Tag: Barbie

  • Barbie that went to space to go on display in London

    Barbie that went to space to go on display in London

    A Barbie that spent six months orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station will go on public display for this first time this week at the Design Museum in London.

    It will be part of a new exhibition marking the 65th anniversary of the Barbie brand, set to open on Friday in partnership with the doll’s creator Mattel.

    The Barbie was made to resemble Samantha Cristoforetti, the first female commander of the ISS. On the mission in which she was accompanied by her lookalike Barbie, Cristoforetti became the first European woman to complete a spacewalk.

    There will be videos on display of Cristoforetti answering questions from space to encourage young girls to become scientists and astronauts –- all while floating in zero gravity alongside the Barbie.

    “We’re so excited that the first time anyone can see Samantha’s doll since it returned from the International Space Station is at the Design Museum this summer,” said curator Danielle Thom.

    “Its remarkable journey on Samantha’s history-making mission 400 kilometres above the Earth was one of the most dramatic moments in Barbie’s evolving story.”

    Cristoforetti said she was “thrilled” her Barbie would play a “starring role” in the exhibition.

    Highlighting other connections between Barbie and the cosmos, there will be a rare edition of the first space-themed Barbie on display.

    The silver “Miss Astronaut” was Barbie’s first depiction as an astronaut released in 1965, four years before Neil Armstrong reached the moon.

    Another Barbie in a metallic pink spacesuit on display was released in 1985 after Sally Ride became the first American woman in space.

    Other rare dolls will include a prototype of the first Talking Barbie launched in 1968 and one of the earliest first edition Barbie dolls.

    Visitors can also expect some more iconic figurines on display, including the Sunset Malibu Barbie and Day to Night Barbie.

    Charting the changing design of Barbie through time, the exhibition will also include friends of Barbie including Midge, and a while section dedicated to Ken, Barbie’s male companion.

    Ever since the “Barbie” movie starring Margot Robbie hit cinemas and broke box office records last year, the doll has become ever-more prominent in popular culture, making forays into fashion, music, and now design.

  • ‘Arain ki Barbie’, Resham’s Chingchi rickshaw ride goes viral

    ‘Arain ki Barbie’, Resham’s Chingchi rickshaw ride goes viral

    A video of veteran Pakistani actress Resham is getting a lot of attention on social media. In the video, Resham is riding in a chingchi rickshaw wearing a pink tracksuit. Towards the end, she is seen enjoying ‘Chole Bhatore’ at a restaurant.

    @reshamreal #foryou #therealresham #foryoupage #viraltiktok #resham ♬ AA Arif Lohar Roach Killa Deep Jandu Jazba Ent – Arif Lohar

    People on social media are leaving interesting comments about this viral video. Some are saying Resham looks like a 12-year-old girl based on her expressions while riding in the chingchi rickshaw.
    Others are calling her ‘Arain ki Barbie’ because she’s wearing a pink outfit and passionately eating onions. Onions and Barbie?

  • Oppenheimer tops Golden Globes on bittersweet night for Barbie

    Oppenheimer tops Golden Globes on bittersweet night for Barbie

    Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s drama about the inventor of the atomic bomb, topped the Golden Globes on January 7 – but its fellow summer smash hit Barbie missed out on best comedy film honours to Poor Things.

    Oppenheimer took five prizes, including best drama, best director for Nolan, best score, as well as acting wins for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.

    Emma Thomas, the film’s producer and Nolan’s wife, said her husband’s three-hour epic about “one of the darkest developments in our history” is “unlike anything anyone else is doing”.

    Murphy, who plays brilliant scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, hailed his “visionary director”, while Downey Jr, portraying the protagonist’s bitter rival, praised the movie as a “masterpiece.”

    In winning best director, Nolan fended off Greta Gerwig, who helmed Barbie – the other half of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon that grossed a combined US$2.4 billion (S$3.2 billion) last year at the box office.

    Turning nostalgia for the beloved doll into a sharp satire about misogyny and female empowerment, Barbie was the leading film heading into the night with nine nominations, but ended the gala with just two prizes.

    It won the award for best song, for a tune written by Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas. And as the year’s highest grossing movie, it claimed a newly created trophy for box office achievement.

    “We would like to dedicate this to every single person on the planet who dressed up and went to the greatest place on Earth, the movie theatres,” said Margot Robbie, the film’s star and producer.

    “Thank you to all the Barbies and Kens in front of and behind the screen,” added Gerwig.

    But Barbie surprisingly lost out on best comedy to Poor Things – a surreal, sexy bildungsroman which also earned Emma Stone best actress for her no-holds-barred turn as Bella Baxter.

    “Bella falls in love with life itself, rather than a person. She accepts the good and the bad in equal measure, and that really made me look at life differently,” said Stone.

    After an annus horribilis in which the industry was crippled by strikes, A-listers turned out in force to celebrate Sunday.

    Stars who were unable to promote their movies during the months-long Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) walkout used the occasion to make up for lost time on the Oscars campaign trail.

    Along with movie stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, attendees included big names from the world of music such as Bruce Springsteen and Dua Lipa – both nominated for best song – and Taylor Swift representing her recent concert movie.

    “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL – on the Golden Globes, fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift,” joked host Jo Koy.

    The ongoing hype surrounding “Barbenheimer”, even months after the films’ releases, is a welcome boon to the new owners of the high-profile but consistently scandal-dogged Golden Globes.

    Private investors including US billionaire Todd Boehly purchased the awards after years of controversy and declining audiences, and have invested heavily in resetting a night once billed as “Hollywood’s biggest party”.

    The Globes were boycotted by the industry after allegations of corruption and racism rose to the surface in 2021, and the show was taken off air entirely a year later.

    Since then, the controversial group of Los Angeles-based foreign journalists that created the Globes 80 years ago has been disbanded, and a wider net of overseas critics was brought in to choose this year’s winners.

    “Golden Globes journalists, thanks for changing your game,” said Downey Jr as he collected his prize.

    The Globes provide a timely boost for the Oscars. Nominations voting for the Academy Awards begins Thursday, with the Oscars taking place this year on March 10.

    Indigenous actor Lily Gladstone won best actress in a drama for her role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, delivering some of her emotional speech in the native language of the Blackfeet Nation.

    “This is an historic win, it doesn’t belong to just me,” she said.

    “This is for every little res kid.”

    Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph bolstered their Oscars campaigns with wins for The Holdovers, in which they starred as a curmudgeonly history teacher and cook of a 1970s prep school, respectively.

    Best screenplay and best non-English language film went to French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall.”

    That film’s director and co-writer Justine Triet said she had assumed that “nobody is going to see this movie” about “a couple fighting, suicide, a dog vomiting… I mean, come on!”

    “This movie is about the truth, the impossibility of catching it,” she added.

    Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron won best animated film.

    The Globes also honour television.

    Succession (2018 to 2023) dominated, claiming best drama series, and acting wins for stars Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen.

    The Bear swept the comedy categories, while road-rage saga Beef did the same in limited series.

    Past Globes host Ricky Gervais, who did not attend, won best stand-up comedy performance, a new category. AFP

    List of winners at the 80th Golden Globes

    Film

    Best Drama: Oppenheimer

    Best Musical or Comedy: Poor Things

    Best Actor, Drama: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

    Best Actress, Drama: Lily Gladstone, Killers Of The Flower Moon

    Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers

    Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Emma Stone, Poor Things

    Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer

    Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

    Best Director: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

    Best Screenplay: Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy Of A Fall

    Best Non-English Language Film: Anatomy Of A Fall

    Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: Barbie

    Best Animated Feature: The Boy And The Heron

    Best Original Score: Ludwig Goransson, Oppenheimer

    Best Original Song: What Was I Made For? from Barbie, music and lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

