Womansplaining The Mansplaining In Barbie
This post contains spoilers for "Barbie."
In "Barbie," Gloria's heartfelt monologue about the pressure for women to be perfect resonates so strongly with the Barbies that it snaps them out of the subservient spell they're under in the patriarchal Kendom. Alongside her daughter Sasha, Gloria leads a covert mission with some of the Barbies to take back Barbieland. They do this by giving Ken exactly what he wants: by stroking his ego. While one of the enlightened Barbies distracts Ken with her adoring gaze and innocent questions, the others capture the brainwashed Barbies — former writers and doctors turned into cheerleaders and maids — to re-educate them. Then, they plan to storm the pink Capitol Building and rewrite the Barbie constitution.
Tired of being "just Ken," the Kens use mansplaining as a way to overpower Barbie. In addition to chugging beers and admiring horses, these new hypermasculine Kens love to condescendingly lecture Barbie to flaunt their knowledge and superiority. Through different types of tiresome mansplaining, Greta Gerwig mocks their pretentious misogyny and shows how toxic masculinity appears in many forms.
Ken knows it all
Tech and finance bro versions of Ken teach Barbie how to use Photoshop and what bonds and C&Ds are. Another Barbie needs a big, strong Ken to show her how to play sports. Gerwig also inserts a clever reference to "She's All That" when Ken takes off Barbie's glasses to make her more beautiful. Barbie must rely on Ken for knowledge about everything — even her own self.
One of the most annoying Kensplainers rambles about "The Godfather" after President Barbie pretends she doesn't understand it. Ken expounds on producer Robert Evans and Francis Ford Coppola's artistic intentions — elevating himself as a true cineaste. There's an even sharper joke about some of the worst kinds of film bros: the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut army — a rabid fanbase who bullied others with racist and misogynistic threats. After Gloria's words revive Writer Barbie, she says, "It's like I've been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder cut of 'Justice League.'"
The Kens are also indie music snobs, explaining to Barbie what Pavement's "Stephen Malkmus did for indie rock," then serenading her with a neverending cover of "Push" by Matchbox Twenty. The Kens try to act like vulnerable, tortured souls, but their renditions are so exaggerated and insincere. They don't actually care about being a romantic partner, they just want to look like one.
All the mansplaining in "Barbie" is hilarious and cringe-inducing. Fortunately, by the end of the film, Barbie helps the Kens realize that they are free to be who they want without any outside expectations, and their identity shouldn't come at the expense of trying to be superior to someone else.