The summer’s highest grossing movie which took over the pop culture world and captured the attention of audiences young and old will be shown this Friday, September 15, at 3:30 p.m. in the Dining Hall.
The event is being hosted by Girl Up, and club President Senior Joan Darnell said, “I’m really passionate about feminism because I feel like women don’t have enough of a platform to speak up about their issues. I really want people to take away from the Barbie movie that there can be a community for them, and we want that place to be Girl Up here at Cathedral.”
Club Moderator Mrs. Lizabeth Bradshaw explained that she hopes the Barbie movie will build a sense of enthusiasm for the club after Covid impacted participation. Bradshaw said, “We struggled during and after Covid to find our footing, and we decided that we wanted to shift our focus to giving back to the community. When we saw the Barbie movie, we thought it was a great opportunity to leverage excitement.”
Moviegoers can expect popcorn, snacks, drinks and gift card giveaways. Additionally, Girl Up will host a follow up meeting next week to further unpack the Barbie movie, its message and provide a space for people to share their experiences.
Darnell hopes the movie will be an impactful message of empowerment, and she said, “When I first saw the Barbie movie, within the first couple minutes, it just really hit me that this is going to cover some serious topics. There was this moment at the beginning where one woman said, ‘I can be emotional and that can make me powerful,’ and in that moment (I realized) that it’s the kind of thing I’m really passionate about.”
Bradshaw added, “I thought (the Barbie movie) was surprisingly thoughtful, and there was a depth to it, and I think that by the time I left, I realized that Barbie has this staying power because it is a positive in women’s lives.”
In the future, Girl Up plans to host a menstrual product drive for women in need, and showcase the impact of women during Women’s History Month in March. In the near term, Darnell said, “We really want to see how people take the Barbie movie and what they want to keep doing with Girl Up because at the end of the day, we are a community—I want everybody to have a say. We will definitely have more events, meetings and activities in the future.”
Lastly, Darnell stressed that all are welcome to come to Girl Up meetings and that it’s not a commitment. “You just can come to have a place where you feel safe, comfortable and heard,” Darnell said.
