Is Barbie a toy commercial doubling as the first installment of an inevitable Mattel Cinematic Universe? Or does it have something important to say? Barbie’s multitudes, explained.

This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Michael Raphael, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained

Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices