"There was this sense of wanting to make something anarchic'': Greta Gerwig opens up on COVID-19 impact on Barbie

Greta Gerwig, known for her innovative storytelling, is set to captivate audiences once again with her highly anticipated Barbie movie. Scheduled for release on July 21, 2023, this upcoming film is expected to be Gerwig's next magnum opus.

Driven by her distinctive artistic perspective, Gerwig endeavored to create a work that embodied an "anarchic" quality, signifying a departure from established norms. This endeavor was further accentuated by the various obstacles and possibilities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the time when the script was under work, she reflected upon her idea to include out-of-the-box twists in the movie in an interview with the Guardian magazine:

"There was this sense of wanting to make something anarchic and wild and completely bananas because it felt like, ‘well, if we ever do get to go back to cinemas again, let’s do something totally unhinged’.”

In her latest project, she utilized her talents to transform the upcoming film into an intricate narrative. Amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, she added an anarchic touch to the Barbie world. This decision not only signifies her departure from Barbie's traditional territory but also hints at an exciting and potentially revolutionary direction in her cinematic journey.

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Greta Gerwig opens up about the shades of experience while writing the script for Barbie during COVID-19

Greta Gerwigs' vision for the upcoming rom-com is set to offer a fresh and detailed interpretation of this timeless and iconic character. Rather than merely viewing Barbie as a toy, Gerwig sees her as a symbol, even likening her to an 'ancient myth'. This perspective adds complexity and depth to the character as Gerwig explores the main character's transformation from Barbieland to the real world.

In an interview with Vogue, Margot Robbie also gave insights about the titular character's complex nature and mentioned:

"But with that comes a lot of exciting ways to attack it,” Robbie said at the time. “People generally hear Barbie and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’ and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I don’t…"

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic presented Gerwig with distinctive circumstances that posed an extraordinary challenge to her artistic endeavors. Consciously acknowledging how the mandatory isolation deeply influenced her creative process, she embraced an intensified exploration of key motifs revolving around personal development and human nature.

The profound sense of solitude resonated intimately with Gerwig at a personal level, revealing striking correspondences between the titular character's path through adolescence and the quest for identity in relation to her own experiences. When further asked during an interview with the Guardian about the other ways the film evokes anarchy, Gerwig gave insights and mentioned:

"There were so many ways to go into it,” she says, before listing some. “The idea of Barbieland. The idea of Barbie herself being constrained in multitudes. The idea that self is dispersed among many people, that all of these women are Barbie and Barbie is all of these women."

"That’s pretty trippy to begin with. And the sense that she is continuous with her environment. That there really is no internal life, at all. Because there is just no need to have an internal life," she added.

While dealing with the challenges during the pandemic, the team created an energetic environment fiercely giving out their best performance against the background of positivity.

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More details about the upcoming cinematic comedy

The upcoming movie will feature a line of seasoned cast that includes Margot Robbie as Barbie, Ryan Gosling as Ken. Alongside the titular characters will join America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Kate McKinnon, and many more talented cast.

The official synopsis of Barbie as per IMDb, reads:

"Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence."

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Barbie is slated for its theatrical release on July 21, 2023.