WinkLingo
Log in

Barbie · 2023 — Chapter 23 of 26 · 3'59" · B2

The Kens Build a Patriarchy, Explained: take advantage of

The Kens have taken Barbie Land and are pleased with the result, explaining that they simply copied the real world's patriarchy. The Barbies counter with charm and sabotage, planning to turn the Kens against each other, while the Kens plan a war fought with tennis rackets and slap fights. "We go to war," one of them announces.

What happens

The Kens are running Barbie Land and explaining their achievement: they took patriarchy and made their own version of it. A Barbie tries to win Ken back with a low-commitment relationship, while the Barbies plot to play on the Kens' egos and turn them against each other. The Kens, meanwhile, plan a war with tennis rackets.

ArgumentsPartiesExplainingPersuadingRivalsB2fastamericanClean
IMDb ↗

Listen for

take advantage ofhold ongo to warlow-commitment

00:00 / 03:59
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

take advantage of

利用（机会或条件）

肯们商量如何开战时，领头的肯一本正经地下达进攻时间，并提醒要利用早晨的浪势。

Take advantage of the quiet mornings to get your work done.

Also in this scene

  • hold on

    wait a moment; also, grip tight

  • go to war

    to fight or compete all-out

  • low-commitment

    requiring little time, emotion, or obligation

Everything marked in this scene

24 notes across 52 lines

Phrase · B1be better at somethingAnd the Kens really are just better at ruling than the Barbies ever were.
Phrase · B2make a patriarchyWell, we just took patriarchy and you know, made a patriarchy.
Phrase · B2if you'll still have meI’m ready to be your long-term-distance low-commitment casual girlfriend, if you’ll still have me.
Grammar · B2if you’ll still have me

if-clause

I’m ready to be your long-term-distance low-commitment casual girlfriend, if you’ll still have me.
Phrase · A2hold on for a secondWould you just hold on for one second?
Soundhold on

liaison

Would you just hold on for one second?
Phrase · B1the final stageThis is the final stage of our plan.
Phrase · B1a dream come trueGive them their dream come true.
Phrase · B2at the peak of somethingAnd at the peak of their happiness, when they think you actually care about this song...
Grammar · B2when they think you actually care

when-clause

And at the peak of their happiness, when they think you actually care about this song...
Phrase · B1take something awayYou take it all away.
Phrase · A2one secSorry. One sec.
Phrase · C1play on somethingYou play on their egos and their petty jealousies, and you turn them against each other.
Grammar · B2turn them against each other

turn against

You play on their egos and their petty jealousies, and you turn them against each other.
Phrase · B1take something backWhile they’re fighting, we take back Barbie Land.
Phrase · B1mean nothingDoes the title of long-term-distance casual low-commitment girlfriend mean nothing?
Phrase · B2go to war

to fight or compete all-out

The Kens decide to go to war against the other Kens, toys and all.

We go to war.
Soundgo to war

liaison

We go to war.
Phrase · A2call someone something elseWe should probably call them something else so it doesn’t get confusing.
Phrase · B2take advantage of somethingBecause, my dudes, we attack at ten o’clock and take advantage of the morning waves.
Grammar · B2take advantage of the morning waves

take advantage of

Because, my dudes, we attack at ten o’clock and take advantage of the morning waves.
Soundmorning waves

elision

Because, my dudes, we attack at ten o’clock and take advantage of the morning waves.
Slang · B1dudesBecause, my dudes, we attack at ten o’clock and take advantage of the morning waves.
Phrase · B1sleep inBut not so early ’cause we’re gonna want to sleep in.

The Kens Build a Patriarchy, explained

What's really going on

The scene stages the film's argument as comedy, and lets the Kens do the explaining. Their summary of their own takeover is almost innocent: "We just took patriarchy and you know, made a patriarchy." They have copied a system without understanding it, which is the joke and also the point. The Barbies' plan is more knowing: they will use flattery and jealousy rather than force, because those are the levers that actually move the Kens. "You play on their egos and their petty jealousies, and you turn them against each other." Meanwhile the revolution is imagined in the silliest possible terms: rackets, volleyballs, slap fights. The scene is funny, but underneath the jokes it is describing how power gets taken, held and lost.

Theme

SatireThe Kens copy a system they barely understand, and the film makes their version of power look as hollow as it is.
PowerBarbie Land is won back not with force but by exploiting the Kens' vanity and rivalries.

Listen for

  • hold on — liaison
  • go to war — liaison
  • morning waves — elision
Well, we just took patriarchy and you know, made a patriarchy.

Ken explaining the takeover as if it were a small thing, revealing how little he understands the system he has copied.

And the Kens really are just better at ruling than the Barbies ever were.

The self-congratulation that goes with the takeover, delivered without the faintest sense of irony.

You play on their egos and their petty jealousies, and you turn them against each other.

The counter-plan in one line: not force, but flattery and rivalry, aimed at the men's weakest points.

Does the title of long-term-distance casual low-commitment girlfriend mean nothing?

A joke built from a pile-up of relationship labels, aimed at a Ken who keeps getting distracted by his phone.

Questions about this scene

How do the Kens rule Barbie Land?

By copying the real world's patriarchy. They take over the houses and the power and then congratulate themselves, without really understanding what they have built.

How do the Barbies plan to take Barbie Land back?

They plan to use the Kens' own flaws against them, playing on their egos and jealousy so the Kens fight each other. Force is not part of the plan.

What weapons do the Kens plan to use?

Tennis rackets, volleyballs, slap fights and beach offs. The war is treated like a game, which is part of the joke.

What does the Barbie offer Ken?

She offers to be his long-term-distance, low-commitment, casual girlfriend. It is a pile-up of half-hearted labels that only makes the offer sound more absurd.

Barbie · 26 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 24took you for grantedBarbie Apologizes to Ken
Chapter 1burst their bubbleBarbie Rewrites the Doll StoryChapter 2the voice of a generationBarbie's Perfect Day in Barbie LandChapter 3beach offKen Beaches Off and Gets HurtChapter 4dying toBarbie Asks About DyingChapter 5fall into disrepairBarbie's Heels Touch the GroundChapter 6be that as it mayBarbie Opens a Portal to RealityChapter 7a figure of speechBarbie Leaves Barbie LandChapter 8hold it against meBarbie and Ken Hit the Real WorldChapter 9man upThe Mattel Men Celebrate ThemselvesChapter 10with all due respectMattel Panics Over Barbie in LAChapter 11the last resortSasha Confronts BarbieChapter 12seek my fortuneKen Tries to Bring Patriarchy HomeChapter 13up the wazooMattel Execs Try to Box BarbieChapter 14Isn't that marvelousBarbie Meets Ruth at MattelChapter 15come off itSasha and Her Mom Pick Up BarbieChapter 16dream upBarbie Flees to Barbie LandChapter 17fly off the shelvesBarbie Finds Ken's Casa HouseChapter 18snap out of itKen Takes Over Barbie LandChapter 19make a run for itBarbie Hits Her Lowest PointChapter 20existential crisisIt's Impossible to Be a WomanChapter 21tie herself into knotsGloria's Monologue About WomenChapter 22the old standbyThe Barbies Plot Their ReturnWatching · Chapter 23take advantage ofThe Kens Build a PatriarchyChapter 24took you for grantedBarbie Apologizes to KenChapter 25hold on toBarbie Tells Ken to Find HimselfChapter 26living in the shadowsBarbie Says Maybe She's Not Barbie
Chapter 23 of 26 · about 11 min to go