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By: Renee Riendeau / Movie Revelations<br />
At times called the “plastic princess”, the Mattel<br />
doll that most little girls grew up with is now a<br />
hit movie. Director Greta Gerwig’s film was No.1<br />
at the box office for weeks<br />
Some say “Barbie” is poised to become 20<strong>23</strong>’s top film. It is now the<br />
biggest movie to be directed by a woman.<br />
This award-winning cast includes; Margot Robbie as Barbie, Ryan<br />
Gosling as Ken, plus America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Rhea Perlman,<br />
Micheal Cena, and Kate McKinnon.<br />
“Barbie” is a<br />
visually dazzling<br />
comedy whose<br />
meta humor<br />
is smartly<br />
complemented<br />
by subversive<br />
storytelling.<br />
To live in<br />
Barbie Land,<br />
confectionary<br />
pink, is to be a<br />
perfect being in a<br />
perfect place.<br />
Unless you<br />
have a full<br />
existential crisis.<br />
Or you’re Ken.<br />
Ryan Gosling<br />
goes all out,<br />
especially in his<br />
rendition of “I’m<br />
Just Ken “, as he<br />
acknowledges<br />
pressures men face. In one scene, 44 Kens wearing black outfits and<br />
Barbie-pink socks, absurdly strike each other with aggressive dance<br />
moves.<br />
This film is funny, bright, and uplifting! It has a lot to say about the<br />
modern world in terms of feminism and gender equality.<br />
It’s a wicked satire for everything the Barbie franchise stands for. It’s<br />
not mean spirited, in fact, it’s a celebration, a balancing act for the<br />
ages.<br />
My favorite scene shows Barbie sitting down on a bench where a<br />
91 year old woman is sitting reading a newspaper. Barbie says to her,<br />
“You’re beautiful !” And the woman replies with a smile, “I know it.”<br />
The movie is clever and I enjoyed going back in time as both of my<br />
daughters had played with these dolls, I’m giving this film a <strong>10</strong> and<br />
suggest you go see it for yourself.<br />
16<br />
Barbie<br />
Renee Riendeau is the movie reviewer for The Vegas Voice. Renee can<br />
be reached at rriendeau@aol.com and is anxious to hear from you.<br />
October 20<strong>23</strong><br />
Living in the Widowhood<br />
By: Pat Landaker / Positive Aging<br />
I<br />
’m approaching <strong>10</strong> years as a widow. At times,<br />
it’s been tough and challenging, sad and lonely,<br />
and scary and intimidating, but it’s also been<br />
filled with lessons learned, mindset resets, and lots<br />
of reminders calling for self-love, self-care, and lots of self-acceptance.<br />
The Widowhood was my home. It wasn’t a bad place to live, until it<br />
became my comfort zone. It took a few years before I realized it’s not<br />
the place I wanted to live.<br />
Grief lasts as long as love lasts, and love lasts forever. I had to figure<br />
out how to grieve, accept, and move forward.<br />
I had to learn to support myself in my grief, as I continued to accept<br />
and adjust to my new normal. I had to shift my mindset.<br />
As you probably know, life in the Widowhood comes complete with<br />
all the reasons and excuses to stop living and stop enjoying life. You<br />
may even begin to exist on auto pilot.<br />
However, it also comes with plenty of reasons to reset and re-self.<br />
You’ll have to adapt to the YOU that supports your new independence.<br />
You’ll never be okay, but you must learn to support yourself and adjust.<br />
A mindset reset is in order. Leaving the often-hopeless mindset of<br />
widowhood involves a few shifts and lots of self-awareness.<br />
It involves self-discovery and self-rediscovery. Some parts of life will<br />
need reimagining. You’ll need to take lots of deep breaths; then, you’ll<br />
be able to set your soul free.<br />
It’s time to be YOU, guilt-free, with a healthy hold on the past and a<br />
future vision filled with self-care and self-awareness. It’s time to create<br />
and move into an updated, renovated<br />
Widowhood tailored to who and where you want to be now. This is<br />
positive aging!<br />
Pat Landaker is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and owner of<br />
Living La Vida Senior, Ageless Aging, and CSA Senior Solutions.<br />
She teaches Positive Aging at UNLV/OLLI. www.patlandakerAGEncy.<br />
com or contact@livinglavidasenior.com