Barbie's Heroine's Journey



    When I was first introduced to Victoria Schmidt’s The Heroine’s Journey one particular film came to mind that perfectly fits this set of parameters, “Barbie” directed by Greta Gerwig. This movie follows one of the versions of Barbie as she encounters strange changes to herself, after consulting with “Weird Barbie” she is told she must leave her home, “Barbieland” to embark on a journey to try and fix the strange human things that are happening to her. The film “Barbie” aligns with The Heroine’s Journey, especially through the film’s adaptation of Victoria Schmidt’s “Awakening and Preparing for the Journey” and “Death - All is Lost” sections of her model.

    “Awakening and Preparing for the Journey” as described by Victoria Schmidt states, “Hopelessness is tempting but she decides to do something about it.” which aligns with parts towards the beginning of the Barbie movie. This section is where Barbie is meeting with Weird Barbie about the unexplainable changes that have been happening to her that are ruining her perfect world. Weird Barbie tells her she must leave Barbieland and at first Barbie feels this is too much and impossible, just as Schmidt’s Heroine’s Journey describes, but Barbie ultimately decides that she must continue on and do something about it even though its tempting for her to stay. Another part of the “Awakening and Preparing for the Journey” is that “The whole direction of her life is changed”. Previously, Barbie had never gone outside of Barbieland and lived with this view of the relationship between Barbieland and the real world which is very positive and one that empowers women. This ends of up not being the case, as her view of her home and the other world she thought she knew is going to change drastically. This strengthens the connection between the film Barbie and Victoria Schmidt’s model, as it clearly shows how Barbie is going through hopelessness, temptation, and a calling, and how her direction in life is changing.

    As for “Death- All is Lost”, Victoria Schmidt’s model describes “Things get worse. There is no hope. She has failed and accepts defeat.”, I think there is a very clear moment within the movie that matches this part of Schmidt’s Heroine’s Journey. After visiting the real world, Barbie returns to Barbieland and finds that all of the Kens have taken over her home. She is very distraught at this sight. The Kens refuse to give Barbie’s house back, and she falls to the ground and gives up. Barbie’s “Death - All is Lost” representation is almost too obvious. She even says something along the lines of admitting defeat, one of the criteria for that part of the Heronine’s Journey model. Things also get worse too, like the Kens trying to take over Barbieland, supporting this connection between Schmidt’s model and this movie even more.


The Barbie movie most definitely fits the Heronine’s Journey, as shown through its following of “Awakening and Preparing for the Journey” and “Death - All is Lost.” This movie is a perfect example of a female lead experiencing a journey and coming out the other side changed and different. 


Gerwig, Greta, director. Barbie, Warner Bros, 2023

Barbie Movie Poster, Warner Bros.


Comments

  1. Kaylee ZhengOctober 15, 2024 at 12:39 PM

    Nice post Alyssa! I appreciate how deep you delve in the “Awakening” and “Death” aspects of the heroine’s journey in relation to the Barbie movie. I think you capture Barbie’s internal struggle by these changes well.

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  2. ShriyaOctober 15, 2024 at 5:59 PM

    Great post Alyssa! Barbie reminds me of Legally Blonde and how both films follow the Heroine’s Journey in similar ways. I like how you mentioned the example of Barbie's "Awakening and Preparing for the Journey" because it perfectly captures that moment where she decides to take action, despite her initial reluctance. I think Barbie and Legally Blonde are similar in how they potray the steps in the Heroine’s Journey, as they show strong female leads who face challenges, experience transformation, and come out stronger in the end.

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  3. Callie StanderferOctober 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM

    Goodmorning and happy Wednesday Alyssa!!! After reading this post I have a question: why not use Murdock's steps instead? It seems the movie deals with a lot of gender based issues so wouldn't that make more sense. I digress. I agree though that Barbie's hopelessness throughout the film really resonates with Schmidt’s model... so maybe you have a point. Anywho, keep up the great blogging! (o˘◡˘o)

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  4. AdrianOctober 16, 2024 at 7:51 AM

    All this time I thought the Barbie movie was a chill movie where everyone gathered around to wear pink and have a great time, but I guess not when the Kens start to rebel against everything they've been living for. The idea of leaving your own world to visit an unknown world definitely fits the aspect of Preparing for the Journey and quite literally too. When Barbie starts to go through a change after being in this unknown world, that's a sign that it's about to go in depth with that Heroine's Journey diagram. The Death phase of the plot also makes sense too, as the Kens start to rebel and ruin Barbie's known world and you know its bad too when the protagonist starts to give up and admit defeat.

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  5. GabbyOctober 16, 2024 at 7:55 AM

    Hi Alyssa! I feel like Barbie is a perfect example of a movie that could fit with the Heroine’s Journey, especially after watching Legally Blonde, and I’m really glad someone decided to write about it! I definitely agree with the way you connected Barbie with the steps you talked about in your blog post, but I do wonder why you didn’t expand on some other steps such as Support, as there is a scene in Barbie I think fits very well with it. However, I do still enjoy how you were able to draw connections to Barbie with Schmidtt’s Heroine's Journey template, great post!

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