In her documentary "Black Barbie," director Lagueria Davis traces the story of its creation. The year Martin Luther King was assassinated, the first Black doll appeared in the Barbie universe. The first step towards diversification came early, in the 1960s, when deep racial conflicts shook the USA. Lagueria Davis tells the story of Black Barbie in her documentary film Barbie and diversity "There are now studies that prove that even forms of objectification that are also meant to be positive, i.e., positive compliments on appearance, remind women that it's always just about their appearance," she says. For Elisabeth Lechner, who has studied body images and body positivity in depth, that doesn't change the basic problem. There are now Barbies with different body shapes, Barbies with prosthetic legs, in wheelchairs, a chemotherapy Barbie and, most recently, one with Down syndrome. Mattel has reacted to this and expanded the product range and made it more diverse. A questionable ideal of beauty that can trigger a distorted body image in girls, as studies suggest. For the US author and feminist Jill Filipovic, Barbie conveys "a really unhealthy, ideal image of femininity and what it means to be an attractive woman, a good woman, worthy woman."Įndless legs, a wasp waist, a toned body: With Barbie, this ideal was transported into children's rooms: "Young, white, no disabilities, ready for action and performance in a capitalist world," is how cultural scientist Elisabeth Lechner sums it up to DW. Nevertheless, Barbie fell into disrepute in feminist circles. The fact that Ruth Handler had created a working and financially independent woman out of the doll named after her daughter Barbara was a provocation in the conservative 1950s and early 1960s. I'm always number two… I'm just Ken." In Greta Gerwig's film too, Ken is secondary and remains in Barbie's pink shadow Image: Warner Bros/Entertainment Pictures/ZUMAPRESS/picture alliance Feminist icon or toxic beauty ideal? He could never keep up with her glamour, however, and Ryan Gosling as Ken in the Barbie movie even sings a sad song about that. You could have one of hundreds of careers."īarbie has her own house and her own car, in which her ever-loyal companion Ken has been allowed to sit in the passenger seat since 1961. You don't have to have your father or your husband supporting you. Susan Shapiro, an avowed Barbie fan, describes the message like this: "You don't have to be a mommy taking care of little babies. To this day, the toy company says Barbie "inspires the limitless potential in every girl." All this, of course, in appropriately coordinated outfits. Not just as a secretary, but a doctor, pilot, astronaut and even the female president of the United States - something that has yet to happen in reality. Ruth Handler, who created Barbie, is said to have breathed very progressive ideas into the doll Image: Andrew Harnik/AP Photo/picture allianceīarbie was modelled to be a career woman. It is now one of the world's leading toy companies. Since the doll furniture sold well, they specialized in the production of various toys. The trio manufactured picture frames and dollhouse furniture. Together with her husband, Elliot, and Harold Matson, she founded the company Mattel in a garage in 1945. The US-American Handler hailed from a Polish-Jewish emigrant family in which everyone, whether male or female, had to contribute to the income. Her doll, which was to become one of the world's best-selling toys, was a young woman who was self-confident, attractive and gainfully employed. Ruth Handler (1916-2002), the "Mother of Barbie," didn't want to produce another doll designed for her daughter and her friends to practice for their future role as mothers. Not only a sly wink to Kubrick's classic, it also refers to Barbie's founding legend and recipe for success. Set to the instantly recognizable "Space Odyssey" score, the teaser trailer was released by Warner Bros Pictures in December 2022.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |