Wait, Barbie Is About Abortion?

One theory in the ether.

I saw Barbie over the weekend. Going in and not expecting much — this is not something Greta Gerwig was aiming to get the same type of audience and attention for as Lady Bird — it’s a decent to good popcorn movie, as long as you remember that it was essentially made by Mattel with a few concussions to indie queen Gerwig and real-life Barbie Margot Robbie. It’s a corporate movie designed to entertain and maybe create a few moments of mother-daughter bonding and/or a reckoning around an iconic brand. I doubt Mattel will be able to replicate this with Lena Dunham’s Polly Pocket, but maybe I will be wrong.

Obviously since the official debut, you’ve had hot takes galore pouring in. We will get to more of them in a second. But here’s an interesting one from feminist author Susan Faludi:

Opinion | Susan Faludi Thinks 'Barbie' Is a Delight. She Also Thinks It's About Abortion.

If you want to check Faludi’s bonafides, aside from Google or Amazon searches, you have this paragraph — which is largely true:

I was interested in Ms. Faludi’s perspective because her interests…