Maxwell Frost, Robert Garcia jump on the 'Barbie' train, float congressional screening
At least two Democratic lawmakers are getting ready to trade the House for Barbie’s Malibu dream house, eagerly awaiting the release of the new “Barbie” movie.
Moviegoer buzz — and a zealous, pink-ified marketing campaign — have been driving intense anticipation of the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-starring flick before it hits theaters July 21. And Congress isn’t immune to the Barbie world appeal.
In a Monday tweet, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) wondered aloud, “How do we get a Barbie Blowout Screening at the Library of Congress or something?”
The Library of Congress didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from ITK on Frost’s “Barbie” pitch. But it does appear to have at least one connection to the iconic toy.
A 1989 Washington Post story detailed how the library had a warehouse in its U.S. Copyright Office that was located “miles from the library’s hushed, oak-paneled main reading room on Capitol Hill.“ At least at the time, part of the collection stored in the warehouse — which the Post dubbed “kitsch heaven” — included Barbie dolls.
Frost’s “Barbie” viewing plea immediately drew some support from at least one colleague in Congress.
“I’m in bro,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) replied.
“Come on Barbie let’s go party,” Garcia added, in a nod to a line from the 1997 Aqua hit song.
Garcia even upped the ante of his Barbie fandom, sharing a smiling image of himself splashed across the glam plastic figure’s famed pink seal. The 45-year-old first-term lawmaker said some of his “Barbie” fervor stems from gearing up to celebrate not just the Barbie and Ken-focused film, but other entertainment projects.
“We are about to launch the bipartisan Popular Arts Caucus next week at Comic-Con, so of course I'm super excited about this movie,” Garcia told ITK of the forthcoming “Barbie” premiere. “I look forward to working with folks to bring more pop culture opportunities to Congress and D.C. as a whole."
At least some congressional Republicans, however, are less psyched for big-screen Barbie, dinging the film ahead of its release for a scene featuring a map they say supports China's disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea.