Dr. Emily Taylor’s introductory composition class this fall is exploring the box office blockbuster “Barbie” film.

The global phenomenon is the inspiration for the introductory composition course, which will examine and seek to understand how the film is shaping today’s culture.

by Sarah Murphy

This summer, there’s been no denying the power of pink.

Greta Gerwig’s fantasy-comedy “Barbie” (2023) has collected more than 612 million U.S. dollars at the North American box office and over one billion U.S. dollars worldwide. Since its launch in theaters on July 21, the film became Warner Bros. Studios’ highest-grossing global release, beating out “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” (2011).

“Barbie” also instantly became the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a woman.

Dr. Emily Taylor, Associate Professor of English

Following the film’s smashing success, Presbyterian College associate professor of English Dr. Emily Taylor is focusing her Fall 2023 introductory composition course (English 1001) on “Barbie.” Over the course of the semester, 33 students will seek to understand how the film is shaping today’s culture; examine the contemporary debates and reception of the film; and practice writing film criticism with an introduction to film studies.

“It’s been such a huge global cultural phenomenon, I wanted the class to engage with why ‘Barbie’ has been so popular,” said Taylor. “We’ll be researching what others have argued about the film’s meaning and importance.” After reading introductory chapters on how to write film criticism, students will also produce essays of their own sharing their personal interpretations of the film.

English 1001 is a general education course required for all PC students. As stated in the syllabus, it is a “survival course for all subsequent English courses – indeed, for all college courses that require extensive critical reading and writing.” Each professor chooses the individual course topic and associated readings.

Taylor has taught the course since joining PC in 2012, often tackling contemporary topics of cultural significance, including courses on voting during the 2020 election; how we think about trash and waste management, which included a viewing of the film “WALL-E;” and prisons and mass incarceration. Beyoncé’s visual album “Lemonade” was her favorite topic from another introductory course, English 1002: Introduction to Literature. Taylor says it’s important to understand that popular culture texts can be just as interesting and complex as works that society might consider to be “highbrow” or “high culture.”

“In some ways, it’s much more difficult to analyze a contemporary piece of literature or film, because you don’t have a lot of scholarship that has been produced to research and position your own interpretation against,” said Taylor. “In this case, so many writers are covering ‘Barbie’ — we’ll have plenty to read.”

In addition to the reading texts, students are also required to watch the film, which is available to stream beginning September 12.

“Ultimately, I’m hoping students think about how film relates to society, and how film does more than just reflect social problems,” said Taylor. “Film really can change how individuals think and how we shape our society.”

To learn more about the English Department at Presbyterian College, visit the program website. To hear more from Dr. Emily Taylor, read or subscribe to her newsletter, Hot Feminism: Letters from South Carolina.