A Poem

Disclaimer: This post is not about: Diminishing non-traditional avenues of becoming a Parent. Diminishing the relationship that develops between child and parent. I'm speaking directly to the phenomenon that occurs between a child and their birther. The connection that exists when one being births another. For a long while, that child cannot distinguish between itself and its birther. They are one in the same. Upon the birth of our child in 2019; we would have the silver lining of COVID allowing us to spend the first 24 months of their lives with them all day. Not many people in the United States can say they get that much time with their newborn, even with Maternity Leave (Six weeks is not enough time to nurture that relationship) When they were able to distinguish people and objects, I was the first stranger they met. "Hello Little One, I'm Joshua, Your Daddy"

“Ken is the REAL Villain of Barbie” “Mattel’s CEO was villainized and people now LOVE Mattel” I’ve been toiling with what I wanted to write about this movie, that hasn’t already been said, and I’ve read a few reviews that oscillate between the above two concepts. Within the prototypical story structure we have hero and villain. Especially for the Western Audience. What Gerwin and Baumbach do so deftly here is steer both characters in and out of that role, because Gosling’s Ken and Ferrel’s CEO are not the villains.  Patriarchy is. How the CEO and Ken present are amalgams; ciphers for the ways that a codified oppressive system, in this case patriarchy, affect an individual and how that individual may react. These characters then exhibit the various ways we can codify oppression overtly and covertly. An apt way to look at the dispersion of oppression, and how it manifests. An oppressive chaos theory. Honestly, I thought Farrell’s portrayal of the Corporate Ally was spot on. They {Farrell} often come off cartoonish, but if the billionaires of the world have shown anything, it’s that cartoonish may be too kind. Everyone touched by Patriarchy, whether in reality or Ken-dome eventually suffers. Everyone can oscillate in and out of being a villain in a system that codifies oppression.

The Hero's Journey 

TW: Trauma, Abuse, Child-Abuse