| “ | Now if you'll excuse me, this is my Mojo Dojo Casa House. It's not Barbie's Mojo Dojo Casa House... | „ |
| ~ Ken claiming his "Mojo Dojo Casa House". |
| “ | I just don't know who I am without you. There's not just "Ken". | „ |
| ~ Ken |
| “ | Here let us show you!. | „ |
| ~ Ken's most famous quote. |
Kenneth Sean "Ken" Carson, more commonly known as Beach Ken and Mojo Dojo Ken, is the main antagonist of the 2023 fantasy comedy film Barbie, which is based on the fashion dolls of the same name by Mattel.
He is one of the Kens of Barbieland who has an unrequited crush on Stereotypical Barbie. After following Barbie to the real world and spending sometime there, Ken learned about its patriarchy. Believing that he and the other Kens served no real purpose to the land prior, he then went back to Barbieland, which he later renamed "Kendom" in order to create a whole new system to show his leadership to, as well as to make Stereotypical Barbie fall in love with him, feeling incomplete without her.
He was portrayed by Ryan Gosling, who also played Richard Haywood in Murder by Numbers, Luke Glanton in The Place Beyond the Pines and Julian Thompson in Only God Forgives.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Little is known about Beach Ken's early life, but it is stated he was made for Barbie. He is described by the film's unseen narrator as "only having a great day when Barbie looks at him." Ken has grown up in a matriarchal society known as Barbieland where the vast majority of buildings and objects are pink. The women, the Barbies, hold all major positions of power and influence in society and the men, the Kens, are devoid of any leadership roles. This is to the extreme that the Barbies are unsure where the Kens even live, as the Kens do not live in the neighborhoods where the Barbies live in their dreamhouses; this is due to Barbieland being a supernatural reflection of the imaginations of real world Barbie owners, and real-life commentary about both girls and Mattel not giving much thought to where Ken dolls live.
Although Ken and Barbie know they are girlfriend and boyfriend, and Ken loves Barbie dearly, she does not actually love him back and is never seen being affectionate towards him, even routinely excluding him from all her slumber parties "forever and ever". Other than this, it is known that he enjoys being fashionable.
He is also best friends with another doll named Allan.
Barbie[]
Barbie stopping Ken and Ken from fighting.
Beach Ken is first seen at the beach hanging out with other Ken counterparts. He attempts to impress Stereotypical Barbie in a surfing stunt, but it backfires when the plastic ocean bounces him back into the sky. While being carried away by a couple Barbies, Beach Ken gets into an argument with another Ken. Stereotypical Barbie intervenes, saying no Ken will beach off any other Ken. An entirely-pink ambulance appears to help fix Ken; Ken asks for Barbie to hold his hand and stay with him.
That night, Stereotypical Barbie holds a choreographed dance party playing the song "Dance The Night" by Dua Lipa. Beach Ken gets jealous seeing Barbie dancing with two other Kens and tries to compete with them for Stereotypical Barbie's attention. After the show, he asks Barbie if he can stay over at her house. Barbie is curious why, and he mentions the two of them are technically a couple. Barbie asks Ken what he wants to do, and he says, "I'm actually not sure." Barbie flat out tells Ken she simply doesn't want him here, saying it's "Barbie's Dreamhouse" and not "Barbie and Ken's Dreamhouse". She also adds that it's "Girl's Night." When Ken points out that every night happens to be Girl's Night, Barbie replies that every night will be Girl's Night, forever and ever. Ken is clearly unhappy about this, but puts on a smile anyway in front of her. Barbie does not care about Ken's complaint and she goes back inside her house to have a slumber party with her friends.
Barbie agrees to take Ken to the real world.
Soon, Barbie starts going through a existential crisis and having morbid thoughts of her own mortality and death, as well as feeling uglier due to discovering cellulite on her body. She decides to travel to the real world with encouragement from Weird Barbie to fix the dimensional rift between Barbieland and the Real World. While she is traveling, Ken stows away in her car and when he is discovered, he asks if he could come with her which she reluctantly agrees to. She also prevents him from riding in the front.
In the real world, he feels respected as a contrast to being taken for granted. Ken is awestruck when he sees that people seem to be valuing his existence. He is surprised to see men riding horses, and Ken also discovers that every American president so far has been a man, greatly contrasting Barbieland. He then learns about the patriarchal system and tries to get a job thinking he is qualified for everything solely because he is a man; this obviously doesn't work. Additionally, he becomes confused thinking that patriarchy is about "men on horses running everything."
