Experts are warning against dangerous ‘Barbie Feet’ trend
Experts are warning against the Barbie Feet TikTok trend and social media users attempt to recreate an iconic shot from the movie. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film has smashed box offices since it was released on Friday 21 July, having the biggest debut in 2023 so far. For months, the fans’ anticipation has taken over social media and it shows no sign of slowing following the film's release. But, experts are warning against a “dangerous” recreation of a scene from the film that's been dubbed the Barbie Feet challenge. What is the Barbie Feet challenge? The challenge takes direct inspiration from the film and a particular scene that was included in the official teaser. It showed the film’s lead actor Margot Robbie stepping out of a pair of high heels. Her foot stayed in the same position, with the high arch that Barbie dolls are known to have. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Barbie - Main Trailer - Warner Bros. UK & Ireland www.youtube.com On TikTok, users have been doing their own attempts at the challenge, with the hashtag #BarbieFeet racking up almost 51 million views. @sophiawebster Hey Barbie ??? this Barbie only wears butterfly shoes ? #butterfly #barbie #heybarbie #hibarbie #barbiemovie #barbiefeet #barbieshoes #barbiedoll #dollshoes #dollfeetchallenge #barbieoutfit But, health experts have warned that the trend has the potential to be dangerous and have advised against doing it too much. Dr. Jodi R. Schoenhaus, DPM, RPhs, FACFAS, and a board-certified podiatrist at the Foot, Ankle & Leg Vein Center, told the New York Post: “Although the Barbie Arch makes a woman’s legs appear longer and toner, it is not without risk. If someone attempts the pose once or twice, they will likely be ok and produce a great TikTok video.” She continued: “However, if attempting the pose and stride over long periods, there are some risks involved. The ankle is unstable, which can lead to ligament sprains and injuries, commonly seen with high heel use.” @brialynnxoxox Barbie Girl? #barbie #barbiegirl #barbiefeet #barbiefeetchallenge #barbieshoes #pinkheels Schoenhaus also warned that prolonged positioning of the foot in the high arched-position can result in muscle and spine issues by putting strain on the lower back. Speaking about how the footage was filmed, Robbie told The Project that there was no CGI or special effects used. She explained: “There’s no special effects, you’d be amazed how few [special effects] there are in this film actually. We didn‘t do that many takes of it, a couple of takes and I kind of held on to a bar so I was sturdy when I stepped.” “We just put double-sided tape on the floor so that my shoes stayed still and I did have a pedicure that morning.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Film fanatic reveals the 'best time to pee' during Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer is currently dominating cinemas globally, but clocking in at two-and-a-half hours long, it begs the question for many: When is it time to pee? Well, one film fanatic has got us covered, giving a scene-by-scene breakdown of when it's worth sticking around in your seat. Mary Arndt revealed that as soon as the professor Oppenheimer used to work with appears at Los Alamos for the first time - get ready to run to the bathroom. "If you can keep your trip under like two minutes all you need to know is that Oppenheimer got his security clearance", she says. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
1970-01-01 08:00
Greta Gerwig responds to Barbie criticism after right-wing backlash
Barbie director Greta Gerwig has responded to the torrent of hate that rightwingers in the US have directed at the film, saying it’s “an invitation for everybody to be part of the party”. Speaking to the New York Times, Gerwig was asked if she had anticipated the degree of woke-bashing that rightwing critics have engaged in since the film came out, with some calling it a “man-hating” movie. Gerwig said: “Certainly, there’s a lot of passion. My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men.” She added: “I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Barbie’s feminist themes have sparked rage from influencers like Ben Shapiro, who made a bizarre Youtube video last week in which he burned Barbie dolls. Ginger Luckey Gaetz, wife of Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, said the movie “neglects to address any notion of faith or family, and tries to normalise the idea that men and women can’t collaborate positively”. Gerwig also responded to criticism that Mattel, which owns the Barbie doll range and executive produced the movie, interfered in the production creatively, in a scene where a character described the dolls as “sexist and fascist”. She said: “It wasn’t like I ever got the full seal of approval from [Mattel], like, ‘We love it!’ I got a tentative, ‘Well, OK. I see that you are going to do this, so go ahead and we’ll see how it goes.’ “But that’s all you need, and I had faith once it was in there and they saw it that they would embrace it, not fight it. Maybe at the end of the day, my will to have it in was stronger than any other will to take it out.” The backlash has been strong, but the support has been stronger, with Barbie already breaking the record for the highest-ever opening weekend for a female director at $356m. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Barbie owners Mattel now want to make films about their other products Polly Pocket and UNO
