to put you in a box. (In Barbie's case, sometimes literally!)
“I have no difficulty holding logic and emotion at the same time.” – Lawyer Barbie
Both emotions and logical thought are important for balance, and though emotion has historically been seen as a more “feminine” thing, that’s simply not true. The split between emotions and logic is a false dichotomy, and the faster you can move past it, the better. The first step in bridging the two is to identify your preference and set an intention to lean into the side that feels a bit more uncomfortable. We’re proud to emphasize balance between logic and emotion at Point North – just check out our blog on the power of love in business from last month!
“Do you ever think about dying?” – Stereotypical Barbie
It sounds counterintuitive, but we can find positivity in our darker thoughts. Bad stuff happens, and you shouldn’t pretend everything is rosy when it’s not. But the key is to feel negative emotions rather than avoid them. Then, once you’ve felt them and gotten whatever support you need, move forward!
“Humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever.” – Ruth Handler, Barbie Creator
Make time for creativity. Spend time with your ideas: live with them, play with them. And, when you’re ready, share them! Creativity is a universal human characteristic, and the more women bring their ideas to the table, the better the world will be.
“Even if you can’t make it perfect, you can make it better.” – Sasha
This one is particularly relevant in light of the way the Oscar nominations played out for Barbie. In a perfect world, the women in charge of making a movie about women, for women, would have received the recognition they deserve for their work. Instead, they were passed over.
This is a reminder to us all that there’s still so much work to do in the field of equality, and that things don’t get better unless we make them better. It can be tempting to wait for perfection – the perfect time, perfect plan, etc – but the truth is, perfection is a myth. What we can do, right here, right now, is take the lessons from Barbie and continue to work on making the world a better place.
