バービー: Barbie
Let me just say that I
don’t get this whole Barbie controversy. Like, really, Barbie’s a doll.
Dolls don’t need to be proportionate. The creation of dolls is
an art, too, and artists should be able to have creative freedom with whatever
they want to create. If the artists of Mattel wanted to create a super
attractive yet unattainable body for Barbie, then so be it. It shouldn’t matter – she’s
a doll!
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| Barbie has become a familiar image in mainstream society. |
Most of Emily Prager’s arguments in “Our
Barbies, Ourselves” are just too extreme, in my opinion. All of Barbie’s
supposed faults are just due to the fact that she’s a doll made for
little girls to play with. Her discussion about Ken, especially,
struck me as odd. “He had no genitals, and, even at age ten, I found that
ominous” (Prager). I find two problems with this statement. One, why was Prager
aware of and concerned about male genitals at the age of ten? And two, neither
does Barbie. And there’s a reason for that. Barbie and company are marketed
towards children, who really have no need to know about all that.
Ten-year-old Prager’s obvious distraught over how “[Barbie] would never turn
Ken on” (Prager) was just, quite frankly, disturbing.
But of course, the controversy’s
there, and along with it comes a slew of anti-Barbie products, one of which is
Lammily, who’s based on the body proportions of an average American
19-year-old. The best thing about her? She comes with stick-on acne and
cellulite. How wonderful.
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| Nickolay Lamm's proportioniate Lammily doll. What a creative name. |
Jokes and sarcasm aside, this Barbie
controversy has brought out the opposite extreme as well. It’s a novel idea to
create a proportionate doll, but was it really necessary to bring the
bodily functions into the picture, too?
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| Lammily's acne is the very epitome of natural beauty. |
Humans just have the tendency to
pick out problems where there are none, just because they’re bored. The world would be a very different place without all the flame wars on the Internet, screaming politicians on TV, and passive-aggressive articles, such as those of Prager. It keeps
the world interesting, I guess. Complain-y, but interesting.
Fun fact: I'm still a huge fan of
Barbie movies. I actually think they're great. No judgement.
Jenny! First of all, I don't think I've ever commented on this blog but WOW the theme is stunning (and very Jenny-like as well)! I do like how you are not afraid to state your objections to the piece; I also agree that at certain points I had a "really?" moment as it all seemed a bit blown out of proportion. great post! (p.s. I was also very into those movies)
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that you brought up something like Lamily. Having acne, I feel, is something adults put on dolls so they are more "realistic", but in the end, its just a toy for children, and I don't think children are going to care whether a toy has acne or not. I agree the article makes some fine, but exaggerated points.
Hey Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI loved your post (probably because it is very similar to mine). I do agree that article blows Barbie way out of proportion. Most girls looks up to Barbie as well. Do we really want girls striving to have acne and cellulite? It's an interesting thought. This is a great post and I can't wait to read your next one!
Jenny,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really like the theme of your blog. It''s so you! I also love your view point on this subject. I feel like it is very unique and definitely gave me a new perspective on this Barbie piece!
I agree that since Barbie is just a doll, she should be cut some slack with regards to her completely disproportionate body. But Matel should have made her at least a little realistic. It's amazing how quickly children pick up on things; playing with such dolls all the time could easily send them the message that they aren't good enough if they aren't able to look exactly like Barbie (especially since they emulate whoever they look up to).
ReplyDeleteHey Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI love how I burst out laughing when you pointed out the obvious over analayzation (that's not a real word but it's okay) that adults tend to do, and highlighted the simple truth that Barbie is just a doll. The addition of Lammely really strengthened your views (especially with the addition of bit about acne).
Awesome Job!