which, to my understanding, is where men and horses run everything?Barbie · 2023 — Chapter 12 of 26 · 3'03" · B2
Ken Tries to Bring Patriarchy Home, Explained: seek my fortune
Ken decides the Real World is where patriarchy lives and sets out to claim his place in it, only to be told he needs an MBA and that being a man is not a qualification. Barbie, meanwhile, is arrested, catalogued and picked up by Mattel. The two halves meet when Gloria hears a woman in custody insists she is Barbie.
What happens
Ken charges into the Real World convinced it runs on patriarchy and asks for a high-paying job, only to learn he needs degrees and that being a man counts for nothing. His lifeguard interview ends the moment he admits he cannot save anyone. Barbie, by contrast, gets arrested repeatedly, and Mattel finally collects her.
Listen for
seek my fortunein chargenutjobAre you kidding me
00:00 / 03:03Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
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Phrase of the scene
seek my fortune
to go out and make your fortune
Ken announces he will seek his fortune, as if setting off on a quest.
At twenty he left home to seek his fortune in the city.
Also in this scene
- in charge
the person who is responsible or holds authority
- nutjob
a crazy or eccentric person (derogatory)
- Are you kidding me
are you serious? (disbelief or annoyance)
Everything marked in this scene
24 notes across 76 lines
to go out and make your fortune
Ken announces he will seek his fortune, as if setting off on a quest.
I shall seek my fortune there.I’ll take a high-level, high-paying job with influence, please.gerund subject
Isn’t being a man enough?adverb of manner
We’re doing it well, yeah. We just... hide it better now.Can you get me a coffee? - No.I’d like to apply for your job of beach.Oh. I’m not trained to go over there.be trained to
Oh. I’m not trained to go over there.There’s nobody in danger here.liaison
There’s nobody in danger here.even if
And even if there were, I’m not trained to save them.There you are. - Oh, no.liaison
There you are. - Oh, no.We’re gonna need you to come with us.elision
We’re gonna need you to come with us.Oh, thank goodness!the person who is responsible or holds authority
Fed up with the chaos, Barbie demands to speak to someone in charge.
I’ve gotta talk to somebody in charge.Everyone thinks I’m crazy, and I keep getting arrested.Need you to step this way, ma’am.First, I got one tear and then I got a whole bunch.Thank God they arrested that nutjob.that reality-challenged woman.Thanks for the ride. This has been so much fun.Ken Tries to Bring Patriarchy Home, explained
What's really going on
The scene is the film's funniest argument, and it works because Ken takes the wrong lesson every time. Told he needs qualifications, he asks, "Isn't being a man enough?" and is flatly told no. The men he meets admit the game has changed without admitting much else — "We just... hide it better now" — and Ken, missing the joke entirely, decides to take patriarchy back to Barbie Land where it can be done properly. His plan is ridiculous, and it is also the setup for everything that follows. Meanwhile Barbie's half of the scene is a catalogue of what the Real World does to a woman who looks and acts like her: stares, hostility, arrest. The two threads sit side by side to make the imbalance plain: Ken's adventure is a lark, and Barbie's is a series of small humiliations.
Theme
SatireKen misunderstands patriarchy so completely that the film can mock it from both directions at once.
IdentityOne doll is told being a man is not enough, while the other is punished simply for being seen as a woman.
Listen for
- in danger — liaison
- There you are — liaison
- come with us — elision
I shall seek my fortune there.Ken's mock-heroic announcement, borrowed from old adventure stories, about going off to make his name in the Real World.
Isn’t being a man enough?His baffled question when told he needs degrees and experience — the line that exposes how little he understands the system he wants to join.
We’re doing it well, yeah. We just... hide it better now.The men's half-admission that patriarchy never really stopped, only learned to look polite.
Men look at me like I’m an object.Barbie naming what the Real World does to her, in the plainest possible language.
Everyone thinks I’m crazy, and I keep getting arrested.Her summary of the Real World so far: disbelief, hostility, and repeated arrest.
I need to find somewhere where I can start patriarchy fresh.Ken's plan to export his half-understood idea to a place that hasn't heard of it yet, which is exactly what he does.
Questions about this scene
Why does Ken want a job in the Real World?
He believes the Real World runs on patriarchy and that being a man should be enough. He wants influence and money, and he is repeatedly told he needs qualifications instead.
What happens to Barbie while Ken is job-hunting?
She is stared at, dismissed and arrested more than once. Mattel eventually collects her, which is when the two storylines come together.
Why does Mattel take Barbie?
A life-size Barbie in the real world is a brand problem for them. They want her back in a box and under control, not loose on the streets.
What is Ken's plan at the end of the scene?
He decides to return to Barbie Land and teach the other Kens about patriarchy. It sounds absurd, and it sets up the film's second act.
Barbie · 26 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 13up the wazooMattel Execs Try to Box Barbie
Chapter 1burst their bubbleBarbie Rewrites the Doll Story
Chapter 2the voice of a generationBarbie's Perfect Day in Barbie Land
Chapter 3beach offKen Beaches Off and Gets Hurt
Chapter 4dying toBarbie Asks About Dying
Chapter 5fall into disrepairBarbie's Heels Touch the Ground
Chapter 6be that as it mayBarbie Opens a Portal to Reality
Chapter 7a figure of speechBarbie Leaves Barbie Land
Chapter 8hold it against meBarbie and Ken Hit the Real World
Chapter 9man upThe Mattel Men Celebrate Themselves
Chapter 10with all due respectMattel Panics Over Barbie in LA
Chapter 11the last resortSasha Confronts Barbie
Watching · Chapter 12seek my fortuneKen Tries to Bring Patriarchy Home
Chapter 13up the wazooMattel Execs Try to Box Barbie
Chapter 14Isn't that marvelousBarbie Meets Ruth at Mattel
Chapter 15come off itSasha and Her Mom Pick Up Barbie
Chapter 16dream upBarbie Flees to Barbie Land
Chapter 17fly off the shelvesBarbie Finds Ken's Casa House
Chapter 18snap out of itKen Takes Over Barbie Land
Chapter 19make a run for itBarbie Hits Her Lowest Point
Chapter 20existential crisisIt's Impossible to Be a Woman
Chapter 21tie herself into knotsGloria's Monologue About Women
Chapter 22the old standbyThe Barbies Plot Their Return
Chapter 23take advantage ofThe Kens Build a Patriarchy
Chapter 24took you for grantedBarbie Apologizes to Ken
Chapter 25hold on toBarbie Tells Ken to Find Himself
Chapter 26living in the shadowsBarbie Says Maybe She's Not BarbieChapter 12 of 26 · about 53 min to go