Barbie‘s one-hour, 54-minute runtime is practically wall-to-wall iconic scenes. That said, everything specifically to do with Ryan Gosling’s hilarious Ken has proved incredibly popular. One particular scene sees the Kens of Barbieland, led by stereotypical Ken, dedicating a beachside acoustic guitar performance to their designated Barbie, in the form of a cover of Matchbox Twenty’s 1997 song, ‘Push’.
Barbie’s use of Matchbox Twenty’s ‘Push’
The scene plays out as a familiar nightmare date to women: a man strumming his guitar, singing at (not to) his date, finding some sort of emotional connection or meaning in his own performance.
In this case, the Kens have found meaning in the lyrics of “Push” as a result of their newfound discovery of patriarchy. The Barbies, on the other hand, take this as an opportunity to turn the Kens against each other and take back Barbieland from the clutches of the patriarchal Kendom.
As the Kens sing lyrics like “I don’t know if I’ve ever been good enough,” the Barbies feign interest in other Kens to stir up drama between them and ultimately turn all of the Kens against each other, so that the Barbies can take back Barbieland while the Kens fight.
Why is the song significant in ‘Barbie’?
At this point in the film, the Kens are having a crisis about what their value is in Barbieland, and are questioning their worth in the hierarchy of their society. However, also in line with the song, they have overcorrected and begun pushing and putting down the Barbies to make room for themselves and their horses.
Greta Gerwig assigned 90s hits to both Barbie and Ken, giving Barbie the Indigo Girls’ “Closer to Fine,” which plays on the journey between Barbieland and reality. The song is reminiscent of Barbie’s physical and emotional journey of self-discovery with lyrics like:
“There’s more than one answer to these questions / Pointing me in a crooked line / And the less I seek my source for some definitive / Closer I am to fine, yeah.”
The anthems for each Barbie and Ken represent larger reflections of their character development throughout the film. These artists were also vital in the coming-of-age journey for much of the film’s target audience.
