Místicas. Brujas, diosas y ocultistas en los arquetipos del tarot claims the participation of women in the history of occultism through twenty-two portraits that dialogue with the arcana. Artists, poets, mediums, goddesses, and warriors who experienced contact with the supernatural and whose lives illuminate a tradition so often told without them.

«In the summer of 2023, a tsunami of enormous proportions shook the global film industry. The premiere of Barbie, by American filmmaker Greta Gerwig, preceded by a gigantic campaign of marketing, it broke records: it was the most profitable film of the year and the first major box office hit directed by a woman. Beyond the numbers, it became a mass phenomenon that sparked genuine rivers of ink. It is evident that something happened with Barbie.»

Whether we like it or not, Barbie is already part of a defining sense of our time: of the intellectual debate to its social impact; the cultural resignification of the doll and the concept of blockbuster, to the role of feminism in pop narratives and the film industry; and of capitalism's ability to reinvent itself and capitalize on any idea. Not having seen Barbie —and not having an opinion— meant being left out of the game. In a society shaped by polarization, the film generated opposing stances and even reached cultural geopolitics, while Mattel and Warner Bros. took note: a budget of 145 million dollars and, in just four months, more than 1.3 billion in box office revenue.

This volume brings together six critical articles on the film and its cultural readings, with a clear intention: to ground a phenomenon that far transcends the doll that inspires it.

What you will find

• Six critical and complementary perspectives.
• Context on marketing, box office, and reception.
• Debates on pop feminism, blockbuster, and mass culture.
• The re-signification of Barbie in 2023 and its social echo.

About the authors

Eduardo Guillot has been a cultural journalist since the late eighties. Member of the programming team of the Filmoteca de Valencia (2000–2005) and author of about twenty books on music, film, and popular culture. She has worked as a programmer at various international festivals and between 2018 and 2024 was Artistic Director of the Mostra de València – Cinema del Mediterrani.

Eulàlia Iglesias is a journalist specializing in film and audiovisuals. She collaborates with Caimán Cuadernos de Cine, Fotogramas, Ara, Filmtopia, and Rockdelux. Professor of Film and Television Theory and Analysis at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, she is part of the committee selection of the Seminci (Valladolid International Film Week) and the D’A Festival Cinema Barcelona.

Jara Yáñez is director of the magazine Caimán Cuadernos de Cine. Professor in the Master of Film Criticism and regular collaborator of the program «Historia de nuestro cine» (TVE). Graduate in Art History from the University Autónoma de Madrid and doctor in Film History, she has published works on production, exhibition, and authors such as Isabel Coixet, Pilar Miró or Elías León Siminiani.

Aarón Rodríguez Serrano is Professor of Audiovisual Communication at Universitat Jaume I. Author of more than a dozen books, among them Espejos en Auschwitz: Apuntes sobre cine y Holocausto (Shangrila, 2015), Nanni Moretti (Cátedra, 2018) and Volver al cine: Pensar, escribir y analizar las películas (Solaris, 2024). He collaborates as a critic and produces video essays on the relationships between cinema and philosophy.

Jesús Palacios is a journalist and writer, born in San Lorenzo de El Escorial. With more than two decades of experience, he has worked in press, radio, and television, collaborating with media such as Tiempo, Tribuna, Interviú, El Mundo, El Periódico de Catalunya or El Independiente. Author of several books, among them Los papeles secretos de Franco, with notable critical and sales success.

María Ruido is a visual artist, filmmaker, researcher, and teacher. Professor in the Department of Image from the University of Barcelona. Among his productions stand out the documentary essays La memoria interior (2002), Real time (2003), Amphibious Fictions (2005), The Imperative Eye (2015), Mater Amatísima (2017), Estado de malestar (2019) and the performance-lecture Las reglas del juego (2022). He has participated in numerous exhibition projects in Spain and internationally, and his works are part of the permanent collections from MNCARS, MACBA, CA2M, CGAC and the OVNI Archive.