-Analysis-
HAMBURG — Barbie’s world is a better world. In Barbie’s pink utopia, everybody can live in their dream house, pursue their dream job and realize their own dreams. The inhabitants of Barbie World are healthy, cheerful and treat each other with respect. There is no poverty, pollution, sexually transmitted diseases or wars. On this eternally sunny beach, every day is one big party.
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With this in mind, Finnish cell phone manufacturer HMD is launching another Barbie utopia: the Barbie cell phone, which promises to be nothing less than the key to a better life.
The cell phone is bright and pink, and in addition to its eye-catching noughties design, it stands out because it is almost completely useless. The nostalgic flip phone is intended exclusively for making calls, sending text messages and taking photos. No messenger services, no email apps, no fitness trackers.
Digital overload
The reflective front also serves as a mirror and is perfect for spontaneous selfies; however, the camera only has a resolution of 0.3 megapixels. Just like the phone itself, the pictures look like they were taken 20 years ago. Thanks to the USB-C port and Bluetooth 5.0, sharing photos is technically possible — even though it’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to. Far too much stress!
The Barbie Phone is intended to be attractive to all those who unfortunately do not live in Barbie World and are exposed to the mental and digital overload of the 2020s. It is supposed to give women in particular — who are even more stressed due to all the care work they do in this dystopia called everyday life — the greatest of all luxuries: time for themselves. Simply close it and forget about emails and appointments for a while.
The Barbie flip phone speaks the same language of mindfulness seminars.
“Live the life of your dreams with the Barbie flip phone,” is HMD’s slogan. And so, of all things, a model of the device that in its evolution has put us humans in a state of perennial stress and sensory overload is now supposed to satisfy our age-old longing for a break.
The Barbie flip phone speaks the same language of mindfulness seminars, digital fasting cures and wellness retreats that seek a simple, undisturbed and healthy life. What they all have in common is that they promise an ascension into paradise, whether it is called Barbie World or something else.
Utopias don’t work
At a time when all kinds of noughties gadgets and trends — from lower-back tattoos to gel nails — are being celebrated, it’s easy to find this pink eye-catcher aesthetically pleasing. But a closer look will reveal cracks in this beautiful pink world: it’s life in plastic.
Even in Barbie World, no one can escape gender inequality and war.
Utopias work wonderfully in theory, but they hardly ever live up to the expectations when put into practice. Barbie herself had to learn this the hard way in the 2023 movie by Greta Gerwig, after the real world had invaded hers. Once she had seen the other side, she soon realized that even in Barbie World, no one can escape gender inequality and war.
And this should teach us that just because they don’t pop up on our Barbie Phone, neither our emails, nor the appointments, nor the mountains of laundry piling up at home will disappear.
The flip phone offers a mini-break at most, a splash of Barbie World in everyday dystopia. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but using it is far from empowering. What is empowering is the step Barbie dares to take at the very end of the movie: she steps out of her surreal, glittering world and accepts to face the real world and make it a better place.
