It doesn’t seem to matter what he do, he’s always kind of blue.
Okay, that lyric would work a lot better if I wasn’t writing it in third person, but you get what I was going for, right?
Welcome to my TED Talk, where today I will definitively prove that Sam the Eagle is the Ken from ‘Barbie’ of The Muppets. We will be looking at their standing within their worlds, how they contrast those around them, their struggles with identity, and their desire for recognition, all the while trying to make hilarious ‘I’m Just Ken’ jokes and trying not to mention ‘You Can Call Me Al’ for no discernible reason. Ah, dammit, I did it accidentally.
Let us look at my first slide.
Nope, that’s not it. Oh, it looks like I accidentally replaced all my text slides with pictures of slides. What a hilarious mistake! I guess I’ll just have to wing it. Wing it? Hey, Sam the Eagle has wings! What a segue!
Standing Tall On The Wings of Their Dreams (lol wings, get it?)
Both Sam and Ken are the ultimate outsiders to the people/frogs they associate with. Ken, while in Barbieland, struggles to relate to the various Barbies around him, while searching for who he is and what he was made for (primarily beach). His efforts often place him in awkward positions and bring him shame, whether it be in fights with other Ken’s or on particularly uncomfortable dates with Barbie.
Similarly, Sam the Eagle’s lack of desire to take part in the chaos around him places him in an uneasy position with the other Muppets. While you’ve got Gonzo firing himself out of a cannon, or Piggy being her usual abrupt self, you have Sam who just wants his colleagues to understand that they too could have culture and that they shouldn’t be relegated to spectacle for the sake of spectacle. When he does try to relate, it usually has him creeping on characters like Janice. Remember that whole thing from 2015? Yikes. Sam wants to find some way to connect to those around him, but his principles get in the way. Is it his destiny to live and die a life of strict morality?
Contrasting the Chaos
Both Ken and Sam are wildly different figures to the main characters in their respective projects. Ken’s complete lack of self awareness and his terrible efforts at patriarchy make him the exact opposite of Barbie, especially as she continues to gain a sense of self and promote the female cause. Ken is, well, not a smart guy. None of the Ken’s particularly are. Contrast that with Barbie and her friends, who may like to act ditzy but prove themselves to be fully capable and extremely intelligent.
On the other side, Sam might actually be smarter than the rest of The Muppets, to his own detriment. Sam understands culture, he understands ethics, he’s a serious guy. Because of this, his constant efforts to push The Muppets into integrity is fraught with reluctance and danger. Sam likes to think he is the backbone of the show, attempting to reign in Kermit when he is worried things are getting out of hand.
Identity Crisis
If you’ve seen ‘Barbie’, you’ll know the driving force behind Barbie’s self growth is Ken’s complete nervous breakdown as he suffers an identity crisis. And if you haven’t seen ‘Barbie’, you should know that the driving force behind Barbie’s self growth is Ken’s complete nervous breakdown as he suffers an identity crisis. At one stage in the film, Ken refers to the fact that it’s always ‘Barbie… AND Ken’. His identity is wrapped in his relationship with a girl who just isn’t that into him, which devastates him and causes the entirety of Barbieland to fall into madness.
Sam the Eagle struggles to maintain his position in a world that is opposed to his ideals. While he is generally pretty good about keeping up appearances, he has been known to drop the morals and let his hair down (feathers down?). Consider Sam taking part in a Barbershop Quartet in the 2011 film, singing a version of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Sam usually would take no part in this sort of thing, yet it’s an example of his struggle to identity who he is and the possibility of change within him. Think too of his relationship with Jean Pierre Napoleon in ‘Muppets Most Wanted’. Sam acts like a straight laced FBI agent for the majority of the movie, yet becomes so enamored with his new best friend that he becomes a giddy school girl at the end of the film. So, is this Sam exploring new facets of himself? Or is it him dropping the act and showing his true self?
Kermit, Please Recognize That Sam Is Kenough
Both Ken and Sam want one thing – to be recognized. Ken creates a whole new class system within Barbieland, nearly destroying the place in the process, all due to the fact that he just wants Barbie to look at him, see him, and respect him. It doesn’t really work, besides a slight pitying towards the end of the film when Ken reveals he doesn’t even like the patriarchy, he just thought it was about horses. Instead Ken recognizes within himself that he is ‘Kenough’.
Sam continues in this franchise to have his morality recognized. He wants Kermit and the gang to see him for what he is and the values he brings to the table, rather than have him shunned aside so they can continue to do their Telephone Pole bit. Sam has made mistakes, sure. He brought on Wayne and Wanda, only to have them destroy the set and their lives over and over again. But he continues to push The Muppets to take themselves more seriously, and all he wants is Kermit and the gang to appreciate that.
And so, I think I have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Sam the Eagle is indeed the Ken of the Muppets. He is determined to be himself while lost in a sea of what that even means, all the while relating to those around him in an uncomfortable and awkward manner. But there is one thing that continues to be true. Sam, you are Kenough to us.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
By Jarrod Fairclough – Jarrod@ToughPigs.com
Click here to compare Scooter to Alan on the ToughPigs Discord!
