Highlights
- Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie surprised and delighted audiences with its heart and humor, including a joke about Zack Snyder's fanbase, which he thought was pretty good.
- Snyder clarified that the joke was more about the negative aspects of his fandom, and he saw it as cool to be mentioned in such a pop-culture context.
- Despite the toxic reputation of some Snyder fans, Snyder himself is not part of that group and is happily working on new projects.
Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie was arguably one of 2023's most notable surprises in the entertainment world, breaking records and charming audiences with its genuine heart and perfect saturation of laugh-out-loud humor. One such memorable moment involved Justice League director Zack Snyder, and now he's finally offered his reaction.
The endlessly quotable Barbie earned its well-deserved status as one of 2023's biggest smash hit movies through plenty of publicity and near-constant positive word of mouth. Women and femme viewers worldwide enjoyed a relatable story of finding one's happiness in the face of systemic pushback, and seemingly everyone appreciated the snappy writing and jokes helped along by the endearing performances. A specific joke came at the light-hearted expense of Snyder's fanbase, so many have been wondering what he thought of it.
One section of Barbie features Ryan Gosling's Ken leading his fellow Kens in taking over Barbieland and brainwashing the Barbies into accepting their patriarchal rule. As the Barbies are slowly brought to their senses, one of them (Writer Barbie played by Alexandra Shipp) remarks, "It's like I've been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder Cut of Justice League." In an interview with Men's Health, Snyder finally gave his thoughts on the joke. "I thought [Barbie] was great," he said earnestly when asked about the bit, "and I think the joke is pretty good."
The director went on to clarify that he knew it was more of a reference to the less savory portions of his fandom rather than a judgment of him. He mentioned that he'd previously discussed with his wife and fellow producer, Deborah Snyder, how he was more focused on how cool it was to be such a part of pop culture to be mentioned in this context. Despite the negative connotations of the Snyderverse crowd, Snyder has been widely considered one of the most pleasant directors to work with. His practical and pragmatic reaction to the Barbie joke further demonstrates that he's not the reactionary sort that is the target of these gags.
"The thing that I said to Debbie is—the thing that you need to take a second and think about is that your name is so seamlessly sewed together with a pop-culture phenomenon so big it can exist as a joke in a movie about Barbie. That's pretty insane. You just need to step back for a second and go like, 'Whoa, what did we do? What happened? How is that a thing?'"
For those unfamiliar with the terms "Snyder Cut" and "Snyderverse," they refer to a phenomenon where fans of Snyder's work campaigned in droves for Snyder's original cut of his DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Justice League to be released by WB. Snyder had to step away from the film later in production due to a family tragedy, resulting in problematic filmmaker Joss Whedon taking over. Unfortunately, many of the fans became aggressively toxic in their calls for the Snyder Cut, harassing people and earning a reputation for misogynistic behavior that permeated the movement. It became so prevalent that it saw many references beyond Barbie, with even a throwaway joke in The Bear as a notable example.
But again, it seems Snyder himself is thankfully not part of that toxic group and isn't taking the jokes in a reactionary way. Even after parting ways with DC amid its big shakeup in leadership, he's still flexing his creative muscles with projects like Netflix's shockingly expansive Rebel Moon. So, it looks like a pretty happy conclusion for everyone involved. Well, maybe that doesn't include the toxic fans who were the target of Barbie's joke. But hey, they probably didn't even see the movie anyway.
Barbie is available to buy on Blu-ray and will be streaming on Max starting December 15th, 2023.
Barbie
Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
Source: Men's Health