Someone needs to give Greta Gerwig's marketing team a pay rise. Promotion for the new Barbie film has kicked off, setting the tone for the upcoming film and tapping a dam of dormant nostalgia by simply allowing everyone a chance to be its poster child.
The Barbie poster generator allows you to upload a selfie and join Dua Lipa, Emma Mackey and a pregnant Emerald Fennell as representatives of the Barbie multiverse.
If you think about it, it's really a genius move. Barbie, while beloved, is also furiously cited in arguments around patriarchy and unrealistic beauty standards. The movie posters for the film, in which Issa Rae's Barbie is president, Hari Nef's Barbie is a doctor, Nicola Coughlan's Barbie is a diplomat and all men are just Ken (don't argue, it's Barbie lore), continues Barbie's story down the path of inclusivity the big dogs at Mattel have been striving for in recent years. This, compounded with the film's eminent campness, makes it catnip for the girls, the gays and the theys.
The reason so many of us can get onboard with Barbie – a figure that's historically divided the masses – is because with Gerwig in the driver's seat, we know we're in safe hands. The director brought fresh complexity to Louisa May Alcott's heavily grazed classic, redeeming Amy March and introducing Little Women to new sets of eyes. The same can be said of Lady Bird, which fused class, coming-of-age, female ambition and mother-daughter dynamics with complexity and heart-aching realness. It's like Raven Smith wrote recently, "Greta Gerwig might be Barbie’s final masterstroke of modernization".
As you can imagine, Twitter is giddy with power over the Barbie generator and has subsequently clogged our feed with memes. Some are top tier humour, others serve as proof that we are not to be trusted. Find our favourite Barbie movie poster memes, below.
barbie taking her shoes off and her feet staying the same pic.twitter.com/YMv0JAlA3D
— esme (@killbiill) April 4, 2023
this barbie is fabulous pic.twitter.com/ZtaDi62j25
— NOSTALGIA (@notgwendalupe) April 5, 2023
this barbie doesn’t pay child support https://t.co/Po2FJ3JZN7
— aria is here for the slumber party (@soursctrl) April 5, 2023
Omfg that Barbie movie is going for the deep lore this is amazing pic.twitter.com/JWR1ULi8hm
— Kevin (@scribblesscript) April 4, 2023
"do u not know the barbie lore" is sending me https://t.co/5YuEKjwuSy
— Katy Rex the Lizard Lady ❤️🦃 (@thekatyrex) April 5, 2023
This is brilliant casting and unlocking so many childhood memories. The marker scribbles on her face! 😭😂 pic.twitter.com/f5xQBEGxAr
— Fangirl Jeanne (@fangirlJeanne) April 4, 2023
“he’s just ken” oh we know😭 pic.twitter.com/ZsrLazcwno https://t.co/L4NXBNKISC
— nai (diego calvas wife) (@margotswhore) April 4, 2023
i cant stop laughing i just remembered that fuckin piece of barbie lore where ken did in fact try to get a job... and then stopped when he realized his job was to be BARBIES BOYFRIEND and that he was simply happy over that
— a dudebro named kdad (@hoshiumisexy) April 5, 2023
My favorite Barbie lore pic.twitter.com/p8s67KmEdQ
— 🐀 (@diehardjeffgol2) April 5, 2023
https://t.co/6dAOZ3YstU pic.twitter.com/GEICOMpbJp
— hari nef (@harinef) April 4, 2023
Day 2 of unfunny and ugly Barbie edits pic.twitter.com/Z0lsNnrcFb
— white woman w/ a yelp account (@blakeissweaty) April 5, 2023
