A Fun Little Archetypal Analysis
Barbie was beloved by many for its humour, cultural audit, and character development. Of course, there will always be opposing opinions, but for me—it was a clear depiction of the awakening journey and the presence of universal, archetypal energies was loud and clear. It serves as a canvas to explore the intricate dance of archetypes that underpin human behaviour, often operating beneath our conscious awareness.
Archetypes are the fundamental building blocks of our psyche, playing a vital role on individual, relational, and collective levels. They are the secret forces guiding our thoughts, emotions, and actions, representing a full spectrum of human potential.
The movie serves as a rich tapestry showcasing these archetypes, particularly focusing on the interplay between the divine feminine and masculine energies. These archetypal energies, based on planetary symbols, are intricately woven into the characters' journeys, reflecting the broader societal archetypal energies of our time.
In this fun little analysis, I will focus on archetypal symbols derived from the planets, particularly utilizing the Archetypes at Work ™ model for understanding leadership language and awareness. This model effectively illustrates that each archetype possesses not only a dark and light aspect but also a gift or balance point situated between an excess and a deficiency of that energy. These archetypes not only radiate energy from celestial bodies but also resonate within us, originating from the essence of our soul's core pattern.
Starting with our protagonist, Barbie played by Margot Robbie, we see how too much Lover and Dreamer influence this snapshot of her life as the divine feminine polarity, until a rather plutonic awakening, catalyzed by ‘thoughts of death’ set in to trigger her call-to-action.
The Lover (Venus)
The Lover archetype, associated with Venus, embodies passion, diplomacy, and harmony. It thrives on creating beauty, fostering relationships, and engaging in artful communication to connect with others and enhance the allure of its surroundings.
In the first few minutes we are over-stimulated with conditioned feminine symbols: a yin shaped pool, pink everythings, and a utopia of shiny happy people. Barbie holds archetypal or rather stereotypical energy of the hyper-feminine—love, fashion, beauty, care-free optimism, and many, many girls nights. Too much Lover energy can come off as superficial, materialistic, vain, plastic, and based on keeping up appearances rather than authentic connection. This is played out in the hilarious intro, “Hi, Barbie”, said by everyone, to everyone else, with no real substance or connectivity within the community.
The Dreamer (Neptune)
The Dreamer archetype is characterized by imagination, compassion, and poetic sensitivity. It embodies creative intuition, embraces ambiguity, and envisions the future through metaphorical language that can awaken and inspire others.
The Dreamer tends to avoid harsh realities, preferring to live in a dreamy, idealistic world. However, this can lead to a reluctance to take responsibility and a resistance to facing challenges. When Barbie’s heels stop floating and are suddenly flattened down to earth, she seeks counsel from Weird Barbie (the one who was played with too hard,) and clings to a perfect yet stagnant existence, highlighting the archetype's tendency to prioritize fantasy over making tough decisions on the ground (literally).
The Transformer (Pluto)
The Transformer represents exactly what it sounds like, something changing from one state to another. It embodies regeneration and transformation, exudes deep, powerful, and magnetic energy. It acts as a change agent, facilitating breakthroughs through rigorous research and psychological insights. Astrologically speaking, Pluto doesn’t mess around, we feel the effects of its transits on a collective level, and on a personal level, it peels back the wallpaper so we can see beneath the surface in order to become aware—the first step for any change to take place.
Barbie’s transformation makes itself known in the middle of a dance party when she says, “Do you guys ever think about dying?" No one takes her seriously because no such questions arise in their utopia. This is the potent entrance of the Transformer can be otherwise known as The Dark Night of the Soul. If you aren’t familiar with the Dark Night of the Soul, it’s terrible, but a necessary part of the transformation process.
Just as a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis to become a butterfly, facing its darkest moments before emerging anew, Barbie’s next typical morning routine is met with mass disruption and chaos. Pluto has the ability to see exactly where we stand in our own way, and takes us down a notch, all before building us back up—slowly.
In order to get to the bottom of the tear between Dreamland and Los Angeles, Barbie and Ken embark on their Hero’s Journey. This journey, made famous by Joseph Campbell typically involves a transformative experience, incited by mentors or unexpected events, leading to a deeper understanding of one's purpose and a commitment to fulfilling their soul's calling. Barbie is in some way, living out the path set by her higher self, or in this case, Gloria, played by America Ferrera.
The Nurturer (Moon)
The Nurturer archetype, characterized by empathy, supportiveness, and sensitivity, fosters emotional intelligence and growth in relationships as well as with our environment on planet earth, as they are not separate.
Gloria is a mum who is deeply grappling with being out of touch with her inner child as well as with her daughter, Sasha, played by Ariana Greenblatt. The Nurturer in its equilibrium makes everyone feel safe, seen and heard. Too much Nurturer has the proclivity to be smothering, overbearing, over-sensitive, resentful, and even seething. She tries too hard to be lovey-dovey with Sasha, and is repeatedly rejected, a sign that she must turn her Nurturer inwards, nurture her own inner child who is crying for attention. Gloria alludes to this when she’s in the Barbie convertible saying, "I am weird, I am dark, I am crazy”, acknowledging shadows of The Dark Feminine, or the dark side of the Moon.
