The 'Barbie' and 'Star Wars' universes are entertaining, but they also unexpectedly can help people understand why revolutions happen

• In particular, both the “Barbie” movie, released in July 2023, and a “Star Wars” franchise television series called “Andor” offer important lessons about revolutions.
• We also use films and shows in our classes to help students learn about why revolutions happen.
• Both “Barbie” and “Andor” are useful for those who want to understand why revolutions happen and what it takes for them to happen.

Repression leads to radicalization

• And the women – all called Barbie – are in charge of Barbieland.
• Yet the men – all collectively called Ken – are blissfully unaware that they experience political, economic and social repression.
• The Kens then claim all of the Barbies’ houses as their own, and grab all of the important jobs in Barbieland.
• It is not until he experiences severe repression in prison that he tries to actually overthrow the Empire.

Bottom-up revolutions are challenging

• Instead, they trick the Kens into being jealous of one another so they become divided and cannot work together to change the constitution.
• This is not the case in “Andor.” The cost of seeking change is death, and few people join in the revolution.
• In real life, recruiting others to join a revolution can becomes easier over time if more and more people participate.
• The more people there are, the harder it becomes for the government to punish all the people who are rebelling.

Maintaining peace in real life

• Both “Barbie” and “Andor” also teach us what it takes to maintain peace after a revolution: It is essential to include the opposition in government.
• Most civil wars end with one side winning, and few end in a negotiated peace deal.
• However, even with one side winning the war, research shows that the winning side still needs to include the losing side to prevent further violence.
• However, it is still challenging to maintain peace after a revolution takes place.