There were always question marks over which lessons that executives from toy making giant Mattel would learn from the roaring success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Some said it could show the power of giving a top indie filmmaker like Gerwig the budget, time and resources to make a piece of memorable – and at times subversive – cinema which drew on people’s childhood memories. However, it looks like executives have already decided to pick option B: create an intellectual property-driven movie machine, and crank out a film about every toy they can think of to boost profits. Because that’s what people liked about Barbie, right? Mattel wants to create a cinematic universe similar to that of Marvel, following the immense success of its first feature film – and they already have more than a dozen projects in the works. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Products that are already in line to get the Barbie treatment include “Barney”, “Polly Pocket,” and “Hot Wheels”. “Barbie, as a brand, has many different iterations. The product lines of Barbie is a very broad brand. In addition to the main Barbie figure, she has family, she has a lot of elements around in her universe,” Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz told Variety. “It’s a very rich universe… It’s a very broad and very elastic brand, in terms of opportunities.” “At the outset, we’re not saying, ‘Okay, let’s think already about movie two and three.’ Let’s get the first one right and make that a success. And if you do that, opportunities open up very quickly, once you establish the first movie as a successful representation of a franchise on the big screen.” “Successful movies lend themselves to more movies,” the CEO added. “Our ambition is to create film franchises.” Robbie Brenner, the Oscar-nominated producer in charge of Mattel’s new film division, said the company was hopeful Barbie would become a box office success, so that it would open the door for franchises like “Masters of the Universe” and “Hot Wheels". “Everybody hopes that when you create a movie that there is going to be a franchise,” Brenner told Variety. “That’s the hope — that it goes on and on and it’s a gift that keeps giving. But, in this day and age, you just want to get the first one right.” Here are the films Mattel wants to make next: Barney Produced by Daniel Kaluuya, the purple dinosaur is going to be made into a live-action movie. Brenner said: I don’t know that it’s necessarily going to be darker. It’s just going to be unique — more of like [Spike Jonze films] Being John Malkovich or an Adaptation." “Any movie that has Barney is not certainly going to be straightforward,” Brenner adds. Referencing the Seth MacFarlane comedies, she quips: “We’re not making Ted. You know what I mean?” The upcoming film will apparently be about “identity and finding who you love and who feels alienated” and “what does it all mean?” Brenner says the film will “be more adult and have adult themes — and sort of be a little bit off-kilter”. Polly Pocket Starring Emily In Paris star Lily Collins, the Polly Pocket dolls will be made into a film directed by Lena Dunham. Brenner said there is already a “great” script, and that Dunham and Collins would be “an amazing collaboration. Lena is so collaborative and rolls up her sleeves and really likes to roll around in notes and listen. She’s incredible”. “Lily is so smart and so specific and so productorial. It’s just been an incredible collaboration, so we are thrilled about it. Hopefully, we’ll be making that at some point in the future.” Hot Wheels This one will be produced by JJ Abrams – because the world needs yet another film about toy racing cars, of course. Abrams has described the adaptation as “grounded and gritty” and said the film will have “real characters that you can relate to, that are three-dimensional, that have emotional journeys”. She added: “Look at any JJ Abrams movie. All of his movies have an incredible story and incredible characters. That was something that was important to him — to make a movie that’s not just going to be fun and exciting, but that has real emotion and real stakes to it.” And plenty more… There is a film about Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, starring Vin Diesel, which could be absolutely bizarre, while another doll franchise movie, American Girl, is “in the works”. Magic 8 Ball will “probably be a PG-13 thriller,” Brenner said, while a Masters Of The Universe film about the superhero He-Man could also become reality. Other projects include Thomas The Tank Engine (yep, that’s right folks) and, in a surprise turn, Uno. How corporate executives think a film about the playing card game will turn out is anybody’s guess. But it’s going to happen. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Greece fires in maps and satellite images show extent of damage
Maps, satellite images and before and after pictures show the extent of wildfires across Greece.
