08. mise en scene

08. mise en scene

for today’s blog post, I will be analyzing the scene composition of (obviously, I mean this is a no brainer)...

now, before we do that, we must first describe what exactly mise en scene is. according to my research 🤓☝️, mise en scene is a French term that refers to the many elements that make up one scene. This includes things such as lighting, the positioning of actors in the frame, costumes, the way the set is staged, anything that the camera’s view touches.

i hope you processed that, because we're gonna dive right into it.

now, the obvious thing that stands out about the mise en scene in barbie is, obviously, the set dressing. the props in the movie often look plasticky, and in some of the scenes they're actually just stickers! (like in her fridge, which is exactly like how it is with the actual dollhouses) fun fact: there was a shortage of pink paint in the world from how much was being used in this movie! so, considering it's abundance, of course there's meaning to the color in this movie. barbie uses color to create meaning through creating a connection between concepts and colors. for example, everything in barbieland is bright, saturated, with it's obvious pinks and bright blues. the real world is not, for the most part. the best example of this being when barbie and ken go to the real world. they contrast quite dramatically against the daker colors of the  real world. the dichotomy between these two settings and how they present the people within them is clear, it highlights the plastic fakeness of barbieland. 

this connection between the bright, strong colors and perfect plastic flows into the costuming.

one thing i instantly notices throughout the movie is how barbie's clothing changed. at first, barbie wears very bright colors, with lots of accessories, much like how one would expect a doll to be dressed. but, as the movie progresses and barbie experiences human emotions and issues, the clothing that she's dressed in transitions to being lighter, much softer colors.

one could interpret this as her being dimmed down, but i think the actual intention behind this was to humanize her, to show how she's slowly becoming less of barbie and more human. her outfits also more simple, with less accessories and simpler silhouettes. when barbie becomes human, she's wearing a simple, long yellow dress.

yellow is not a common color to see barbie wearing, and it's not an extravagant dress either. in fact, it looks like something you would see an actual person wearing. a perfect example of where barbie is at this point of the movie. and, of course, her outfit in the ending scene follows this up. minimal makeup, simple hair, and those organic, earthy tones in her clothing. barbara, not barbie anymore. though, the hint of soft pink in the outfit through the bag she carries seems to hint that she will always be connected to barbieland in that way.

i had lots of fun analysing the movie for this post, so i hope you enjoyed it too! until next time, xoxo.