evidence: Emerging from a pink-hued fever dream and a box-office smash, Greta Gerwig is unpacking the success of "Barbie." One thing the director did not anticipate having to discuss, though, is how right-wing pundits have bashed her feminist take on Mattel’s iconic doll and burned the toys in protest. [...] Haters who think ‘Barbie’ hates men are misunderstanding Greta Gerwig’s feminist movie. It’s actually pretty generous toward them. The conservative pushback to the film, though, has not stopped "Barbie’s" real-life domination at the box office. The film, starring Margot Robbie as the titular IP and Ryan Gosling as Ken, earned a whopping $162 million in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend, a figure that exceeded the studio’s preliminary estimate of $155 million and outpaced "Oppenheimer." It’s been praised by critics, with many applauding Gerwig’s direct take on Mattel’s oft-problematic doll, the company’s cooperation, as well as its transcendent message for women, mothers and daughters.