Ken's Job Is Just "Beach" In The Barbie Movie By making Ken's job beach instead of lifeguard or surfer or anything else, he feels like he doesn't have a purpose, especially when he compares himself to the Barbies, who can be anything they want to be and as a result don't rely on the Kens for anything.
The impetus behind Ken's quest for his true purpose stems from the fact that he has no real profession or identity outside of making Barbie happy. Ken's job is beach, which seems to entail standing in the sand and watching the waves, with nothing qualifying him to even be a Lifeguard.
Ken is clearly desperate for Barbie's approval, and after learning about patriarchy from the real world, he bring it back to Barbieland so he can exercise control over and brainwash the Barbies in order to ensure they are beholden to him.
As of September 2022, he is perceived as one of Barbie's main friends. Since his debut, Ken has held over 40 occupations, the latest being "beach" (standing in the sand and surveying the waves), as depicted in the 2023 Barbie film.
The very first Ken doll seems to have the job of “beach,” as he wears a red bathing suit and sandals. Despite the new movie's claims, the doll did hold several occupations over the years, just not as many as Barbie. He has been an astronaut, chef, lifeguard, country western singer, and of course…
Barbie's boyfriend is Ken Carson. Ken (Kenneth Carson) is a Mattel toy doll introduced by Mattel in 1961 as the fictional boyfriend of toy doll Barbie, introduced in 1959.
Back in 2004, just days before Valentine's Day, Mattel shared the sad news that iconic couple Barbie and Ken had broken up. The most perfect plastic pair had been together for 43 years when the surprising split was announced.
He continuously ignores and piles it on which leads to the downfall of Barbie land. In her head, she sees nothing wrong with what she is doing, so the rejection, slowly or harshly turning him do, is unintentional.
Ken has had styles, careers, and friends over the years. Ken's original backstory was that he met Barbie in 1961 on the set of their first television commercial together. The couple fell in love and started dating. Barbie broke up with Ken on Valentine's Day in 2004.
Unlike the other Kens in Barbie Land who have jobs like lifeguard or surfer, Gosling's Ken has simply one job, and it's “beach.” If he tries a different vocation like surfing, as he does in the movie to impress Margot Robbie's Barbie, he crashes and hurts himself.
Technically, Ken has no official age (he is a doll, after all) although he was first introduced as Barbie's boyfriend on March 11, 1961, which means he has been around for 62 years.
Some said the relationship dissolved because the pressure of being in the public eye became too great — even after 43 years. Others gossiped that Ken's ambiguous sexuality and Barbie's disproportionate figure finally took their toll.
Dan Levy almost starred in the hit film "Barbie." Find out why the "Schitt's Creek" co-creator turned down a role in Greta Gerwig's movie, a decision he says still haunts him.
He's not Barbie's boyfriend. He's Barbie's gay best friend. Despite Mattel's insistence that Barbie and Ken are in a happy romantic relationship, there's plenty of speculation about Ken's sexuality. Even if his makers claim him to be straight, there's mounting proof to the contrary.
Barbie wasn't honest with Ken about not being attracted to him and Ken was obsessed with making her like him, becoming dependent and later manipulative. While all this was key to their personal journeys, being paired with the wrong Barbie and Ken was very unhealthy for both.
But after the Barbies reveal their victory and Ken goes off crying, it's Barbie who apologizes to Ken, not the other way around. Some viewers have wondered: why does Barbie apologize to Ken when he's the one who brainwashed all her friends and took over Barbie Land?
Barbie and Ken are one of pop culture's most famous couples. But the plastic dolls were named after real people, and they weren't a couple – they were siblings. Ruth Handler's children resented the dolls named after them and didn't buy any for their own children.
1961: First introduced at the American International Toy Fair as Barbie doll's boyfriend on March 11, 1961 Ken doll was 12 inches tall, had “molded” plastic hair (blond and brunette) and came dressed in red bathing suit trunks with a yellow towel and sandals.
Barbie was childfree. She was invented to be that way. Her creator, Ruth Handler, way back in 1959, was disheartened to find that the only dolls her own daughter could play with were baby dolls.
“Pregnant Barbie” is actually Margaret Hadley Sherwood, or Midge, as her friends call her. Midge was created to be a less glam, more relatable Barbie, per Buzzfeed News. The doll was launched in 1963 as Barbie's bestie. She had freckles and red hair, and she wore less makeup than Barbie did.
The best boyfriend in the world, Ken wants to be the perfect guy to the perfect gal, but hasn't quite got the perfection thing down the way Barbie does. He loves creating new crazy gadgets to make her life easier, but sometimes they do the opposite.
Yes, Sugar Daddy Ken was a real thing in the Noughties, but his backstory is not what you'd think. A Gavin and Stacey actor plays him in the movie. A little Barbie trivia for you – there is an actual doll called Sugar Daddy Ken.
