IDF joins the Barbie fan club in newly released video

The IDF produced a TikTok that has quickly amassed attention with over 30,000 people liking the 9 second clip published on August 13.  

The short video shows a member of the Israeli Air Force flying a plane with a video of Barbie character Ken working out with the now-famous “I’m just Ken” song from the movie playing in the background with the caption reading “My headphones:”.

@idf #idf #barbie #barbiemovie #imjustken #memestiktok #f16 #israel ♬ original sound - IDF

The viral success of the Barbie movie

The Barbie movie has grossed $1.2 billion USD (approximately NIS 4,486,920.00) in box office sales globally, CNN reported on August 14. 

The movie led to Google searches for “Barbie” to reach a 5 year high after the second trailer for the movie was released, according to Business Insider. It was also reported that the Movie’s stock led to an increased value for Mattel stock.

Has every country been willing to join the Barbie fan club?

However, while Israel’s military has clearly joined the Barbie fan club, not every country in the region has. Lebanon and Kuwait have banned the movie claiming that it promotes ideologies that the countries oppose. 

According to the Kuwaiti state-run KUNA news agency, the film advances “ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order.”

Lebanese Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada released a statement denouncing the movie. The statement read, “The movie Barbie contradicts moral and faith values and established principles in Lebanon, as it promotes homosexuality and transgenderism and promotes an ugly idea of rejecting the father’s guardianship, belittling and ridiculing the mother’s role, questioning the necessity of marriage and building a family, and portraying them as an obstacle to the individual’s self-development, especially for women.”