Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai and her husband became Barbie fans after seeing the Greta Gerwig movie. To show their loving appreciation for the comedy, the loving couple went to social media with their “Just Ken” moment.
As Malala Yousafzai has dedicated her life to fighting for female education, it makes sense that Barbie would be on her watchlist. She brought along the Ken of her life- her husband Asser Malik. According to E! News, the married couple posted an Instagram photo of themselves in a life-size Barbie box at the movie theater they saw Barbie at. On July 30th, her caption said, “This Barbie has a Nobel Prize. He’s just Ken.” Asser humorously commented with his laughing-cry emoji, “I’m Kenough.” Considering how cute these two look in the photo, I’d like to believe the human rights advocate agrees.
Yousafzai’s joke references the film’s tagline, “She’s Barbie, he’s just Ken.” Throughout the movie, both Barbie and Ken have identity crises. Barbie’s comes from transitioning into a normal human being. Ken’s struggle, on the other hand, derives from living in a female-dominated land with men solely to cheer them on. He knows who he is with Barbie, but not without. It’s a great reflection on the importance of establishing your own identity instead of letting society do it for you. Malala Yousafzai did just that by challenging the Taliban’s rule of banning girls from education.
In her Instagram caption, Yousafzai’s praiseworthy critique said, “We loved the movie, it was so funny and thoughtful. I hope this caption doesn’t hurt all the Kens as much as the movie Ken.” I’d like to believe if her own personal Ken is proud of his wife’s accomplishments and still knows he’s “Kenough,” all of the other Kens of the world will feel the same.
The Success of the Barbie Movie
The Barbie craze and Kenergy have been blowing up ever since its July 21st release date. The Margot Robbie-led film earned $70.5 million on its opening day and finished its first week at over $250 million. Barbie broke a lot of records like having the biggest opening ever for a female-directed film and the biggest opening for a movie based on a toy. Critics and audiences have also been praising Barbie for being a fun movie with a great message. If feminists like Malala Yousafzai found the Mattel Inc. movie entertaining, this should inspire other feminists out there to give this year’s hit film a chance.
