The movie 'Barbie' may have influenced the increase in searches for certain phrases
![](https://i.gzn.jp/img/2024/08/19/film-barbie-search-interest/00_m.jpg)
A research team from McGill University in Canada has pointed out that the use of related search phrases may have increased due to the influence of the movie '
Online Search Interest in Gynecologists After the Release of the Film Barbie | Health Policy | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821491
Barbie's Final Joke May Have Inspired a Spike in Internet Searches : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/barbies-final-joke-may-have-inspired-a-spike-in-internet-searches
The movie 'Barbie' is a fantasy and comedy movie about Barbie, who lives in 'Barbie Land,' and her boyfriend Ken, who goes to the human world due to a physical condition and causes a big commotion in a real world that is completely different from Barbie Land. It was released in the United States in July 2023 and in Japan in August 2023.
Amazon.co.jp: Barbie [Blu-ray] : Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Greta Gerwig: DVD
![](https://i.gzn.jp/img/2024/08/19/film-barbie-search-interest/barbie.jpg)
We spoke to producer David Heyman about how the film was made.
![](https://i.gzn.jp/img/2023/08/07/barbie-producer-david-heyman-interview/00_m.jpg)
As mentioned above, this is a comedy film, but while you might think that Barbie will come to reality and be accepted by children in the real world and treated like a star, that doesn't happen.The film also depicts a harsher side, as Barbie is ignored, with children saying, 'Maybe we played with her in the past.'
Ultimately, Barbie decides to leave Barbieland, and the film ends with her visiting the reception desk of a doctor's office, saying, 'I'm here to see the gynecologist.'
Eva Sénéchal of McGill University and her colleagues looked at how searches for certain phrases changed before and after the release of the movie 'Barbie.' They found that within three months of the movie's release, searches for phrases like 'Why should I see a gynecologist?' and 'Do I need to see a gynecologist?' had more than doubled from the previous year.
Below are the trends in searches for six phrases investigated by Sénéchal and others: 'gynecologist,' 'gynecologist definition,' 'gynecologist appointment,' 'doctor,' 'doctor appointment,' and 'women's health.' The orange vertical lines indicate the time of the release of the movie 'Barbie,' and there is a clear increase in searches for 'gynecologist' and 'gynecologist definition.'
![](https://i.gzn.jp/img/2024/08/19/film-barbie-search-interest/fig-search-trends_m.png)
However, Sénéchal and her colleagues note that it's unclear whether the 'Barbie effect,' or increased interest in gynecologists due to the movie, translates into measurable improvements in health outcomes.
In addition, in a similar case to the 'Barbie effect,' when actor Angelina Jolie announced in 2013 that she had undergone a preventive mastectomy due to hereditary breast cancer, the number of inquiries about genetic counseling and genetic testing increased, which has been dubbed the 'Angelina Jolie effect.'
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