Representation of The Heroine's Journey in Barbie(2023)

Maureen Murdock's version of the Heroine's Journey can be seen in the plot of the 2023 film "Barbie". 

The first step, Separation from the Feminine, and the second step, identification with the masculine, are represented by Barbie deciding to go to the real world, with Ken also going with her. The Road of Trials would be traveling to the real world, and Finding the Boon of Success would be actually entering the real world. The Awakening to Feelings of Spiritual Aridity comes almost immediately after, as it is represented by Barbie realizing that the real world was not what she thought it would be (controlled by men, while Barbie's world is controlled by women). Initiation and descent into the goddess would be when Ken starts to take over Barbie's world and Barbie starts to feel hopeless. Urgent Yearning to Reconnect with the Feminine and Healing the Mother/Daughter Split are represented by Barbie taking back her world from Ken. Healing the Wounded Masculine and Integration of the Masculine and Feminine are when Barbie makes it so that Ken is treated as equal to Barbie (he wasn't before the journey).

The reasons for why those parts represent those steps can mostly be explained by the fact that In the film, Barbie represents femininity and Ken represents masculinity. However, there are some parts that are not. "separation from the feminine" and "identification with the masculine" are about the heroine separating from feminine values in favor of masculine values, which are represented because Barbie decides to exit her world, which is a representation of femininity, and even though she doesn't willingly "identify with the masculine", Ken being there means Barbie is with a masculine figure unlike before. For "Healing the Mother/Daughter Split" isn't exactly represented, since there isn't really a Mother/Daughter Split in the first place. However, all the other steps are represented, so I think the film is close enough to the Heroine's journey. So far, I've written about the film being a representation of Maureen Murdock's version of the Heroine's journey, but in fact, it represents Victoria Lynn Schmidt's version as well. 

The illusion of the perfect world is represented by the beginning, with Barbie's world being presented as "perfect", with everyone there seemingly being happy. The betrayal or realization is the same as the Initiation step in Maureen Murdock's version, where Barbie realizes what the real world is like. That part probably represents the Awakening step as well, since it's when Barbie awakens to the truth of the real world, and is mentally changed. Passing the gates of judgement and Eye of the storm are when Barbie returns to her world, expecting to live normally again now that she isn't in the real world anymore. Death/All is lost is when Ken takes over the world, making Barbie lose hope of returning to the good life she had before. Support is when Barbie meets Weird Barbie for the second time (the first time was before going to the real world) and Weird Barbie helps Barbie make a plan to get the world back to normal. Rebirth is when Barbie overthrows Ken, and Makes the world equal to both Ken and Barbie. This creates the return to the perfect world, where gender equality is in Barbie's world.

Barbie (2023) is a film largely based on gender, which makes it apparent that Maureen Murdock's version of the heroine's journey is represented in the plot of the film. However, Victoria Lynn Schmidt's version of the heroine's journey is also represented, as the major events in the story can also be tied to the steps in the model. In fact, the hero's journey might also be represented, as Barbie does start in 1 world, enter another, and come back, but that would stray away from the focus of this post. In conclusion, the way Barbie (2023) is structured makes multiple narrative models (specifically the two heroine's journey models, since the protagonist is female) represented in the story.

Comments

  1. Callie StanderferOctober 16, 2024 at 7:45 AM

    Hello Hector!!! I personally remember watching the Barbie movie last year and thinking how busy it was in terms of the plot. I think you have perfectly highlighted that through pointing out the ways in which it follows Murdock's version then adding at the end how the change of worlds is very hero's journey-esque. I agree with your placement of the plot and like how you said that Barbie "overthrows Ken" because hell yes she does. Keep up the good blogging!

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  2. Adrian T.October 16, 2024 at 7:56 AM

    Hey Hector, I recently just read another blog which talked about the Barbie movie too, except yours provides more details with each step of Schmidt's diagram. I think the idea that the Healing with the Mother/Daughter split not being present in the movie shows some standards for what could be considered a part of the heroine's journey. There probably doesn't need to be that step as compared to other important steps like the protagonist setting off on her journey, or the illusion of her perfect world as they all set the tone and show what you will expect throughout the movie. Overall, this is a really good explanation of the Barbie movie, coming from someone who has never watched this movie before.

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  3. KaiOctober 18, 2024 at 8:27 AM

    Hi Hector! I really like how you discuss the different models that the Barbie Movie follows. When I started reading this post I was only thinking about the Heroine's journey, but brining in aspects of the Hero's journey fleshes out your points really well. When you mentioned the healing of the mother/daughter split, I was wondering if you might bring up Barbie meeting the creator of Barbie? Overall really good post on the Barbie movie!

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