Twitter thinks ‘Barbie’ is a nod to ‘2001’: Stanley Kubrick agrees

Twitter thinks ‘Barbie’ is a nod to ‘2001’. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie teaser debuted on Friday, starring Margot Robbie as the contentious doll, which was initially introduced in 1959 in a satirical film directed by Gerwig. Meanwhile, the teaser appeared to be inspired by one of the most popular films of all time A Space Odyssey,” with the opening sequence looking strikingly identical. Even the American director supported the notion, saying, “Even Barbie is a Kubrick admirer…” “They say imitation is the purest form of flattery!” he remarked after retweeting a Warner Bros. video.

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They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Even Barbie is a Kubrick fan… https://t.co/BHUKx9c4Si

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— Stanley Kubrick (@StanleyKubrick) December 16, 2022

The Barbie scene appeared to be set in the same rocky, prehistoric location as the opening prologue of the 1968 sci-fi flick. The one-minute ad began with narration by British actress Helen Mirren and showed little girls playing with their baby dolls. “There have been… dolls from the dawn of time since the first little girl ever existed,” the narration begins, as Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” kicks in, exactly as it did in 2001: A Space Odyssey. “But the dolls remained always and forever baby dolls till…” the voice continued. Then, like the monolith in Kubrick’s masterpiece, emerged Robbie (as Barbie) with a phoney smile, tipping her spectacles for a wink.

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The tiny girls who gazed in awe at the Barbie eventually discarded and smashed their dolls, much as the apes destroyed the bones surrounding them. The legendary disco Space Odyssey soundtrack then quickly shifts with the Barbie insignia sparkling immediately before the viewers are transported to Barbie and her pals’ neon pink world. The video also had brief glimpses of Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, and Issa Rae as other dolls.

Twitterati quickly began comparing the stunning views in Barbie’s teaser to those in 2001: A Space Odyssey. A user even provided side-by-side pictures from the two films to demonstrate the similarities. Some people noted that they enjoyed Barbie’s homage to the previous film as one of them commented, “It’s an homage and it’s creative and amusing” while another one said, “I love that they referenced 2001: a space odyssey for a barbie movie. Something I never would have expected.”

“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
“Barbie” (2023) pic.twitter.com/ydMX1z19Ka

— Todd Vaziri (@tvaziri) December 16, 2022

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I admire copying shots but literally taking the exact same shot and add a slight color grade just doesn’t make sense for Barbie

— Luke, (@lukerigs91) December 17, 2022

“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
“Barbie” (2023) pic.twitter.com/ydMX1z19Ka

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— Todd Vaziri (@tvaziri) December 16, 2022

The other chunk of the audience wasn’t completely satisfied with Barbie being a nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey as a user commented, “I admire copying shots but literally taking the exact same shot and adding a slight color grade just doesn’t make sense for Barbie.” The movie “Barbie” directed by Gerwig and co-written by her long-term partner Noah Baumbach will be released in theatres in July 2023.