Moviegoers in Northern Colorado helped fuel the "Barbie" movie phenomenon, infusing mom-and-pop theaters with massive revenue from ticket sales. Local indie movie house The Lyric in Fort Collins said "Barbie" was its No. 1 grossing film of all time.
Colorado State University professor Karrin Vasby Anderson was astounded when the movie was released. The feminist scholar says she expected something light and commercialized. Instead, it was subversive — a film about feminism disguised with frills and lots of pink.
“The fact that they managed to package a legitimately feminist argument into a billion-dollar summer blockbuster is just astonishing," Anderson said.
The movie's feminist aspects also provoked some backlash, which Anderson wrote about.
"Barbie" has now migrated from theaters to streaming services — and given those expanded viewing options, we sat down with Anderson to unpack more about the "Barbie" phenomenon in Colorado and beyond.
