Hello and welcome to my Civic Blog! This blog is intended to explore civic issues regarding social justice. In this blog, I will be exploring these issues through the news, media, art, literature, music, and more. I’m not going to lie I struggled with what my first topic for this blog was going to be for a while but something that happened at a very recent public event has inspired this topic for today. The 81st Golden Globe Award show that celebrates movies and other pieces that influence modern entertainment occurred on January 7th of this year. Well the the Golden Globes has controversies in and of its own, however, this year’s host highlighted an important issue with his awkward monologue – and not in a positive way.

Jo Koy is a comedian who hosted the Golden Globes this year and is now more famously known for his very sexist remarks during his monologue. Here is a direct quote from one of his segments: “Oppenheimer is based on a 724-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies.” A lot to unpack in that one but he doesn’t stop there and makes remarks on the actress’ body in the film, “The key moment in Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet, or what casting directors call ‘character actor.’ Not only was this a horrid and embarrassing moment, but while he does nothing but praise the value of Oppenheimer stating that it’s based on a “Pulitzer Prize-winning book,” a film made by a man and largely about men, it is juxtaposed by his extremely shallow and derogatory introduction of the feminist film Barbie as just a movie about a “plastic doll with big boobies.” The irony of the comments seemed to only be lost on Jo Koy. I think that if there was one thing he proved that night, it was the reason the Barbie movie was so needed along with other feminist films. Now this isn’t simply that his jokes were unfunny and patronizing to women, but more so the fact that as many others have done before him, he chose to put the focus on women’s appearances and diminish and sexualize them in the process.

Women have long battled to reframe what is funny and acceptable for quite a while now. It is quite common to turn women into the punchline for many things. The importance of Barbie being a comedy is that audiences can engage humorously in an important conversation about sexism and feminism which are historically vulnerable topics, while also experiencing a range of emotions alongside Barbie as the character discovers what it means to be a woman and some of the experiences in society that come with it. This movie is for generations of girls being raised in a patriarchal society, as well as for boys and men who otherwise wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to feminist theory in any way. Although the basic entry level feminism that is captured in the film, it is extremely important with exposing people, specifically young girls to feminism with a large cultural impact. “Barbie” may not be perfect and it is not a perfectly written feminist manifesto or a perfectly nuanced representation of womanhood. However, it is inherently a story about humanity and the complexities of emotions that come with being alive and being human. Barbie reminds us that the sexism and misogyny women experience doesn’t define who they are. This moment at the Golden Globes is not a setback, but instead a reminder of where feminist movement has been.