Despite the overwhelming impact of Greta Gerwig's film, Barbie, as a cultural and box office phenomenon, little has been written on the film by Jungian analysts. As analysts and editors of a column dedicated to Film and Culture, we were curious about the dearth of Jungian voices around such a successful film that explores the roles of women—and thus the archetype of the Feminine in the collective ‘now’ —and found ourselves wondering if Barbie is a significant piece of work that supports and expands how we see women (and men) and their individuation or part of our collective shadow that through ‘light’ entertainment reinforces harmful stereotypes while furthering the commercial success of a popular plastic doll?

What follows are four essays of varying perspectives about the film, written through a Jungian lens, in which we explore the question of Barbie's place within the cultural imagination.