Greta Gerwig calls 'Barbie' movie 'humanist above everything else'

While Mattel executives may have distanced themselves from the feminist themes in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, the director has had her say as well.

Speaking to Rollingstone during an in-depth interview Gerwig addressed feministic themes in the film.

“I think of the film as humanist above anything else."

"How Barbie operates in Barbieland is she’s entirely continuous with her environment. Even the houses have no walls, because you never need to hide because there’s nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed of. And suddenly finding yourself in the real world and wishing you could hide, that’s the essence of being human,” Greta said.

“But when we were actually shooting on Venice Beach, with Margot and Ryan in neon rollerblading outfits, it was fascinating because it was actually happening in front of us. People would go by Ryan, high-five him, and say, 'Awesome, Ryan, you look great!' And they wouldn’t actually say anything to Margot. They’d just look at her. It was just surreal.”

“To be fair, Ryan was like, 'I wish I wasn’t wearing this vest.' [Laughs.] But it was a different kind of discomfort.”

Gerwig adds that the movie addresses dislike for ‘Barbie’ as well.

“It felt like we had to give the counterargument to Barbie, and not give it short shrift, but give it real intellectual and emotional power. And Mattel was incredibly open to it. I said, 'We have to explore it, because it’s a lie any other way. And we can’t make it a lie.' I think they heard it.”