    Television

    Best Drama Series: Succession

    Best Actor, Drama Series: Kieran Culkin, Succession

    Best Actress, Drama Series: Sarah Snook, Succession

    Best Musical or Comedy Series: The Bear

    Best Actor, Musical or Comedy Series: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

    Best Actress, Musical or Comedy Series: Ayo Edebiri, The Bear

    Best Limited Series or TV Movie: Beef

    Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie: Steven Yeun, Beef

    Best Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie: Ali Wong, Beef

    Best Supporting Actress: Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown

    Best Supporting Actor: Matthew Macfadyen, Succession

    Best Performance in Stand-up Comedy on Television: Ricky Gervais, Armageddon

  • Five standout events of the year 2023 in the world

    Five standout events of the year 2023 in the world

    Diplomats like Maliha Lodhi had predicted that 2023 was going to be a “world of uncertainty” and that proved somewhat true. The world witnessed a hotchpotch of events where at one end a positive step was taken to restore peace in the Middle East when China brokered a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia but Israel’s war on Gaza made everything fall apart.

    Apart from the man-made conflicts, nature also lashed out with climate change emerging as a dark reality the world can no longer ignore.

    Earthquake in Syria and Turkey

    Early in the year, a ferocious earthquake in Syria and Turkey cost more than 67, 000 lives, a staggering number. It hit southern and central parts of Turkey and northern and western parts of Syria on the morning of February 6. Thousands of buildings were destroyed with the severe magnitude 7.7 quake and aftershocks that struck Antakya within hours. It is estimated to be the most severe earthquake in Turkey since 1939.

    Iran and Saudi Arabia’s friendship mediated by China

    In an unexpected turn of events, China mediated a deal between arch-enemies Saudi Arabia and Iran in March, earlier this year, surprising the world. The thawing of relations was termed a major blow to the overpowering role of the USA in the region and was dubbed a “wave of reconciliation”.

    Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for the first time post the deal on the sidelines of the joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh on December 9, 2023, a moment for the history books.

    Titan submarine

    The tragedy of the Titan submarine came at a point when the world was witnessing the humongous tragedy of the immigrant boat disaster in Greece. In the first one, five men of rich backgrounds lost their lives in an adventurous pursuit while in the latter, 80 people died, and more than 500 went missing in the sea as the over-crowded ship sank.

    The glaring irony sent shockwaves all around the world where a group paid billions of dollars for their death in the name of seeing an archive deep in the sea and the other died by getting suffocated by being cramped in the basement of a ship. The illegal immigrants were denied entry in Greece and due to overloading, it sank. The incident also pointed towards the core racism in the world because the victims were largely brown Asians and Africans while the white population was saved by the authorities.

    Barbenheimer
    The Barbenheimer phenomenon marked the revival of cinema post-covid that engulfed the world in a frenzy.

    Two big-budget movies were coming out on the same day. One was Christopher Nolan’s directorial Oppenheimer, based on the life of the American scientist, the head of the Manhattan Project, and the creator of the Atomic Bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Even though it was about a scientist and the makers were expecting it to attract a niche audience, the movie did great business. The other was the Greta Gerwig directorial Barbie, a live-action, musical based on the life of the famous fictional doll. The audiences had high expectations of how it will be presented and they were not disappointed as the movie went on to break records. The release of the two movies activated the meme brigade to the point that a new pop-culture reference came to life in the form of Barbenheimmer.

    Israel’s War on Gaza

    The war that shook the world was the siege of Gaza by Israel. On October 7 Hamas invaded Israel and took at least 236 hostages. Israel retaliated in what is being called a disproportionate response. The genocide of the poor Gazans has not ended till now with the death toll nearing 21,000 after 80 days of war whereas the Israeli deaths remained at 1200. A short-term truce provided a little break for the return of hostages but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to not stop. Massive protests across the world saw the tide of public opinion turn towards Palestine.

