Yeah I saw it.
It's good. And worth watching. But there are so many people on social media saying this is going to be revolutionary for the feminist cause.
You're right about the corporate puff piece part. And the rehabilitation of Ruth Handler's image like she was anything other than a cynical capitalist whose creation played a huge part in calcifying the concept of gender roles in generations of children that came after her.
Mattel signed off on the movie. It exists with their permission and approval. They are not going to start or enable a cultural revolution against their own interests, and if they reinvent themselves so that it is in their own interests, they'll be doing it for profit, not for the liberation of women.
But fuck if anyone will listen to the skeptic's take. This thread is the first discussion I've come across where saying negative things about the movie (not even saying it's bad, just criticizing) doesn't result in a dogpiling of misogyny accusations.
The face of feminism in 2023 is a fictional character and it's copyright belongs to Mattel.