For many, the Critics Choice Awards are the closest to the Oscars when it comes to predicting The Academy winners of the year. This is the reason why many of the selected stars who win the accolade show real surprise. Ryan Gosling’s win at the Critics Choice was definitely a great example of this.
Last week, the Golden Globes chose Billie Eilish’s song for Barbie, “What I Was Made For” as the big winner of the Best Song category. Everybody thought this was going to happen in basically all ceremonies during the awards season because, let’s face it, the song is deep and memorable.
However, this wasn’t the case at the Critics Choice Awards this Sunday, and to everybody’s surprise (including Ryan Gosling himself), the big winner was “I’m Just Ken” from the same movie. So, yes, also a great victory for the project, but also a clear sign that not even the best critics of Hollywood truly understood the movie.
The Problem with “I’m Just Ken” Winning Best Song
Ryan Gosling couldn’t help to conceal his shock, giving us a brand new meme that will likely prevail till the end of times. But as many Netizens have pointed out, his reaction might’ve not been that of surprise positively, but of unbelief about the decision.
So, Barbie gave us great lessons on the terrible differences between women and men in the real world. It was an eye-opener for many who realized that very normalized actions have a huge impact on the lives of women all over the world. One of those situations is how differently men and women have to work in order to get recognition.
Women have to work the extra mile to even get a glimpse of attention for their work, while most of the time, men just have to be… well, men (just Ken, if we may). The fact that a song like “I’m just Ken,” which literally mocks this, won over a complex song about womanhood, life insecurities, and our place in the world, makes us realize that things haven’t changed at all!
Not to throw shade at “I’m Just Ken;” it’s a true banger! But let’s be honest, that was not the best song in the film of the year! Billie Elish’s exploration of her life through the years connects with the deep Barbie story so well that it’s really moving!
Yes, the intention of “I’m Just Ken” is to mock the patriarchy and men’s common attitude to victimize themselves whenever they’re taken out of the spotlight, but giving it the award literally defeats the purpose of the song. This, once again, puts a man in the spotlight without even considering the purpose of the song! So, probably Gosling’s reaction has more to do with this rather than him winning unexpectedly. Or maybe he was just realizing he now will likely be forced to perform at the Oscars.
