Margot Robbie was a near-unanimous choice, and for this specific issue, in our annual Predict-a-Cover post. It makes sense. Barbie as a concept just FEELS summery, and Robbie’s Barbie is poised to be the movie of the season. The cover story, by Abby Aguierre, is actually a really interesting read. With regards to the parts about Barbie, everyone managed to work within the confines of confidentiality, yet still reveal fun tidbits about how they approached the movie — things like Barbie’s vocal register, the set choices, the changes in color scheme from one world to another. I thought this one, from Greta Gerwig about one of her inspirations, was interesting:
“My mom would check out books from the library about parenting, and then I would read them,” Gerwig says. [Reviving Ophelia] describes an abrupt change that happens in American girls when they hit adolescence and begin to bend to external expectations. “They’re funny and brash and confident, and then they just—stop,” Gerwig says. This memory bubbled up early in the writing and Gerwig found it “jarring,” the realization that this is where the story had to go: “How is this journey the same thing that a teenage girl feels? All of a sudden, she thinks, Oh, I’m not good enough.”
If you’re excited about the movie, or even if you’re not, it’s an immersive read. Also, I could only pick three photos in addition to the cover, and there are more in the piece itself.