1970-01-01 08:00
Rhodes fires: Evacuated tourists arrive in Birmingham
Holidaymakers evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes arrive in Birmingham.
1970-01-01 08:00
Dan Patrick Isn't Going Anywhere For Awhile
Dan Patrick Renews For Four More Years
1970-01-01 08:00
Jason Aldean speaks out after 'racist' song becomes smash hit
American singer Jason Aldean has spoken out to thank his fans after his “racist” song Try That In A Small Town becomes a hit. The country singer’s track saw a 999 per cent increase in streams after it began trending last week for its content following the release of the accompanying music video. The tune also made it to number 2 on the Billboard Chart. The lyrics of the song have been accused, by some, of having violent and racist undertones. The chorus says: “Try that in a small town, see how far you make it down the road. Round here we take care of our own. “You cross that line it won't take long for you to find out, I recommend you don't try that in a small town.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter On Twitter, Aldean shared a montage clip featuring imagery taken behind the scenes of his tour. In one clip, Aldean addressed the crowd referencing the controversy around the song. “So, somebody asked me, ‘Hey man, do you think you’re going to play this song tonight?’. The answer was simple. The people have spoken and you guys spoke very, very loudly this week.” Aldean denied that the track has any racial undertones, taking to social media last week to write: “In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. “These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.” The music video for the song features imagery of riots and protests and was pulled from the air by television network Country Music Television (CMT) in the US three days after it was first shown. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Florence Pugh's nude Oppenheimer scene censored in some countries with 'best ever CGI'
The release of Oppenheimer has got off to a box office success, but fans in some countries have been left feeling cheated after a nude scene with Florence Pugh was censored with CGI. On 21 July, the highly-anticipated Christopher Nolan film was released in movie theatres drawing millions of people around the world to cinemas. The film about the “father of the atomic bomb” stars Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr and Florence Pugh. Pugh, who played the character Jean Tatlock, was pictured after a sex scene sitting naked on a sofa having a conversation with Oppenheimer, played by Murphy. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But for some cinemagoers in India, the full effect of the scene was diminished by the use of CGI to cover Pugh with a dress. To ensure the film would be classified in the U/A category, Universal Pictures made an edit to the Indian version of the film by placing a dress over Pugh to shield the nudity. One user joked: “The best ever CGI work in India award goes to the Indian censor board for Florence Pugh's black dress in Oppenheimer.” But, others pointed out that it wasn’t only India that screened the censored version of the film. According to other Twitter users, the same CGI-edited version was also played in cinemas in Indonesia, Pakistan and the Middle East. Another claimed: “In Malaysia, they deleted both 1st and second sex scenes because they didn't add anything to the plot (it was an R rated movie, I paid to see that). “But they couldn't delete this scene because it's important to the plot so they choose to cover her.” Someone else suggested that in Nepalese cinemas, the Pugh nude scene was simply cut altogether, without them realising the significance it had on the rest of the film. According to figures, Oppenheimer’s domestic opening weekend made a gross of $83m (£64.75m). Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Leonardo DiCaprio praises Indian man for discovering new fish
In 2020, a man in Kerala found a "red thread" floating in his bucket. Now, DiCaprio is talking about it.
1970-01-01 08:00
Oppenheimer: How he was influenced by a Hindu holy book
The 'father of the atomic bomb' counted the Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita as one of his favourites.
1970-01-01 08:00
MLB Rumors: David Bednar trade, Mets latest, Shohei Ohtani's value
MLB rumors: Pirates listening to offers for star closer David BednarThe Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the hottest teams at the start of the 2023 MLB season, even sitting in first place in the NL Central division for a short while. But, the Pirates have fallen back to Earth recently, with the Milw...
1970-01-01 08:00