A recovery of the notion of stereotype from the iconic universe of the Barbie doll in the 2023 film

Abstract

The film “Barbie” (2023) uses a pink universe to encourage discussions about identity issues, including stereotypes. Starring a character who calls herself “Stereotypical Barbie”, the film production rescues the collective imagination about the iconic doll produced by the multinational company Mattel.

From that perspective, this article intends to analyze, through the bias of the Semiolinguistic Theory of Discourse Analysis, the plastic and fantasy universe of Barbie in the 2023 film, recovering the notion of stereotype. The analysis will be carried out considering, mainly, the postulates of Amossy (2008), Charaudeau (2004, 2017) and Maingueneau (2004).