The right-wing Barbie meltdown shows how reactionary forces are losing the culture wars

The Barbie movie is scheduled to be released on July 21; as it stands, there is no evidence that anti-trans attacks by right-wing influencers have resonated with audiences at all. (Barbie is distributed by Warner Bros. Movies, which is currently being struck by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.)

Greta Gerwig, director of the film, recently explained the underlying thesis of her latest project in a New York Times Magazine article. 

“People say, ‘Well, what’s the story of Barbie?’” Gerwig recalls. “The story of Barbie is the fight...