He returns to Barbieland and tells the other Kens about the patriarchy and they take over. The Barbies have taken submissive roles and serve the Kens and they seem happy about this (it is said later they have been brainwashed, although how the Kens accomplished this brainwashing is unclear). Barbie returns, bringing two humans, Gloria and her daughter, Sasha, with her; and she is shocked at what Barbieland has become: a city known as Kendom.
Although Barbie is a little uncomfortable at first, her breaking point is when her house is now owned by Beach Ken and renamed his Mojo Dojo Casa House. She tries to convince Ken to change her house back, which he sternly denies because the Kendom makes him and the other Kens feel happy and respected (additionally, he wants Barbie to taste her own medicine as it is implied the Kens were homeless in Barbieland). Still, Ken offers to allow Barbie a chance to live with him but she must accept being his long-term low-commitment girlfriend. Barbie denies this offer. While Barbie and Ken are having an argument, Ken shouts at Barbie, saying she failed him in Barbieland -- but in the real world, he felt respected. Ken then throws her fashionable clothing out of her house. Barbie then becomes depressed and begins planking on the floor.
Ken singing "I'm Just Ken"
Stereotypical Barbie finds a way to break the Barbies free from the Ken's brainwashing and turn the Kens against each other. They then break into a huge dance fight at the beach with the song "I'm Just Ken," playing over. The Barbies regain their power before the Kens can change the constitution to ensure the Kens superiority.
The Kens are displeased that their Mojo Dojo Casa Houses are gone. Ken begins to cry and Barbie comforts him. Ken admits it was hard running the Kendom and that he didn't actually enjoy being its manager, and that he actually lost interest in patriarchy when he discovered it wasn't about horses. Ken laments that he thought the two of them would live in a house together. Barbie apologizes to Ken, saying that she was excluding him and that every night did not have to be girl's night. Ken bemoans he is nothing without Barbie. Although Ken is clingy, Barbie reaffirms that she wants Ken to just be her friend, not boyfriend. She then encourages him to find his own identity, giving him motivation to find himself. He and the Kens then happily say "Ken... is me!"
After everything is said and done, it is mentioned that Barbieland will not return to its previous stage before Kendom. Instead, it will try to ensure equal rights for Barbies, Kens, and discontinued dolls. The unseen narrator mentions that the power and influence of the Kens in Barbieland will be the same as the amount of power that women will have in the real world.
He is last shown wearing a pink-and-blue fuzzy hoodie that reads "I am Kenough." He thanks Barbie before she heads off with the spirit of Ruth Handler (Barbie's creator).
Personality[]
Ken as he appears in Barbieland.
At first, Ken is shown to be highly charismatic, forthright, brash and slightly dim-witted, often serving as the butt of some jokes, although it is somewhat understandable considering how different Barbieland is from the real world. For example, he becomes confused and once thought that horses rule the real world. He has maintained a somewhat childish level of innocence due to living in Barbieland, especially when it comes to mature/adult/sexual matters, because no one in Barbieland has genitals.
Being Beach Ken, his only interests/hobbies are beach-related activities such as surfing, and he claims he never goes anywhere without bringing his roller blades. He is seen later to appreciate horses, suggesting a love and fascination for animals. He is also shown to be a decent guitar player and dancer.
Ken fixates much of his self-worth on his relationship with Stereotypical Barbie, so much so to the unhealthy extreme that he only has a great day when Barbie notices him. Ken is shown to have low self-esteem and be insecure, as seen later when he considers a woman in the real world asking him what the time is to be a major compliment. His insecurity is implied to manifest in competitiveness and perhaps paranoia with other Kens, believing they are trying to steal his girlfriend away from him. Upon seeing that Barbie is merely texting another Ken on her phone, he shouts, "KEEEEEN!".
Ken appeared to have a one-sided relationship with Barbie even though she did not reciprocate his romantic advances, making him feel unloved. Barbie does not appear to care about reciprocating Ken's desire for affection; when they engage in a "kiss", Barbie merely stands and smiles at him before saying, "You can go now". When issues regarding their living arrangements, as well as lack of time spent together during nighttime arose, Ken still displayed a level of respect for Barbie's desires to remain living alone and he still loved her regardless, even if it was made clear his emotional and physical needs were not being met in their relationship.
