[Editor’s note: The following article contains spoilers for “Barbie.”]Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas is convinced that his 1997 hit “Push” is not the butt of the joke in “Barbie” and that it’s actually a loving homage.The song, which was criticized upon its release for lyrics that allegedly glorified domestic violence, is used at a key moment when the Kens of Barbie Land think they’ve finally won the attention of all the Barbies, amid the Kens’ pastel putsch of the realm to install their version of patriarchy.
Not just Ryan Gosling’s Ken, but all of the Kens serenade their Barbies with “Push” thinking they’ve won the Barbies over — and on their terms.But the Barbies have already been deprogrammed of their patriarchal brainwashing and are just playing along, making the Kens think they’re really interested in them.
It’s one of the things that ultimately builds to the Barbies reclaiming their land while…
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