Plato on Representation: Barbie’s Philosophical World

Want to better appreciate Greta Gerwig’s highbrow screenwriting, or been wanting to read some philosophy but need a bubblegum pink excuse? Join philosopher Ryan Miller for a series in which we read and discuss classic philosophical texts in conjunction with brief scenes from Barbie.

‘Barbie changed everything! Then she changed it all again! All of these women are Barbie, and Barbie is all of these women…Because Barbie can be anything, women can be anything. And this has been reflected back onto the little girls of today in the Real World.’

Dolls represent. Play imitates. Are these one-way relations, or do they somehow affect what is imitated or represented? We investigate these questions through the lens of Plato’s short dialogue Ion and its powerful metaphor of magnetized iron rings.

• What does it mean for some thing or activity to imitate or represent some other thing or activity?
• Do representations affect what they represent?
• Is representation caused by the author or the audience?

Before the session, please check out the following:

• Pages 1-8 of the Barbie screenplay and/or this clip of the Helen Mirren voiceover
• Plato’s short dialogue Ion (interlinear version for nerds)