E26 - MLC at the Movies: Barbie's Ultimate Existential Crisis (Plus a Debate on the Most Influential Art Forms)

In this episode we are excited to bring you our second Midlife Crises movie review, in which we explore themes of existential identity and death in the 2023 movie Barbie. After a brief reflection of our recent Halloween experiences, Alvin and Jack debate in the opening segment what the most impactful forms of art are. We end up comparing and contrasting movies vs. books, and we try to figure out why movies make Jack cry, but books do not. In our main segment (31:50), we discuss the Barbenheimer social meme from the summer of 2023, whether the male vs. female power dynamic or Barbie's existential crisis is the more prominent theme of the movie, the idea that Barbieland represents heaven or perhaps a Matrix-inspired parallel digital universe, Barbie's irrepressible thoughts of death, and her ultimate choice of remaining in the eternal bliss of Barbieland or becoming a human and accepting the potential pain and suffering associated with that existence.   Email: [email protected]  Facebook Jack Eichler: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564991623933 Alvin Shultz: https://www.facebook.com/alvin.shultz