• On Good Things Utah this morning – “Barbie” is officially a billion-dollar hit! The Greta Gerwig-directed movie hit theaters on July 21, sending fans into a bright-pink, over-the-top fantasyland where the most important person in the world is Barbie. Seventeen days after the film’s release, Variety reported that “Barbie” surpassed $1 billion at the global box office, raking in $459 million in North America and $572 million internationally. Thus, it made Gerwig the first-ever solo woman filmmaker with a billion-dollar movie. “Barbie” is also the fastest Warner Bros. release (and eighth in the studio’s 100-year history) to join the billion club, a record previously held by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” which accomplished the feat in 19 days.
    • For months, Barbie’s plot stayed mostly under wraps until Warner Bros. released the film’s full-length trailer on May 25. In the nearly three-minute clip, all the Barbies — including star Margot Robbie’s (the main Barbie) — blissfully enjoy their carefree lives in Barbie Land. That is, until Robbie’s stereotypical Barbie shatters their reality with an existential crisis as she starts to lose her spunk (this includes her famous perched Barbie toe). To get to the bottom of the mystery, she’s instructed to go where no Barbie doll has gone before . . . the real world. With her Ken (Ryan Gosling) riding shotgun in her bubblegum-pink convertible, the two jet off to experience a whole new world, clueless to the trouble they’ll soon get into.
  • Plus, children’s opinions of their bodies form at a very young age. Research suggests that children as young as 3 years old can have body image issues. There are many things that influence how children see themselves. Parents can play a critical role in helping children develop a positive body image and self-esteem (how you see yourself and feel about yourself).
    • It’s difficult to escape the “ideal” body image that is promoted in today’s media (on TV, in magazines, on the internet, and in social media). No matter how much you try to shield your children from it, the message is likely to come through. This can happen at school as they interact with friends or as they observe the adults in their lives. Even body language is not lost on children. Something as small as frowning in the mirror when you are trying on clothes can have an impact. This reinforces the message that a body needs to be perfect. That belief is the foundation for these building-block beliefs:
      • My body has to be perfect.
      • I’m not satisfied with my body.
      • A perfect body would make me happy.
      • A perfect body would earn me acceptance from others.
      • A perfect body would earn love and admiration, even attention.
      • Perfection is defined by a number on the scale or a size on a tag.
      • I will do anything to have a perfect body.
  • The problem is, a “perfect” body doesn’t really exist, at least not in the way it is defined in the media. Photos are often edited to make models thinner or to enhance their features. So, chasing the “perfect” body can end only in disappointment. This leads to poor self-esteem, which can impact all other aspects of life. We hope you join us this morning as we dive into these Hot Topics and so much more this morning on GTU.