An Analysis of Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For’ Video, Inspired by ‘Barbie’
Billie Eilish was asked to write a song for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. After receiving some scenes from the film, Eilish and her brother Phineas got straight to work. The song, “What Was I Made For?” poured out of them. The song and accompanying video dropped today, July 13. Here’s a closer look at the Barbie-inspired video.
‘What Was I Made For’ as it relates to ‘Barbie’
In one Barbie scene, we hear Margot Robbie’s character say that she can no longer float gracefully down from the top of her Barbie Dream House. She now falls like a rock to the ground. Eilish’s opening verse in “What Was I Made For” is “I used to float, now I just fall down/ I used to know, but I’m not sure now/ What I was made for/ What was I made for?”
Throughout Barbie, Robbie’s character goes on an emotional journey to discover what the real world is like and who she is. Barbies are made for the enjoyment and play of other people, but who is Barbie on her own?
In the film, Barbie and Ken go on a long road trip to get to the real world.
“Takin’ a drive, I was an ideal/ Looked so alive, turns out I’m not real/ Just somethin’ you paid for/ What was I made for?” coos Eilish’s second verse.
The chorus also reflects Barbie’s journey of self-discovery: “I don’t know how to feel/ But I wanna try/ I Don’t know how to feel/ But someday I might.”
The song ends with the singer admitting she “forgot how to be happy,” something we see Barbie struggle with in Gerwig’s film.
“Somethin’ I’m not, but somethin’ I can be/ Somethin’ I wait for/ Somethin’ I’m made for/ Somethin’ I’m made for.”
The ‘What Was I Made For Video’
The video for the song, directed by Eilish, is simple but packs a punch. We see the singer in a blonde 50s-style ponytail with curled-to-perfection bangs, yellow dress of the same decade and matching Mary Janes. There is a child-like quality to her. She’s seated at an old-school wooden desk, and she’s unpacking a black carrying case that holds several doll-sized outfits. As Eilish takes them out one by one to hang on a mini clothing rack, we see that these outfits are more Billie-inspired than Barbie.
As she encounters each outfit, noticing them and wistfully smiling, small disruptions begin to make themselves known. First, a shake of the desk that knocks over an accessory or two. No matter, Eilish picks them up and she continues organizing her doll wardrobe. But then, big gusts of wind knock the clothes over and the singer appears distressed. She fights through the wind to continue organizing the clothes as “When did it end? All the enjoyment/ I’m sad again, don’t tell my boyfriend/ It’s not what he’s made for” softly drifts atop the imagery. Then it begins to rain. Eilish looks up to the sky and makes two fists to gently, almost tap the top of her desk. She pushes through to keep on “playing,” despite the rain. All of a sudden, the weather ceases. Eilish hurriedly packs up her sopping tiny clothes into their black carrying case that reads “Barbie.” She’s exhausted. For a moment, she lays her head on the case out of frustration before walking off (only to return moments later for one piece of forgotten clothing).
While the lyrics and even the style of Eilish’s clothes are very much a nod to “Barbie,” the doll clothes that mirror Eilish’s style make the video personal to the artist. Perhaps the singer can relate to Barbie’s journey of trying on different outfits (personalities) to find the perfect fit. Are modern-day singers all that different from dolls? Created and consumed with other people’s enjoyment in mind? As for the elements, finding an identity can be tricky business. The earthquakes and storms of life tend to interrupt even the most adamant self-discovery.
The song and the video are beautiful. The personal touches Eilish added make the piece and accompanying video all the more moving.
It seems the project holds a special place in Eilish’s heart, too.
“in january greta showed me and finneas a handful of some unfinished scenes from the film; we had nooooo idea what to expect at ALLL… we were so deeeeeply moved.. that the next day we were writing and COULDNT shut up about it lolll andddddddddd ended up writing almost the entire song that night,” the artist wrote on Instagram. “to be real with you this all seemed to happen in a time when i really needed it. i’m so so thankful for that. this video makes me cryyyyy.. it means so much to me and i hope it will mean just as much to you. don’t have much to say other than that, i think it will speak for itself? :’’’’) enjoy”
