Barbie (Margot Robbie) drives out of Barbieland with Ken (Ryan Gosling). // Photo Courtesy of People.
On Friday, Oct. 27, Hofstra students dressed in their glamorous pinks and snuggled close to the firepits in Pride Park as they watched this summer’s sensational hit movie “Barbie.” The showing was one of the many Movie in Pride Park events hosted by the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement (OSLE). This is OSLE’s second annual year hosting these movie screenings.
For many of the students in the audience, this was not their first time watching “Barbie.”
“…[Barbie] is a movie I genuinely have enjoyed and have been meaning to watch again but have not had the time to,” said Alison Briskie, a junior forensic science major with a minor in criminology. “Having the opportunity to watch it again for free outside with my friends sounded like such a fun time and great night.”
This was the second time watching the movie for Emilee Haney, a freshman Spanish major with a pre-med concentration. “For me, there’s a lot of nostalgia tied to this movie, as I grew up playing with Barbies. I like that although it’s a lighthearted film, it’s also empowering,” Haney said.
Students danced the night away as the opening scene aired on the projector, starring Barbie (Margot Robbie) and her crew in Barbieland. Some students sat near the firepits to warm up and get cozy, while others sat on the lawn, sharing blankets with their friends. A few students were dressed in shirts that said “Hofstra” in the iconic Barbie font.
“The popcorn was lovely, the fire was wonderful and the shirts were a great touch. I’d love to see more events like this closer to Thanksgiving break or in the spring semester when it gets warmer,” said Lee Cusack, a freshman audio/radio and production major with minors in LGBTQ studies and information systems.
Some students noticed that last Friday’s movie choice for this month was only a couple of days away from Halloween, yet Barbie is a far pick from a Halloween-themed movie.
“We had planned to host a Halloween-themed movie,” said Taylor Maultz, the associate director of Student Leadership and Engagement. “Barbie was originally scheduled to be shown earlier in October. Because it was doing so well in theaters, the release date for streaming was pushed out, and that pushed back the date of our screening.”
“I would love to see more themed movies that correlate with the time of year,” Briskie said. “For example, around the holidays, it would be cute to put on a classic Christmas movie to watch.”
Other students were relieved to see a non-Halloween-themed event. According to Cusack, who is not the biggest fan of Halloween or horror movies, they were “incredibly excited to see Barbie.”
“There’s already a lot of events around campus showing Halloween-themed movies …Showing the Barbie movie was a breath of fresh air compared to all the Halloweentown marathons and such,” Cusack said.
“We are still working out the best way to select movies,” Maultz said. “Currently, we work with a movie distribution company that provides us with box office statistics and release dates. From there, we work as a team to select movies and dates based on our events calendar and the availability of highly-rated films.”
As the winter season approaches and the weather gets colder, there comes a conflict in scheduling more movies in Pride Park.
“Our Movie in Pride Park series is ending due to the colder months approaching. While we don’t have any more movies scheduled for this fall, we do plan to resume the movie screenings in the spring,” Maultz said.
With the upcoming movie screenings in the spring, some students hope for more seasonal movies with a wider genre.
“Personally, I would love to see more light-hearted comedy movies or movie musicals,” Briskie said.
For more updates on “Movie in Pride Park” events, visit the Hofstra events webpage.
