Barbie: What Matchbox 20 Song Do The Kens Sing & What Does It Mean?
Contains spoilers for "Barbie"
"Barbie" is, by all standards, a completely bizarre movie. It takes pot-shots at the concept of the patriarchy, and it also features a bunch of lavish musical numbers; it's a movie about the depths of human emotion, and there's also a sequence where Ken (Ryan Gosling) flies around like a plastic toy after running face-first into ocean waves, which are also plastic. "Barbie" contains multitudes, and in one of its funniest and most absurd scenes, every single Ken in their Kendom sees fit to serenade their respective Barbies all at the same time. They all pick the exact same song. It's "Push" by Matchbox 20.
Remember 1996? So does writer-director Greta Gerwig, apparently — and based on the fact that she wrote personalized letters to several artists so that she could get their permission to use specific songs in 2017's "Lady Bird," the woman knows how to deploy a pitch-perfect needle drop. For every woman in history who's sat around while a guy plays guitar at her, this scene, where on-screen text specifies that Ken has been playing for over four hours, will hit hard. (Push hard, if you will.) So why is this song choice so funny for this scene, exactly — and what's the controversy behind it?
The lyrics of Push by Matchbox 20 were slightly controversial when the song released
Told from the perspective of a man angry at his lover, Push has some... interesting lyrics. After specifically saying that he's still angry, the singer says he wants to push his partner around and down, and that he definitely will, as a matter of fact — which led some listeners to think the song was about abuse.
In a 1997 interview with MTV, Matchbox 20's lead singer Rob Thomas addressed those accusations head on when asked about the controversial lyrics. "When 'Push' first came out I got a lot of, I mean, like angry, angry women," Thomas told the interviewer. "It's not about beating women, that's for sure. In fact, in the song I turned around the point of view on it. It was actually about a relationship that I was in and how I was being manipulated. It was all about emotional manipulation and emotional violence." This actually ties into the "Barbie" narrative perfectly, because the movie, despite its appearance as a candy-coated confectionary, grapples with emotional manipulation.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
What does Push mean in the larger context of Barbie?
At first, Ken and his brethren are basically puppy dogs who do whatever their Barbies need at any given moment — but after Gosling's Ken sees how patriarchy can work in their favor while he's in the real world, he's entranced. From there, he creates a Kendom of his own in Barbie Land, where he plays non-stop videos of horses as he and the other Kens brainwash the smart, capable Barbies into becoming subservient set dressing. This all gets reversed when Margot Robbie's Barbie teams up with a few other Barbies and some new real-world friends — and Ken comes clean, saying that he hates running the Kendom and that he really thought patriarchy would have more to do with horses — but if "Push" is about emotional manipulation, then it directly echoes what the Kens do to the Barbies.
Once the Barbies secretly free themselves of their brainwashing, they realize that if they all get their Kens to sing "Push" and then they, in turn, flirt with other Kens, it'll pit Ken against Ken — so they also "push" the men into fighting amongst themselves and the Barbies restore order to Barbie Land. The point is, "Push" is the perfect song for this scene; Gerwig hasn't lost her skill when it comes to incredible music choices.
"Barbie" is in theaters now.