America Ferrera’s role as Gloria in the 2023 film “Barbie” (dir. Greta Gerwig) earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, prompting questions towards Gloria’s purpose in the film.
While serving among a strong female cast in the film “Barbie”, America Ferrera is the only actress to score an Oscar nomination (“Best Supporting Actress”) for her role as Gloria. Instead of garnering attention for her performance, interviews following the nomination asked for her reaction to her castmates’ lack of nominations. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Ferrera said, “if it was up to me, they would get all the rewards” referring to Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig.
Given this year’s emphasis on actor solidarity, it is understandable why Ferrera came out in support of the “Barbie” cast and crew. But with all the questions focused on her castmates, the brilliance of Ferrera’s own talents which earned her the nomination are lost. Ferrera’s performance in “Barbie”speaks for itself. She shouldn’t have to justify her nomination in comparison to Gerwig and Robbie’s lack thereof. In a movie that dabbles with theatricality and the artificial through the costumes, sets, and acting of the Barbies and Kens in Barbleland, Ferrera grounds the story with human authenticity.
Ferrera’s role of Gloria, a human woman who shares a bond with Robbie’s Barbie, is best known for her cathartic speech detailing the contradictions of being a woman. Following the film’s release, the speech caught wind on social media and online magazine articles in “ELLE” and “Cosmopolitan.” This fact isn’t surprising given how the speech is a consistent highlight of the film: Ferrera owns each moment and truly shines through her powerful delivery. As Ferrera starts the monologue, the camera’s medium shot allows the viewer to see the lines around her eyes, a detail that’s present throughout the entire speech and indicates a sense of age. Ferrera’s quiet disposition and breathy tone give the impression that these are thoughts the character has had for a long time, but this moment serves as her first time voicing them. Her voice gets louder as her frustration mounts and her gestures gain variety; the camera zooms out to give Ferrera’s emotion and movements more room to expand. Ferrera’s delivery is captivating, fluctuating from quiet to loud within seconds with varying levels of distilled confidence. Gloria ends on a note of frustration, watching “every single other woman tie herself into knots,” trailing off when she realizes the pattern she’s noticed in other women is present in Barbie too. Seeing the impact of the patriarchy on Barbie Land, Gloria is ready to give up when the power of her performance deprograms one of the Barbies from her patriarchal brainwashing and allows for change in the Ken-ified Barbie Land.
Although geared towards women of all varieties with nods towards motherhood and the “career woman,” the speech is ultimately directed to Robbie’s Barbie. Gloria is in Barbie Land because of her connection to Barbie and their insistence that Barbie Land is different from the Real World, explaining how women didn’t modify their behavior or appearance because of patriarchy. Yet, given Ken’s decision to implement patriarchy (and horses) in Barbie Land, a feminist utopia isn’t what Gloria finds. Instead, she finds more of what she knows: men in power.
While the speech is a notable aspect of Ferrera’s performance, there is more to the character of Gloria. In a movie that spotlights a stereotypical Barbie’s road to personhood, Gloria represents the ordinary woman, one “who just wants to get through the day.” Through her experiences as a woman and mother in society, Gloria is able to extend the message of “Barbie” — that women can be everything — to those who may not resemble the typical make and model of a Barbie doll.
At first glance, Gloria is the run of the mill working woman. She has a middle-school aged daughter and a job at Mattel as an executive assistant.
The longer we look at Gloria, the clearer it becomes how unhappy she is. After all, she is the one coming up with Barbie doll designs depicting thoughts of death and cellulite (a feature found on human women but not dolls). Gloria struggles to connect with her daughter Sasha who has rejected Barbie (because of the doll’s unrealistic body image), and it is unclear what Gloria’s relationship with her husband is like. The relationship with the husband likely isn’t meant to factor into Gloria’s character, as his role is meant to be a cameo featuring Ferrera’s actual husband Ryan Piers Williams.
It is notable that the character chosen to represent the “every woman” is a woman of color. More specifically, Ferrera is Hispanic, born from Honduran parents. There are nods to the fact of Gloria’s hispanic heritage with the car scenes with her husband, but in reference to the character, not much about her arc would have to change if she was played by a non-Hispanic actor.
Although it isn’t as important to the character, the fact that Gloria is played by Ferrera has real world impact in terms of representation. In the category of “Best Supporting Actress”, Ferrera is the fifth Hispanic actress to be nominated in 96 years. Out of those five nominees, only two have won the award, with Rita Moreno winning for her role of Anita in 1961’s “West Side Story,” and Ariana Debose for her take on the same character in the 2021 remake. If Ferrera wins the oscar for this year, it would make her the third hispanic actress to win the award.
Although not as highly quoted, a powerful Gloria moment that stands out is Gloria’s conversation with Mattel’s CEO (Will Ferrell) towards the end of the film. The Mattel CEO wants everything in Barbie Land to go back to the way it was because he believes that will hold the most profit and continuity. It’s at this point when Gloria, after being given a nudge from Sasha, pitches the idea of an “ordinary woman” doll.
In Gloria’s words, the main characteristics of the doll is wearing “a flattering top” and “wanting to get through the day.” In pitching for this doll, the script is reminiscent of Ferrera’s big speech in that Gloria emphatically argues “it’s OK to just want to be a mom or a mom who is president or not a mom who is president or not a mom who is also not president.” Ferrell’s Mattel CEO automatically shuts down the idea until one of his executives tells him the doll will make money; then he welcomes it wholeheartedly.
The fact that Gloria pitches the “ordinary woman” doll as opposed to her earlier sketches of “thoughts of death” Barbie or “cellulite” Barbie is significant. Gloria’s pushing forward of an “ordinary woman” doll indicates her improved mindset; she has reconnected with her daughter on the journey, she has developed a friendship with Robbie’s Barbie and she is more confident in herself. Gloria’s confidence in herself and other women allows her to take up the space to pitch to the Mattel CEO and believe in what she’s saying.
Gloria’s embracing of herself and the idea of the “every woman” extends Barbie’s central message. Yes, Barbie can be everything; she can be a doctor, a Nobel Prize winner, an author, a mermaid and every other career under the sun. Yet, Ferrera’s character shows us that women don’t have to be everything. You can just be a mom and that is okay. You can choose not to be a mom and that is equally as okay. You don’t have to be a prestigious arthouse staple like Gerwig or a typical “Movie Star” personality like Robbie. You can be known for television comedies like “Ugly Betty” and “Superstore” and still give a performance worthy of “Best Supporting Actress”. You don’t have to want more than to get through the day to be a successful woman in Gerwig’s “Barbie,” and Ferrera’s delivery of that message is something worth celebrating.
