One of the Barbie movie’s standout points was the monologue America Ferrera‘s character, Gloria, gave. In fact, the empowering monologue was so inspiring that young girls have been reciting it.
There’s a scene in which a distraught Barbie feels defeated after the Kens turn Barbieland into a patriarchy. Her new friend, Mattel employee Gloria, inspires Barbie with a monologue about the challenges women go through as well as their unrealistic expectations. Interestingly enough, America Ferrera told People that a young girl used her character’s monologue for a theater program audition. While the Superstore actress found this discovery to be “hilarious,” she expressed another emotion to describe that moment.
“[It was] also super sad that 11-year-old girls resonate with that monologue and already feel like they know what it’s saying.”
Not only did that speech speak to young girls, but to mothers as well. Ferrera described them as being very emotional watching that pivotal scene.
“I’ve had a lot of moms come to me and say, ‘I was watching with my kids, and afterward they said, Why were you crying?'”
What Work Went Into America Ferrera’s Monologue?
The character of Gloria goes into a lot of examples of what is expected of women and their challenges. America Ferrera explained to Variety that the inspirational scene took two days to shoot.
“It’s one part of a much bigger scene with lots of characters in it. I had to do it many, many times for other people’s coverage and to get through the whole scene and over the course of two days.”
While Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach co-wrote that monologue, Ferrera mentioned they allowed her “so much freedom” reciting it. The speech changed during filming with Ferrera adding in there about how women always have to appear grateful. The Lady Bird director may have had certain moments where she aimed to have specific lines match her vision. In the case of that monologue, though, Gerwig wanted the 39-year-old actress to make the monologue her own.
Even though America Ferrera’s memorable scene took two days to film, the L.A. native said it felt much longer.
“It was probably 30 to 50 full runs of it, top to bottom. By the end, [co-star Ariana Greenblatt] recited the monologue to me because she had memorized it because that’s how many times I had said it.”
It’s no wonder that little girls are reciting Gloria’s monologue. Not only will they gain an understanding of what women go through daily, but they’ll feel frustrated, flabbergasted, angered, and empowered all at the same time while delivering the speech.
