Thanks for this, Elle! I love both the movie and the novel (of course), and I think it's a great idea to compare them. (I was shocked at how upsetting the shift to the real world was in the movie -- of course we're swimming in patriarchy, but the shock of the cold plunge back into it, after floating in Barbieland for a while, was really startling.) But of course you know I must defend Morris, LOL. I think a key part of being able to imagine the transition to Morris-style utopian socialism is Miguel Abensour's notion of "the education of desire" -- it addresses the crucial question of how we become/create subjects who are able to create and live in utopian social organizations. It's interesting to consider, as you're suggesting here (and as Gilman and Gerwig and others suggest) that the NEED for the education of desire is gendered.
