maddoxplushie

The Barbie movie would've been way more impactful if the person Barbie was looking for turned out to be trans. Either Sasha could've been gender non-conforming or nonbinary, or Gloria could've been a trans woman.

Sasha's story could've been how Barbie never appealed to them, yet despite voicing constant disinterest, Barbie was constantly shoved in their face. Their parents and the female peers would keep saying that they had to like Barbie because she's THE quintessential girl's toy. This causes Sasha to develop a deep resentment towards Barbie as she symbolizes the very femininity that was constantly forced upon them by everyone around them. Then the movie could be about how one of the issues with Barbie is that she only represents one type of woman. Despite the hundreds of Barbies with multiple careers, they all still have the same slim hourglass figure, full makeup, long styled hair, and high heels. Thus causing girls who aren't traditionally feminine and AFABs who don't identify as women to feel left out.

Gloria's story could've been how Barbie introduces and ultimately learns to accept the concept of trans women. Barbie could be walking around trying to find her owner, only to be hit with flashbacks of a boy taking her away from a little girl's room. Barbie would then assume that the boys is the girl's brother and he's a bully who stole her away from her true owner. Barbie would then meet Gloria and tell her about how she's her Barbie and how sad she felt that her mean older brother would steal her. Gloria would then explain that the boy in her visions was her. Gloria could go on about how growing up, she never felt like all the other boys around her, and how masculinity was constantly forced upon her by her parents. She was only allowed to play with "boys' toys" that she wasn't interested in while her little sister was always given Barbie stuff. Gloria, being envious of her sister's toys, would sneak into her room while she was asleep or away and take one of her Barbies to play with. She then could go on about how she grew up being fixated on Barbie and wanted desperately to be just like her. This love for Barbie evolved into a longing to be a woman and a realization that she's trans. The movie would then be about how Barbie is truly for ALL girls, and that being a trans girl doesn't make anyone less of a girl.

These aren't perfect ideas, but still, it's a small example of how Gerwig could've gone deeper with the feminist messaging by opening up the nuance of girlhood and queerness.

This, in my opinion, is one of the best and scariest-found footage horror movies I've ever seen. Max is one of my favorite (and, in my opinion, the best-written) horror movie villains. First of all, it's rare to see any movie where the villain is the main character. Throughout the movie, we get an in-depth view of Max's life and how he's managed to essentially get away with murder. The most horrifying thing about Max is literally no one, not even his own sister, suspects him of anything. The fact that he's so confident in his ability never to get caught that he rented a tape and put all the evidence anyone needs to indicate him really shows how deep his levels of narcissism and psychopathy are. What I liked the most about Max is how he's just an average-looking middle-class man, yet still commits the most heinous and taboo crimes imaginable just because he can. When horror movies have villains who are humans, they're usually either love-sick stalkers like Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction), institutionalized people with congenital disabilities like Michael Myers (Halloween), or are so insanely wealthy that they can pay their way out of criminality like Patrick Bateman (American Psycho). Max, however, is someone you'd bump into at the grocery store, meet at a PTA conference, or even go on a blind date with. He even has a stable relationship with his sister and regularly hosts dinner parties. The last thing about this movie that cemented itself as being one of my favorites is how it's a slow-burn movie that I didn't find boring. I usually don't care for horror movies that don't get scary until the end like "The VVitch" or "The Blair Witch Project." Still, "The Last Horror Movie" managed to keep me engaged by the sheer fact that we're watching a villain monologue about his personal philosophy while casually committing crimes. The types of horror movies that scare me are the ones that could happen in the real world. This movie is a prime example of why I love non-supernatural found footage movies; and others similar to it like Creep and Hangman.