A panel hosted by Calvin’s Gender Studies program will follow the Student Activity Office (SAO)’s showing of Barbie on Friday, Oct. 20. SAO often plays movies that have done well at the box office, and Barbie is no exception. The film is the highest-grossing movie of the year in the United States according to Time, and it’s likely to stay there. Now, after a delay due to copyright issues, Jack Droppers, director of student activities,hopes to bring the hype to Calvin.

An optional discussion follows every SAO movie, but this time, rather than Droppers leading a discussion, the Gender Studies Program approached SAO about doing a panel in order to join the discussion the movie spurred, according to Gender Studies director and social work professor Elisha Marr. The panel — driven by student questions and comments — will be facilitated by Marr and philosophy professor Kevin Timpe.

Barbie raises an obvious question of gender, according to Marr. The way an audience interprets whether or not the movie is a good representation of gender, femininity and masculinity depends on their prior lens. “If you already felt masculinity was under attack, this further supported that. For others, it opened their eyes to how we do gender,” she said,“Whether you like what it did or not, it did spur discussion.” 

Marr said it’s important that we understand the role of gender – not just within media or this movie, but in every vocation. “You’ll encounter it [conceptions of gender] in your personal lives,” she said, and she hopes that watching Barbie and engaging critically with the movie’s ideas will be a launching point for students to better understand gender in the world around them.

Marr hopes to equip students not just to consume media, but also to be able to reflect on it and think critically on the topic. Her goal is for students to understand a film’s message and it judge for themselves.Barbie will play in the CFAC Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 20. Droppers said costumes are encouraged.