Same. Took my two little girls at the start of the summer hols on the day it came out. We all dressed up, I had not read anything about it just went expecting a silly fluff film about Barbie and Ken. Then had to explain why I had tears streaming down my face in several scenes.
I found the fraught relationship between the mother and daughter so moving. My girls are much younger than the daughter, just thinking of what is to come, and my own relationship with my mother and how cyclical life can be, ‘same script, different cast.’
During America’s speech the audience all
seemed to be holding their breath, my friend and I were in tears. Any woman who is juggling ageing, working, raising kids, existing in a world built for men can surely relate, so what if it’s been said before? It should be said again and again until something changes!
We then turned to our husbands and both said “See that’s what it’s like for us!” And they both said they’d zoned out.
It makes topics like feminism and the patriarchy digestible for a larger audience who would otherwise not even think about it. And it highlights how harmful it can be for everyone, not just women.
We left the cinema kind of angry and depressed, but at least feeling something which great art should do in my (unqualified, haven’t got a certificate for my art or feminism) humble opinion.