Kenough - Blog Posts
Ranking the Kens in Barbie based on overall ‘kenergy’
1. Ken
- little cowboy hat
- doctor who
- just misses his best friend barbie 🥹
8.5 out of Ken
2. Ken
- less fun lil cowboy hat
- gets to be douche bro president Ken
- related to Chris evans maybe?
- gives Ryan gosling a lil kiss
5 out of Ken
3. Ken
- back flipping Ken
- excellent dancer
- gives serious steal ur girl energy
- possibly the most sexually aggressive of all the Kens (I am referencing his interactions with Ryan Gosling Ken exclusively, the energy was palpable)
- served some mad cunt
9 out of Ken
4. Ken
- possibly my favourite Ken
- always has Ken’s back
- very goofy dancer 💜
- played drums when all the other Ken’s played guitar
- recipient of the holy pimp coat
- almost certainly in love with his best friend Ken
10 out of Ken
5. Ken
- THE Ken
- he’s kenough 🥲
- lost interest in the patriarchy when he found out it wasn’t about horses
- instigated the greatest out of nowhere dance number in a film I’ve ever seen
- buuuuuuuut also enslaved a bunch of women so…
-10 out of Ken (still love him tho)
HE IS KENOUGH YALL!
is...is Dazai Kenough?
Osamu Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs is Kenough!
I may never be Kenough, but he is ✨
Literally
#live footage of me not understanding what's going on with my life
but i don’t want to be kenough i want to be ke-more
Unfortunately i'm never being funny again because that peaked in 2023 when 16yo me confidently recorded a gay parody of "I'm just Ken" from Barbie
My Opinions on the Barbie film that no one cares about!
+ Ken Analysis
Warning: I'm gonna say too many things at once. If you understand then you understand.
The whole 'neurodivergent people see the world differently' is starting to actually hit me. I watched the Barbie movie to celebrate my birthday and enjoyed the experience, but what I find wild is the responses from the audience and how it clashes with my response.
I read about how some people cried when Barbie had a conversation with the old woman. How the movie is super deep, when I memorised it for how wacky it is. There are a bunch of reactions I came across on the internet that I did not understand and couldn't relate to. The debate on the matriarchy and politics, and how it goes against men, I cannot be asked.
The lesson I got from Barbie is that it was a movie to enjoy but also teach young girls that Barbie is not something to look down on but cherish. She isn't a fascist nor was she created to look like any girl, which is such a breath of fresh air. Barbie is a doll, to play with and enjoy. There's nothing realistic about her when she's literally not even a real living breathing person. I left the film with priorities, and that was to compliment as many people as I can.
The only thing I did find disturbing is the dynamic between Ken and Barbie, and it only made sense once the movie was finished. Considering I had consumed the entire film by that point.
Ken tries to get Barbie's attention and pretty much follows her around, and it's very obvious that he is interested in her but she didn't show signs of that same interest. I also recall a few times that she seemed a bit dismissive towards him, which is understandable since he snuck into her car and joined her adventure without her wanting him to.
There's that party scene, well... after the party, where Ken is kissing Barbie but they aren't actually kissing. Ken is 'kissing' Barbie but Barbie isn't 'kissing' back, which I immediately found odd, because not only does it go against the point of Ken's existence, but Barbie and Ken are the canon couple to always root for. It was strange seeing a view of them where everything is one-sided. It is solidified when Barbie straight up admits that she doesn't love Ken nearing the end of the film. I was caught off guard in a way where I felt like I wasn't supposed to be, but I suddenly realised that they aren't a couple. Ken was created to be Barbie's lover, yet his fate isn't being completed because of Barbie's disinterest. Once it's recognised that he cannot complete his fate he becomes Ken-nough. Who cares about becoming a real woman when Ken's purpose wasn't being fulfilled?
I'm not going to excuse Ken's behaviour in the film, but I interpreted that he just wanted acknowledgement. He even shows off his arm muscles for Barbie to see while they are arguing. Ken says to Barbie after the discovery of the Mojo Dojo Casa house "Now you know how it feels" or something along those lines. Ken felt recognised and respected. Before he was just Ken who wasn't good at Beach Offs but now he has some kind of name for himself.
Ken's story was a messy self discovery. I mean he grew disinterested in what he created once he realised it wasn't about horses. He's a horse man, not a beach man. Horses are not in Barbie land.
Judging by his rivalry with pompadour Ken (Simu Liu) he just wanted to prove himself as a capable Ken. He sees pompadour Ken as cool despite their dislike towards one another, which may have been a foreshadow of what's to come. Ken desired respect, Barbie's respect but wasn't aware of the growing resentment he felt towards her until views from the outside world were planted into his mind.
I found Ken's identity crisis more relatable. He can live with that void in peace, knowing it's alright for it to not be fulfilled. His mission is being himself and not an accessory. He's not just Ken if his purpose hasn't been fulfilled, he is Ken-nough.