    GAZA CITY, GAZA – OCTOBER 23: A woman holding a girl reacts after Israeli airstrikes hit Ridwan neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on October 23, 2023. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

  • Greta Gerwig, director of ‘Barbie,’ to lead jury at 77th Cannes Film Festival

    The Cannes Film Festival announced Thursday that Greta Gerwig, director of summer blockbuster “Barbie”, will preside over the jury at its 77th edition in May.

    The 40-year-old Gerwig, also an actor and screenwriter, takes the baton from Sweden’s Ruben Ostlund, whose jury awarded the 2023 Palme d’Or to courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall”.

    She is the first American woman filmmaker to take on the role, the festival said in a statement.

    Gerwig’s presence will provide a youthful flair to Cannes, which has not had such a young president since 1966, when it was led by then-31-year-old Sophia Loren.

    She is also the first woman since actor Cate Blanchett in 2018 to assume the prestigious position, where men remain over-represented.

    “I love films — I love making them, I love going to them, I love talking about them,” Gerwig said in a statement.

    “As a cinephile, Cannes has always been the pinnacle of what the universal language of movies can be”.

    Aside from “Barbie”, a vivid feminist satire about the all-conquering line of plastic dolls, Gerwig has also directed “Lady Bird” (2017) and “Dr March’s Daughters” (2020).

    She is currently working on an adaptation of “The Chronicles of Narnia” for Netflix.

    The festival described Gerwig, who has starred in more than two dozen films, as a heroine for modern times who has rattled the status quo.

    “This is an obvious choice, since Greta Gerwig so audaciously embodies the renewal of world cinema,” said Cannes boss Iris Knobloch and festival delegate Thierry Fremaux

    “Beyond the seventh art, she is also the representative of an era that is breaking down barriers and mixing genres, and thereby elevating the values of intelligence and humanism,” they added.

    In announcing a high-profile woman director, the world’s largest film festival stole back the spotlight from its younger competitor, February’s Berlinale.

    The festival in the German capital on Monday announced its own jury president, 40-year-old Mexican-Kenyan actor Lupita Nyong’o, the first black person named to the role.

    In choosing Gerwig, Cannes is also highlighting its continued ties with the powerful American film industry.

    The Cannes Film Festival has yet to unveil the rest of the jury or the films in the official selection.

  • Samosa recipes, Oppenheimer and Aliza Sahar; Pakistan’s most searched topics on Google in 2023

    Billions of topics are searched on Google every day and at the end of every year, the search engine releases a list of the most popular searches.

    Google has now released a list of the most searched topics in Pakistan during 2023.

    The eight different categories disclosed include cricket matches, events/occasions, how-to, news, recipes, TV shows and movies, technology and personalities.

    So, what has been searched under these categories?

    Cricket games

    Pakistan vs New Zealand was the most searched match in this category followed by the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    Pakistan versus Australia in third, then India versus New Zealand, followed by Pakistan versus Netherlands in fifth place.

    Events/Occasions

    Pakistan Super League is at the top of this category followed by the Cricket World Cup, Asia Cup, Indian Premier League while the Ashes is on the fifth, respectively.

    Movies and TV shows

    This year in Pakistan the most searched movie was surprisingly from Hollywood rather than a Pakistani or Indian movie.

    Oppenheimer was the most searched followed by Shahrukh Khan’s Jawan (second) and Pathaan (third).

    Hollywood film Barbie was at the fourth position while Bollywood film Tiger 3 came fifth in the category.

    News

    The Gaza war topped the category in news that Pakistanis searched on Google.

    This was followed by Ehsaas program, Aliza Sahar, Akshay Kumar while Kajol came fifth, respectively.

    Recipes

    Forever-food-lovers, Pakistanis searched for samosa recipes followed by kaleji and then sheer khurma.

    Recipes for namkeen gosht and tomato ketchup recipes came in fourth and fifth respectively.