Ken is also shown to be dependent on Barbie for emotional and perhaps physical affection, requesting Barbie to hold his hand and stay with him when he is injured at the beach. Additionally, he exhibits difficulty taking matters into his own hands and being independent, due to being used to Barbie managing his life; upon being told to go for a walk, he requested Barbie for permission to walk in a certain direction, again showing his child-like innocent nature, which isn't too dissimilar from the behavior of a child and their mother.
Because Ken lacks a lot of self-esteem and deeply cares about how others view him, he wishes to do anything that may garner the attention and praise from others, even if it means offending the boundaries of other people; for example, he secretly sneaked into Barbie's automobile without her knowledge and consent, and attempted to use the fear of him "looking uncool" to the other Kens in order to convince himself to accompany her.
After Ken's trip to the real world, he is impressed by how the men there have more power, control and freedom over their lives compared to Barbieland. Having his existence acknowledged and respected gave him a sense of fulfillment, which made him curious about the real world. After further exploration of the real world's dynamics, he came to the conclusion that the real world is the exact opposite of Barbieland's matriarchal society. He began researching into patriarchal norms and horses due to his newly developed obsessive fascination with horses.
After exporting these norms back to Barbieland in the hopes of bettering the lives of the Kens, Ken became the ruler of the new Kendom. He partook in new interests, such as the real world's fashion, drinking beer, minifridges and working out. He then began to display a more resentful and spiteful demeanor towards Barbie, even if he was still deeply in love with her. He ostracizes Barbie to make her feel how he always felt when she was the star, such as telling her that every night will be boy's night.
After the Barbies take their power back from the Kens and get rid of their Mojo Dojo Casa Houses, Ken is deeply saddened, as his house is gone and breaks down. Barbie points out that Ken should have more things to define himself and his personality instead of fixating his ego on being Barbie's boyfriend. This leads to Ken having an epiphany about how he should value himself and that he does not need a girlfriend to define his self-worth. In the end, it is shown that Ken never really cared about power, disliking the responsibility that comes with it; instead, he merely wanted love and acceptance. Ken thanks Barbie and decides to go on his own journey of self-discovery to find out what makes him happy in life.
Appearance[]
Ken is a slim, tall, muscular man with blonde hair. He usually wears a beach shirt unbuttoned showing off his abs. While in the real world, he wears a cowboy outfit. When he returns to Barbieland, he wears a long fake fur outfit, the "Faujo Mojo Mink", as well as black fingerless gloves.
Quotes[]
| “ | Hey Barbie! Can I come to your house tonight? | „ |
| ~ Ken |
| “ | So cool. | „ |
| ~ Ken |
| “ | No, YOU failed me! Out there I was somebody. And when I walked down the street, people respected me just for who I am. | „ |
| ~ Ken lashing out at Barbie. |
| “ | Ken: BARBIE!! Take your lady fashions with you! Take your Celebrate Disco Bell Bottoms! And your Ice Capades Pretty Practice Suit and DAZZLING SHOW SKIRT!! And your Pajama Jam in Amsterdam sweatpants! Stereotypical Barbie: NO!!! Ken: And your Pretty Paisley Palazzo Pants!! Stereotypical Barbie: NOT THE PALAZZOS!!! Ken: And GET OUT!!!! |
„ |
| ~ Ken throwing out Barbie’s clothes, And His Villainous Breakdown. |
| “ | Ken: Is it me or did these Mojo Dojo Casa Houses get much more…dreamier? President Barbie: That’s because they’re dream houses, mother(bleep). |
„ |
| ~ Ken and his allies returning home to find out that the houses had gone back to normal. |
| “ | Beach Ken:
Doesn't seem to matter what I do I'm always number two No one knows how hard I tried, oh-oh I, I have feelings that I can't explain Drivin' me insane All my life, been so polite But I'll sleep alone tonight 'Cause I'm just Ken, anywhere else I'd be a ten Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility? I'm just Ken Where I see love, she sees a friend What will it take for her to see the man behind the tan and fight for me? I wanna know what it's like to love, to be the real thing Is it a crime? Am I not hot when I'm in my feelings? And is my moment finally here, or am I dreaming? I'm no dreamer All Kens: Can you feel the Kenergy? Feels so real, my Kenergy Can you feel the Kenergy? Feels so real, my Kenergy Beach Ken: I'm just Ken, anywhere else I'd be a ten Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility? I'm just Ken Where I see love, she sees a friend What will it take for her to see the man behind the tan and fight for me? Beach Ken + All other Kens: I'm just Ken (and I'm enough) And I'm great at doing stuff So, hey! Check me out, yeah, I'm just Ken My name's Ken (and so am I) Put that manly hand in mine So, hey! World, check me out, yeah, I'm just Ken Baby, I'm just Ken (nobody else, nobody else, nobody) |
„ |
| “ | To be honest, when I found out the patriarchy wasn't about horses, I lost interest, anyway. | „ |
| “ | Ken.... is..... meeeeeeeeeeeeee! | „ |
| ~ Ken realizing his self-worth. |
Trivia[]
- This is the second incarnation of Ken to be villainous, with the first one being Ken from Pixar's Toy Story 3.
