By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept

News Junction

Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • World News
    World NewsShow More
    Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina’s party barred from election as party registration suspended
    Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina’s party barred from election as party registration suspended
    May 14, 2025
    Cassandra Ventura testifies, tells jury freak offs became a job
    Cassandra Ventura testifies, tells jury freak offs became a job
    May 13, 2025
    White South Africans arrive in US after Trump administration granted them refugee status | World News
    White South Africans arrive in US after Trump administration granted them refugee status | World News
    May 13, 2025
    Trump’s Mideast Wish List: + Trillion in Investments – and Some Diplomacy Too
    Trump’s Mideast Wish List: $1+ Trillion in Investments – and Some Diplomacy Too
    May 13, 2025
    Djokovic-Murray coaching partnership ends before French Open | Tennis News
    Djokovic-Murray coaching partnership ends before French Open | Tennis News
    May 13, 2025
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Ukraine blows up bridges to consolidate its positions in Russia
    Ukraine blows up bridges to consolidate its positions in Russia
    August 18, 2024
    Commentary: AI phones from Google and Apple will erode trust in everything
    Commentary: AI phones from Google and Apple will erode trust in everything
    August 18, 2024
    The most famous Indian Dishes – Insights Success
    The most famous Indian Dishes – Insights Success
    August 18, 2024
    Life on the road as a female long rides cyclist
    Life on the road as a female long rides cyclist
    August 18, 2024
    UK inflation rises to 2.2%
    UK inflation rises to 2.2%
    August 18, 2024
  • Cryptocurrency
    CryptocurrencyShow More
    Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) News: 4,812 Bitcoin Purchased
    Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) News: 4,812 Bitcoin Purchased
    May 14, 2025
    BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, ADA, DOGE, PI, LEO, HBAR
    BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, ADA, DOGE, PI, LEO, HBAR
    May 14, 2025
    Altcoins’ roaring returns and falling USDT stablecoin dominance suggest ‘altseason’ is here
    Altcoins’ roaring returns and falling USDT stablecoin dominance suggest ‘altseason’ is here
    May 14, 2025
    How to Use tsUSDe on TON for Passive Dollar Yield in 2025
    How to Use tsUSDe on TON for Passive Dollar Yield in 2025
    May 13, 2025
    South Korea’s Democratic Party sets up ‘Digital Asset Committee’
    South Korea’s Democratic Party sets up ‘Digital Asset Committee’
    May 13, 2025
  • Technology
    TechnologyShow More
    How to Improve Your Spotify Recommendations
    How to Improve Your Spotify Recommendations
    August 18, 2024
    X says it’s closing operations in Brazil
    X says it’s closing operations in Brazil
    August 18, 2024
    Supermoon set to rise: Top tips for amateur photographers | Science & Tech News
    Supermoon set to rise: Top tips for amateur photographers | Science & Tech News
    August 18, 2024
    Scientists Want to See Videos of Your Cat for a New Study
    Scientists Want to See Videos of Your Cat for a New Study
    August 18, 2024
    OpenAI’s new voice mode let me talk with my phone, not to it
    OpenAI’s new voice mode let me talk with my phone, not to it
    August 18, 2024
  • Entertainment
  • Sports News
  • People
  • Trend
Reading: Chinese feminists flock to see ‘Barbie’
Share
Font ResizerAa

News Junction

  • World News
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Trend
  • Entertainment
Search
  • Recent Headlines in Entertainment, World News, and Cryptocurrency – NewsJunction
  • World News
  • Business
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Sports News
  • People
  • Trend
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
News Junction > Blog > Business > Chinese feminists flock to see ‘Barbie’
Chinese feminists flock to see ‘Barbie’
Business

Chinese feminists flock to see ‘Barbie’

Published July 29, 2023
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

Receive free Chinese society updates

We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese society news every morning.

Beijing law student Feifei enjoyed the Barbie movie so much she went to see it twice this week, each time wearing a bright-pink baseball cap.

Greta Gerwig’s Hollywood blockbuster — which tackles feminism, the patriarchy and fragile masculinity — touched and inspired her, said the 24-year-old, who asked to be identified only by a nickname.

“I grew up living under pressure to be good at everything,” Feifei said. “But this movie made me realise that I don’t have to prove myself.”

Cinemas across China have increased showings of Barbie, which analysts say stands out among the patriotic and male-led action fare that dominates the Chinese box office, one of the world’s biggest film markets. The number of Barbie showings jumped from 9,673 on July 21, the first day of release, to about 36,000 on July 27, according to data from Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan.

Barbie — which had grossed more than $495mn worldwide as of Friday according to IMDb — has generated more than Rmb135mn ($19mn) in China so far, data from Maoyan showed. While that is less than half of the Rmb312mn grossed by Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, which hit the screens a week earlier, it has already exceeded the Rmb106mn made in China by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

“There hasn’t been anything this big which has such an enormous commercial appeal that is so explicitly feminist in China,” said Leta Hong Fincher, an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University with a focus on gender issues and feminism in China. “This movie really just flew under the radar of [Chinese] censors.”

Barbie fans outside a cinema in Shanghai this week © CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty Images

The world’s second-largest economy generated box office revenue of $3.7bn in the first half of 2023, compared with $4.5bn in the US during the same period. Yet only two of China’s 10 highest-grossing films came from Hollywood last year, as Beijing is pushing for the release of more domestic titles. One of the most popular recent Chinese films, The Battle at Lake Changjin about the Korean War, has been derided by some critics as propaganda.

Hollywood filmmakers keen for a Chinese showing often have to negotiate censors. In the case of Barbie, some critics have accused it of appeasing China by depicting a map they say appears to feature the “nine-dash line” that Beijing uses for sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

“Barbie the doll is a global icon that is familiar to Chinese consumers. My own American daughter bought her first Barbie on a vacation in China,” said Ying Zhu, author of Hollywood in China: Behind the Scenes of the World’s Largest Movie Market and a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Academy of Film.

“The feminism of Barbie is highly palatable and not subversive . . . There is nothing in this movie that might upset any government that has engaged in crackdowns on gender equity movements, including the PRC.”

Barbie’s popularity in China also reflected how its younger generation were now “much more aware of how sexist and misogynistic society is”, added Columbia’s Hong Fincher, who is also the author of Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China.

As a result of China’s one-child policy, scrapped in 2016 after more than three decades, many parents favour boys over girls, leading to sex-selective abortions across the country. Few women are installed in powerful political positions, with the country’s top seven leadership posts composed of all men including Xi Jinping. Traditional gender roles “are seen as being very politically important for the Communist party,” Hong Fincher said.

Recommended

Newborn babies at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong

The film also resonates with China’s LGBT+ community. Diaoxian, a 29-year-old playwright in Beijing who identifies as a gay man, said the Barbie movie gave him a “valid reason” to publicly wear a pink shirt in the cinema.

He bought the shirt a few years ago “but never had the guts” to put it on outdoors. “Patriarchy is affecting everyone and suppressing everyone, no matter you are a man or woman,” said Diaoxian, who asked to be identified by his pen name.

Siqi Zhang, a 25-year-old marketing specialist in Shenzhen who went to see Barbie this week with seven female colleagues, said she recommended the film “to every girl friend of mine”. “It leaves women feeling empowered,” she said.

#Chinese #feminists #flock #Barbie

TAGGED:BarbieChinesefeministsflock
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Email Copy Link Print
Share
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
Previous Article Dak Prescott undeterred by expectations, guarantees fewer interceptions Dak Prescott undeterred by expectations, guarantees fewer interceptions
Next Article Two arrested over suspected rape of tourist in Paris park: prosecutors Two arrested over suspected rape of tourist in Paris park: prosecutors
- Advertisement -

Latest Post

Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) News: 4,812 Bitcoin Purchased
Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) News: 4,812 Bitcoin Purchased
Cryptocurrency
BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, ADA, DOGE, PI, LEO, HBAR
BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, ADA, DOGE, PI, LEO, HBAR
Cryptocurrency
Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina’s party barred from election as party registration suspended
Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina’s party barred from election as party registration suspended
World News
Altcoins’ roaring returns and falling USDT stablecoin dominance suggest ‘altseason’ is here
Altcoins’ roaring returns and falling USDT stablecoin dominance suggest ‘altseason’ is here
Cryptocurrency
Cassandra Ventura testifies, tells jury freak offs became a job
Cassandra Ventura testifies, tells jury freak offs became a job
World News
How to Use tsUSDe on TON for Passive Dollar Yield in 2025
How to Use tsUSDe on TON for Passive Dollar Yield in 2025
Cryptocurrency
- Advertisement -

You Might Also Like

Urgent call for cyber defence as AI-Driven Ransomware attacks surge, warns NCSC
Business

Urgent call for cyber defence as AI-Driven Ransomware attacks surge, warns NCSC

January 28, 2024
What privately-owned companies can learn from PLCs on sustainability
Business

What privately-owned companies can learn from PLCs on sustainability

February 1, 2024
European car giant Stellantis joins the talking car wave as the latest automaker to embrace ChatGPT
Business

European car giant Stellantis joins the talking car wave as the latest automaker to embrace ChatGPT

January 31, 2024
Nasdaq, S&P, Dow trade mixed while yields remain mostly unchanged
Business

Nasdaq, S&P, Dow trade mixed while yields remain mostly unchanged

August 7, 2023

About Us

NEWS JUNCTION (NewsJunction.xyz) Your trusted destination for global news. Stay informed with our timely and accurate reporting on diverse topics, including politics, technology, science, entertainment, sports, and more. Count on us for unbiased and reliable updates at your fingertips.

Quick Link

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact

Top Categories

  • World News
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Sports News
  • Trend
  • People

Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

    © 2023 News Junction.
    • Blog
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    Welcome Back!

    Sign in to your account

    Username or Email Address
    Password

    Lost your password?