    Technology

    The top search in this category is not surprising as it has attracted people from all over the world over the past year: ChatGPT — chatbot based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which was introduced in November 2022 and went global in 2023.

  • ‘This Barbie will win the world cup’: Shaheen Afridi’s viral picture in pink suit is winning the internet

    ‘This Barbie will win the world cup’: Shaheen Afridi’s viral picture in pink suit is winning the internet

    This Barbie is a cricket icon!

    Shaheen Afridi will remain the internet’s golden boy because of how precious he is. The fast bowler recently shared a picture announcing that he was the brand ambassador of the real estate organisation AH Group, and in the picture, he can be seen wearing a bright pink suit.

    Looks like Barbie fever is still not over for Pakistani fans as they soon began launching hilarious memes in the quote tweets and we’re sharing all of our favorite ones here.

  • ‘Barbie botox’: Doctors horrified at latest TikTok trend

    ‘Barbie botox’: Doctors horrified at latest TikTok trend

    A new trend known as ‘Barbie Botox’ has been unleashed on TikTok. Women are getting Trapezius Botox in order to elongate the neck and shrink the shoulders, so it makes the person resemble a Barbie doll. The hashtag #barbiebotox has over 9.4 million views on TikTok according to Forbes, while #traptox has over 22.5 million views, with clips of popular influencers and reality tv who have gotten the procedure.

    TikTok influencer Malibutoast who has over 195 K followers, shared clips of herself after having the procedure done, with users worried in her comments about whether the trend would encourage more insecurities among women on social media.

    @malibutoast Lmk your thoughts #botox #trapeziusbotox #selfimprovement ♬ original sound – Malibutoast

    ‘Wake up guys new insecurity just dropped,” wrote one user.

    “Damn now I have to add… trapezius to the list of things I need to fix about myself ” another wrote.

    Isabelle Lux, another TikTok influencer who credits herself with coining the phrase ‘Botox Barbie’ detailed her own experience of getting the treatment with CNN:

     “It came from the idea that you would look more like a Barbie when you get it done, which I don’t think is a bad thing. It elongates the neck, slims the shoulders and creates a very delicate physique when it’s done properly.”

    Speaking to the news organisation about the growing backlash she was getting on the internet, including being called an ‘anti-feminist’, Lux defended her choice by pointing out that women shouldn’t be belittled for wanting to look a certain way.

    “The desire to look a certain way has for centuries been seen as silly, a waste of time, waste of money and pointless, especially for women,” she told CNN. “But when a man wants to look a certain way, it’s scientific, it’s cool. I think that we need to stop belittling women for things that they’re interested in, including looking a certain way if they want to. It’s not silly. Like, it’s real.”

    But many plastic surgeons are condemning the trend, explaining that the procedure was coined in order to help those with excessive neck pain, with a side effect of creating the illusion of a longer and slimmer neck. Speaking to PEOPLE magazine, New York City dermatologist Dr Amy Wechsler pointed out that Barbie’s features are unrealistic and these cosmetic procedures won’t make a noticeable effect on women.

    “Someone years ago explained that if you take a Barbie doll and make it into an adult woman, the measurements are not really realistic. So I don’t love jumping on social media trends because they often don’t have any basis in science,” she explains. “I think that’s human nature to try to wanna copy a trend, but usually what happens — which is good — is that the trend will fizzle out if it’s not a good idea or if it’s not healthy.”

    “The #BarbieBotox trend is more about slimming,” Wechsler adds. “If you relax those muscles it can make a big improvement in the feel and the look. But if someone doesn’t overuse that muscle, I don’t think it does that much.” 

    Speaking to CNN, Dr Parisha Acharya warned that incorrect administration of Botox could weaken the muscle completely, and then effect your ability to hold up your neck properly. She expressed concerns about the trend going viral on social media, especially when younger audiences are watching:

    “I think a medical procedure should be treated as a medical procedure. And in the UK, (the aesthetics industry) is unregulated. So shockingly anyone can administer botulinum toxin injections. That could be a beautician or hairdresser with no clinical experience, no anatomy knowledge. It really does worry me.”