- For his performance as Ken, Gosling was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA, Critics Choice, SAG and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.
- Ryan Gosling got the idea to play Ken when he saw one of the Ken dolls of one of his daughters. He remembers how he felt sad seeing his daughter's Ken doll lying face down in the mud. He thought to himself that "Ken's story needs to be told."[1]
- The Barbie movie is not the first time Ken and Barbie have broken up. In Barbie lore, Mattel mentioned they broke up on February 12, 2004. Additionally, the fictional Ken and Barbie doll characters in Toy Story 3 also break up.
- Ken and all Ken dolls derive their namesake from Kenneth Handler, the son of Ruth Handler and brother of Barbara, Barbie's namesake. Kenneth tragically died in 1994 at the age of 50 from a brain tumor.
- According to the scene where he gets arrested, Ken's height is 6'3. This is 3 inches taller than his actor's Ryan Gosling's real height.
- The scene of Ken and Barbie getting their mugshots taken has become a meme due to their vastly different reactions to the situation.
- The song "I'm Just Ken" was written by producer Mark Ronson as a joke and never intended to be in the film, but Ryan Gosling convinced Greta Gerwig to include it.[2]
- Before the movie was released, many criticized Gosling for being cast as Ken because he was "too old". Gosling himself replied, "This kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this? But suddenly, it's like, 'No, we've cared about Ken this whole time.' No, you didn't. You never did... If you ever really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken. So your hypocrisy is exposed. This is why his story must be told."[3]
- Robbie revealed in an interview that she helped Gosling figure out the character of Ken by giving him pink presents every day of filming. The presents were all tied with pink bows and addressed from Barbie to Ken, and contained beach-themed items.[4]
- While Ken's Beach self appeared in the movie's promotional materials and trailers, his Mojo Dojo self however did not. This makes it easier to confuse Will Ferrell's character, the CEO of Mattel for being the main antagonist instead of Ken.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Ken barbie (1).jpg (36 KB)")
.jpg "Ken barbie (3).jpg (326 KB)")
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References[]
- ↑ https://www.romper.com/entertainment/ryan-gosling-daughters-ken-doll-barbie-movie
- ↑ https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1089771-ryan-gosling-related-to-im-just-ken-so-much-he-turned-it-into-a-ballad
- ↑ https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/ryan-gosling-responds-critics-casting-ken-barbie-movie/story?id=99728073
- ↑ https://www.vogue.com/article/margot-robbie-barbie-summer-cover-2023-interview
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 Villains
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Barbie as Sleeping Beauty Barbie in the Nutecracker Barbie as Rapunzel Barbie of Swan Lake Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper Barbie Fairytopia/Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia/Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus The Barbie Diaries Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses Barbie as The Island Princess Barbie: Mariposa/Mariopsa and the Fairy Princess Barbie & the Diamond Castle Barbie in A Christmas Carol Barbie presents: Thumbelina Barbie and The Three Musketeers Barbie in A Mermaid Tale Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale Barbie: A Fairy Secret Barbie: Princess Charm School Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar Barbie in the Pink Shoes Barbie & Her Sisters in A Pony Tale Barbie: The Pearl Princess Barbie and the Secret Door Barbie in Princess Power Barbie in Rock 'N Royals Barbie & Her Sisters in A Great Puppy Adventure Barbie: Spy Squad Barbie: Starlight Adventure Barbie: Video Game Hero Barbie: Dolphin Magic Barbie: Princess Adventure Barbie & Chelsea: The Lost Birthday Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures Barbie: It Takes Two Barbie: Mermaid Power Barbie (2023) Barbie: A Touch of Magic | ||