For some women in China, “Barbie” is more than just a movie — it’s also a litmus test for their partner’s views on feminism and patriarchy.
The movie has prompted intense social media discussion online, media outlets Sixth Tone and the China Project reported this week, prompting women to discuss their own dating experiences.
One user on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu — a photo-sharing site similar to Instagram that’s mostly used by Gen Z women — even shared a guide on Monday for how women can test their boyfriends based on their reaction to the film.
According to the guide, if a man shows hatred for “Barbie” and slams female directors after they leave the theatre, then this man is “stingy” and a “toxic chauvinist,” according to Insider’s translation of the post. Conversely, if a man understands even half of the movie’s themes, “then he is likely a normal guy with normal values and stable emotions,” the user wrote.
Fascism is an actual defined term. Woke isn’t, it just means whatever the user wants it to mean, which is usually something like not wanting some minority group to exist.
The fact that it’s mis-defined or used as a pejorative does not invalidate its definition nor mean it can’t be used as a descriptor of a film. It’s literally an adjective.
True but dictionaries (at least for English) are descriptivist, so they can only describe how a word is used. The definitions, especially the second one, are so broad due to how much the word is misused.
But your right that I probably shouldn’t have said it has no definition.
“aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)”
Seems like a seller definition to me. I think it’s nice a dictionaries often provide samples for how the word should be used, but they always have the actual definition of it above that section.
I think “woke” actually does have a definition, put forth by DeSantis’s lawyers, IIRC. I don’t want to go find it right now, but it was something along the lines of “aware of and acknowledging the existence of systematic racism in the United States.”
But more broadly, these days it just means “progressive” without defining any specific arena, so personally, I think woke is a valid way to describe a movie. In fact, if a movie doesn’t have at least some “woke” themes, I’m not too interested in seeing it these days.
“Woke” comes from AAVE meaning to be aware of racial prejudice. As in, “you woke up from a dream”. It has a definition, it’s just that most white people won’t take the time to learn it.
The non-AAVE version doesn’t really have a different meaning it’s just not black-centric: Every action or speech done (deliberately/emphatically) cognisant of systemic injustice is woke. At least that’s how you see it used in wider left circles, and while the right might not understand it they of course see that it’s evil because systemic injustice is what they’re all about, be it when it comes to economic or social or intergalactic issues. They cannot accept the concept because it would require them to look at the consequences of their actions; exposure to it triggers their phobia.
