Hollywood's Barbie battle: Why Ryan Gosling's casting as Ken in new film has sparked outrage

Female actors tend to struggle with ageism, but this time around it’s a male actor who has come under fire for being “too ancient” to play a particular role. We are talking about Hollywood dreamboat Ryan Gosling. At 42, he’s all set to play the character of Ken in the upcoming Barbie movie, but the casting has been questioned by a large section of social media users.

The hashtag #NotMyKen has been gaining traction ever since the trailers were released and the promotional buzz for the film began gaining momentum. The movie is scheduled to release in the UAE after mid-July, according to local distributors. Gosling’s detractors believe a younger and more “youthful-looking” actor would have been a better fit to play the blonde bloke Ken. His age, well into his early forties, has not gone down too well with Barbie fans who believe that the glossily groomed Ken should have been played by a twenty-something actor.

The tweets that are doing the rounds range from sarcastic to vitriolic. And the dominant narrative is Gosling being described as “old” and “washed out”. Incidentally, the age difference between the actors playing Barbie and Ken (Gosling, 42, and Margot Robbie, 32) has also been a point of contention among its so-called Barbie brigade.

But what makes this ageist controversy significant is that its subject, actor Gosling, is not taking the public ridiculing lying down. He adopted to respond to the raging scandal through a humourous lens.

He responded to the raging controversy in a recent interview with GQ magazine that “if people were not interested in playing with his portrayal of Ken, there are many other versions of the character available.” He also humorously questioned whether people had ever given much thought to the character of Ken prior to this casting debate. His words: "It is funny…this kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this? But suddenly, it’s like, ‘No, we’ve cared about Ken this whole time.’ No, you didn’t. You never did. You never cared. Barbie never [expletive] with Ken. That’s the point. If you ever really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken. So your hypocrisy is exposed. This is why his story must be told."

He even went to the extent of saying that he's Ken’s biggest cheerleader. He joked: "I care about this dude now ... I’m like his representative. Ken couldn’t show up to receive this award, so I’m here to accept it for him.". But he wasn't always this invested or convinced about playing Ken. In a separate event, Gosling famously expressed his doubt at playing Ken at a Comicon. At that time, he said:"If I’m being really honest, I doubted my Ken-ergy. I didn’t see it. Margot [Robbie] and Greta [Gerwig], I feel like they conjured this out of me somewhere."

The controversy has also led to many wondering about Ken's "official age". In an article published in Washington Post, it was reported that Ken does not possess an official age. He was initially introduced as the doll Barbie's boyfriend on March 11, 1961, making the character 62 years old. And this detail is now serving as fitting counterargument to those criticising the casting and Gosling’s age.

In the same article, several industry experts in branding and marketing put forward the argument that the backlash against Gosling's age may arise from the desire for Ken to conform to the idealised image of youth and attractiveness.

And remember, for decades the Barbie Dolls – popular playthings among mostly girls – has been criticised for their unrealistic body proportions and initial lack of diversity. But the high viewership of the movie’s trailers, which has already crossed millions of views, suggests that nostalgia is a significant selling point for this film.

The nostalgia factor seems to have worked wonderfully. The cheerful, pink-filled trailer has racked more than 20 million views since its release. Directed by acclaimed actress and filmmaker Greta Gerwig, this film boasts a raft of A-listers including America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, and Helen Mirren. In the UAE cinemas, the live action fantasy film 'Barbie' will release most likely on July 21.