greta gerwig really said. when this girl gets a little sad and confused by the weird and complicated and uncomfortable parts of being human and growing up, she meets god and sits at her kitchen table, drinks her tea, holds her hands. and she asks god if she’s allowed to be happy. and god tells her she doesn’t need her permission. she tells her she’s going to be okay.
Ken was more than an antagonist/villain but a representation/metaphor for all the sweet boys in our lives who eventually grew up to be misogynistic men. Who take more than they’ll ever give. They are the boys who felt under-appreciated and unloved and found validation from Andrew Tate podcasts.
A lot of women if not all can relate to that on some level. Son. Brother. Friend. Cousin. Nephew. Uncle. It happens so much more than we want to think about. It’s so prevalent and sad that despite everything Ken did, Barbie apologized to him and received no apology in return.
Barbie Land was far kinder than Kendom. The Barbies were dismissive about the Kens, yes, but they were always treated kindly and with some decorum. Kendom literally made the Barbies their servants designed to cater to their every whim. Just look at that. And even then, Barbie apologized. President Barbie gave them a (admittedly low) position in the courts as a token of good will. A fairly realistic take right there but so sad considering the harm they’d done.
He stole her dreamhouse. He stole Barbie’s dreamhouse. And she apologized for hurting him.
“Ken wouldn’t do that to Barbie, it’s out of character!” Babes, that is the point.
Ken and his discovery of the patriarchy and the way it changes him is the exact same as what happens with adolescent boys. You have these guys who were so close to you, wether through friendship or family become people thatthey aren’t due to both peer pressure and the desire to hold power. Especially with the whole “podcast bro” thing he had going on in the Ken Dojo Casa House scene, Ken represents all the boys that lean into the patriarchy and change for the worst.
Ken was always so sweet, he was stupid and lovable and would do anything for Barbie. Then he got roped into toxic masculinity and all of a sudden he was cruel and pretentious. This is the same path that many of the guys I was friends with as a kid fell down. Barbie represents growing up as a woman and Ken represents growing up as a man.
This is a really poignant illustration of the seductive nature of glorifying war but that is a LOOK and she is SERVING it
I’ve seen Death depicted as a card dealer or other sort of gambler, a guy in a suit, a farmer, a robed apparition, and any other number of things, but this? This has to be the best Death I’ve seen yet. An old seductress saying “hey kid, don’t you wanna die in a trench for a government that doesn’t give a fuck about you, just like your dear old dad?” This goes hard as fuck.