The Renegade (Uranus)
The Renegade archetype, characterized by provocation, rebellion, and revolutionary thinking, challenges the status quo and embraces unconventional approaches. Gloria, fuelled by Renegade energy, delivers a powerful speech addressing societal paradoxes and inspiring change among the Barbies in response to Dreamland's takeover by the Kens. Her uplifting and critical tone encourages unity and strategic action:
“Never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line.” This inspires the troops to rally together and come up with a plan to get their world back!
The Storyteller (Mercury)
The Storyteller archetype is all about adaptability and influential communication skills, capable of creating compelling narratives and fostering multiple perspectives.
The Strategist (Saturn) represents rationality, reliability, and structured planning, adept at agenda setting, financial planning, and managing risks.
The Storyteller and Strategist team up as the Barbies strategically and meticulously plot a plan to sow discord among the Kens, leveraging principles of duty, accountability, and risk management. Simultaneously, they maintain a facade of normalcy, exhibiting slick and sly, or Trickster behaviour, and skillfully make clever connections to deceive the Kens, showcasing their adeptness at storytelling and strategic manipulation.
Masculine energy often receives criticism in contemporary times, yet, akin to all archetypal energy, it exists within a spectrum encompassing both too much and too little. This spectrum finds representation in Ken, portrayed by Ryan Gosling. In my opinion, Gosling adeptly embodies this polarity, vividly portraying the hunger for power stemming from fear and pain. Ken's unrequited love for Barbie fuels his journey, leading to the awakening of his archetypal energies as he accompanies her to Los Angeles.
The Sovereign (Sun)
The Sovereign archetype embodies vision, purpose, and a strong presence. It is often heartful, loyal, and ambitious, with a playful attitude and a willingness to lead. The Sovereign in its equilibrium holds creative space, offers mentorship, and creates meaning in their work by modelling a clear "why."
Ken's awareness of his purpose, epitomized by "BEACH," highlights his Sovereign energy, not to mention, lots and lots of Sun.. However, his excessive Sovereign energy shines unapologetically, especially during a humorous scene where he sings "at" Barbie, seeking recognition without considering her disinterest. This underscores his struggle to balance his Sovereign traits, such as confidence and leadership, with humility and receptiveness to others' perspectives. He finally gets the acknowledgement his Sovereign craves when someone asks him for the time!
The Explorer (Jupiter)
The Explorer embodies adventure, truth, and a can-do attitude. People who have easy access to a lot of Explorer energy are enthusiastic, optimistic, and constantly seek new experiences and knowledge. However, when taken to an extreme on a collective level, this archetype can lead to colonialism and grandiosity.
Ken exemplifies the Explorer archetype as the leader of the pack. His adventurous spirit drives him to explore a new world and gain a deep understanding of their power structures. However, the shadow of the Explorer was demonstrated via the “Here, let me show you” montage—the most hilarious display of too much Explorer I could ever imagine. We also saw symbols of the Explorer through the furs and horses that Ken was now obsessed with. The horse, running wild and free, can be connected to the centaurian archetype of Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter.
The Warrior (Mars)
The Warrior, the most embodied and physical of the archetypes, emits qualities of bravery, fierceness, decisiveness, assertiveness, and fearlessness. This archetype is focused on challenges and defense, leading from the front, cutting through obstacles, and creating a sense of urgency to achieve goals.
Ken's Warrior archetype becomes fully activated when he lets power consume him, taking over Dreamland with his territorial "mojo dojo casa house," as he fights for dominance from a place of woundedness due to being friend-zoned by Barbie. This hurt and rejection fuel his need to assert control and win at all costs, and a fierce determination to prove himself. The astrological glyph for Mars is indeed the masculine symbol. Without our inner Warriors, nothing would get done. We are in a time where our Warriors have had to push too hard to compete and survive. They are wounded, they burnt out and they need to support us through the changes we are incurring on all levels as fierce supporters, who drive us passionately towards our highest potential, and protect our boundaries, as well as our dreams.
The Integration (Union)
Individually, within relationships, at work, community, and globally, we are experiencing a massive shift in energy. Both shadow feminine and shadow masculine within and without are being called to go deep and work together to bring harmony to our minds, bodies, hearts, and lives.
The war between the Kens reflects the internal struggle within himself. He seeks to maintain power to evade confronting his emotions. When he eventually does confront them, it manifests as a somewhat childish tantrum. This is because, like a child, he is inexperienced in processing and expressing feelings maturely, which requires time and practice.
Similar to the separation phase in the feminine and masculine polarities, Barbie needed time to discover herself, while Ken required space to connect with his inner feminine, his inner Lover and Nurturer, to reassure himself of “I’m Just Ken”, that he is enough just as he is. This led to a sort of exchange — Barbie embraced her Explorer by venturing into humanity, her Sovereign by seeking independent purpose and fulfillment, and her Warrior, getting into her body when she visited the gynaecologist at the end of the film.
Opposites energetically attract, yet within each of us exists a blend of archetypes, offering endless possibilities for expression. While some archetypes may be more prominent than others, our choices and preferences shape our character and our life’s story. It's crucial to remember that archetypes defy strict gender binaries; they embody both masculine and feminine energies. Even Venus, who is idolized as strictly feminine, contains a bottomless pit of mini yin yangs, creating a delicate equilibrium that endures perpetually. Once we learn the language of archetypes, including our gifts and shadows, we recognize them in others without judgment, allowing each of us to step into wholeness and transform our Dreamland into reality.
Jessie Rivest
with AI editing assistance
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