    Dr Acharya also pointed out that the trend took the wrong message from the movie ‘Barbie’ which advocated for women to stop trying to mould themselves to appease the patriarchy, and start accepting their bodies as the way they are:

    “It was very pro-feminism, and (women) were moving away from sexualizing our bodies and thinking of them as just objects,” she stressed. “I don’t like the fact that this trend is using Barbie to say we should have slim necks. We should embrace ourselves for who we are.”

  • Barbie is the first billion dollar film to be made by a female director

    Barbie is the first billion dollar film to be made by a female director

    Life in plastic is fantastic!

    As if leading a pink wave around the world wasn’t enough, cashing in a billion dollars from your first month in cinemas alone would be perfect. Warner Bros Pictures announced on Sunday that the Greta Gerwig directed film has broken records to make more than $1 billion dollars at the global box office, making Gerwig the first female director to accomplish this. The studio revealed that the movie took $459 million from North American theatres, and an extra $572 million from overseas screening, making a total of $1.0315 bn. Their final figures were confirmed by the media analytics firm Comscore:

    “As distribution chiefs, we’re not often rendered speechless by a film’s performance, but Barbillion has blown even our most optimistic predictions out of the water,” said Jeff Goldstein and Andrew Cripps, who oversee domestic and international distribution for the studio.

    The film, which was written and directed by the Oscar-nominated Greta Gerwig, stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in leading roles, as Barbie travels from her fantasy world to the real world in an attempt to understand the recent unravelings happening to her.

    Oppenheimer, meanwhile, has officially become the highest grossing World War II film ever made, by crossing the $550 million mark at the global box office.

  • Factcheck: Is ‘Barbie’ banned all over Lahore?

    Factcheck: Is ‘Barbie’ banned all over Lahore?

    The devastating news that the iconic film ‘Barbie’ was recalled once more from cinemas by the Punjab Government for a second review has left fans fuming. News outlets said that the film was banned over four words were circulating on social media.

    On Saturday night some social media reports said that the screening had halted midway, and cinemas like Cue and Universal replaced the movie schedule for Barbie on their website with ‘Mission Impossible’.

    After speaking to an insider from the Punjab Film Censor Board, The Current has been informed that the film had previously been cleared to play in cinemas across Lahore, but it was the Punjab Government that had halted the screening and will release it after a second review. When we asked why there uproar on Barbie, and not Oppenheimer, the insider refused to comment on it.

    Speaking to Geo Fact Check, Amir Mir, the caretaker Information and Culture Minister of Punjab revealed ‘Barbie’ was re-called because of concern of the film’s content which showed ‘homosexuality’.

    “There is a gay character in it,” Mir said. “You can Google and find out if there is any such thing in it or not.”

    Mir added that the film will be re-examined in a few days and will be released to cinemas after censoring a few dialogues.

    However, Barbie was not censored in other cities like Islamabad or in Sindh. When Mir was asked about this his response was:

    “Other provinces probably like this kind of stuff. We have a problem with it.”

    However, we can advice you to not toss away your pink outfit yet, because Barbie is still playing in Chalo Cinemas at Fortress Square Mall. We contacted the cinema and a manager confirmed to us that the film has not been banned.

    On the official Instagram page, Chalo Cinema has still posted timings of the ‘Barbie’ movie.

    On their Instagram stories, the organisation shared Galaxy Lollywood founder Momin Ali Munshi’s post on how their cinema was the only place that was allowed to play Barbie. There are three censor boards in Pakistan: Sindh, Punjab, and for Central Cantonment. Cantt has a separate censor board, which is present in all provinces, and Barbie has been cleared by their Censor Board which is why it is playing in the only cinema present inside Lahore Cantt, at Fortress Stadium.