Ben Shapiro recently posted a blistering video review of the blockbuster Barbie film that began with him tossing Barbie and Ken dolls into a trash can and setting them alight, a theatrical gesture that grabbed headlines and set off predictable ridicule from the cultural left. The clip runs deep into Shapiro’s critique and lasts well over half an hour, a sign he took the film’s messaging seriously enough to devote substantial time to it. The media’s immediate response was to mock the messenger rather than grapple with the message, a classic move from outlets more interested in clicks than in the concerns of ordinary parents.
Shapiro’s central complaint was that Barbie is a heavily politicized piece of entertainment dressed up as family fare, and that its PG-13 rating and woke undertones make it something parents should scrutinize before hauling little kids to a late-afternoon showing. He reserved some grudging praise for the movie’s production design, but argued the ideological freight outweighs any visual flair and that the film’s themes are being sold to audiences who include very young children. That argument isn’t just conservative hand-wringing — it’s a rational case for parental prudence in an era when Hollywood treats kids’ IP as a platform for social engineering.
Unsurprisingly, woke Twitter and legacy outlets pounced on the optics — everything from jokes about Shapiro’s outfit to mockery of his dramatic doll-burning opening — because the easiest way to dismiss an argument today is to lampoon the person making it. But Americans who are raising kids know that the stakes aren’t viral reputations; they’re the values and impressions our children absorb at eight years old. The media’s reflex to reduce serious parental concerns to comedy reveals their contempt for families who don’t toe the progressive line.
Let’s be clear: movie nights are, in themselves, a wonderful tradition that can broaden a child’s horizons, teach storytelling, and build family bonds. That’s exactly why conservatives shouldn’t cede the cultural field to Hollywood elites who weaponize entertainment to transmit a worldview. Ben Shapiro’s loud, messy review is part of a broader conservative pushback — a warning that not every flashy studio product is wholesome just because it’s colorful or nostalgic.
Practical patriotism means defending the right of parents to decide what their children watch without being gaslit by critics who dismiss every caution as prudishness. If you host movie nights, pick films thoughtfully, talk through themes with your kids, and don’t be shamed for refusing to turn family time into an uncritical viewing of progressive propaganda. America’s future depends on parents who teach their children discernment, not on elites who expect obedience to whatever Hollywood decides to sell next.
Conservative commentators will keep calling out Hollywood’s excesses because the cultural front matters to the next generation. We should celebrate family movie nights while insisting those nights remain opportunities for values and clarity instead of covert indoctrination. Stand with parents, demand better from content producers, and keep culture war vigilance a normal part of protecting your home and your children.
