Last year I was appointed to a department hiring committee for an important position. When a colleague asked me who else was on the committee, she scoffed at the gender composition. Even though our department is half women, the hiring committee was nearly all men. I hadn't noticed until she mentioned it. What else don't I notice?

According to the philosopher Richard Rorty, art is better at changing minds than argument, because it allows the audience to see through someone else's eyes and empathize. In the Barbie movie, shortly after he arrives in the real world, Ken takes a walk through Century City in Los Angeles. Among the skyscrapers there are men in business suits, and a guy exiting a gym nods at him. A couple of guys jump out of a hummer, and policemen ride by on horses. A woman assistant is shushed by businessmen in important discussion. Finally there is a montage of men -- US presidents, movie stars, sports stars, stock traders, Mount Rushmore, and the portraits on US currency. Ken realizes that, unlike in Barbie's world, men hold the power in the real world. Ken learns to sing the 1996 Matchbox 20 hit Push, featuring the lyrics, "I want to push your around, and I will, and I will." When the song came out, it was my freshman year in high school. I must have heard it hundreds of times, but I never noticed that the lyrics hinted at violence against the singer's love interest. The film made me notice specific parts of American culture which I had absorbed growing up without thinking, and which reinforced the idea that men have the power in society.

The film will work best for an American audience. Not only would it had hit less hard if I hadn't been forced to reevaluate the messages underlying parts of the culture I grew up with, but another wonderful aspect of the film was its send-ups of American films and popular music. The opening to 2001 is ported into the wonderful first minutes of the film. A bit later, a character makes Barbie choose between continuing her fantasy life (represented by a stilleto) and learning the truth (a birkenstock sandel). There is a great musical tribute to Take on Me (I know, a-ha is Norwegian, but it was a US hit!), and a power ballad that reminded me of Free Bird. Later in the film, Ken wears a faux mink coat that I'm sure I've seen on Logan Paul. I must have missed many more.

It is surprising that Mattel signed off on the film, since it does a good job of presenting the good, the bad, and the weird of Barbie over the years. While she started out in a swimsuit, Barbies were sold in the getup of just about every profession. Girls could play with Barbie the surgeon, Barbie the scientist, or Barbie the politician, and maybe imagine themselves in those traditionally male roles. On the other hand, a teenage character points out that Barbie has given unrealistic body and beauty ideals to generations of women, and that Barbie promotes unhealthy consumer culture with all of her outfits and accessories. If nothing else, the color profile of Barbie is pink and glittery. The weird are all the discontinued barbies -- including "Growing Up Skipper", a doll with inflatable breasts.

I nicked one star because of the constant product placement and the milquetoast feel-good ending. That said, the movie is worth your time. After years of copy-paste superhero movies and CGI spectacles, the Barbie movie gives me hope for a future of more thoughtful Hollywood blockbusters.