I'm A Barbie Girl, In The Barbie World
Life In Plastic, It's Fantastic!
You Can Brush My Hair, Undress Me Everywhere
Imagination, Life Is Your Creation
Come On Barbie, Let's Go Party!
excerpt lyrics of 'Barbie Girl' by AQUA
This song played over and over again at "The Barbie Story, Seoul" exhibit at the Design Museum in the Seoul Arts Center. Yes, I went. I even paid $10 to get in and spent 1.5 hours looking at over 2,000 Barbie dolls - the worlds largest exhibition that began its world tour in November 2003 in Vienna, Austria.
In 2004 Barbie turned 45, sort-of, she doesn't look a day over perfect. Among many themed showcases at this exhibit, the Barbie Timeline showcased the first three dolls (released in 1959) to the latest. Why did I go? I don't know - to connect with my inner child maybe. I had some 20 Barbies when I was younger but I didn't really use them for their intended purpose. Ruth Handler created Barbie to inspire little girls to think about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Well I never really played with my dolls more than I tried to preserve them; always careful not to misplace a tiny high-heeled shoe or an even tinier faux-diamond earring, and tried to keep their long blonde hair well combed and their perfect faces smudge-free. I never exercised in the art of fantasy- or role-playing. Either I didn't know how, or didn't see the point. Either way, I never let go of my reality, ever. (are you sensing some anal-retentiveness? you should) Barbie gave me an opportunity to exercise my early onset of (self-diagnosed) OCD and freaky need to clean and organize and sort; characteristics of which I am very fond, as they have become finely tuned works of art (rather than a disorder admittedly).
I wanted to be perfect when I grew up. Perfect looking, perfect worker, perfect friend, perfect wife, and of course, perfect cleaner, organizer and sorter! Was this a result of Barbie's manipulative mind-control messages? The only thing I'll give her credit for is instilling in me the desire to be perfect looking when I grew up.
Anyway, as an adult (whenever that happened) I came to learn and appreciate the positive aspects of free roaming fantasy thought and daydreaming. I'm not saying I could join the theater or Saturday night at the Improve, and you will ~never~ever~ see me play video games, as I hate them, but I have a health
Coincidentally, the day before my journey into Barbie Babylon, the University of Bath released findings of their study on branding among 7-11 year olds, and I am absolutely sure Ruth never saw this one coming, I didn't. Here is an excerpt:
"When we asked the groups of junior school children about Barbie, the doll provoked rejection, hatred and violence," said Dr Agnes Nairn from the University of Bath's School of Management.
"The meaning of 'Barbie' went beyond an expressed antipathy; actual physical violence and torture towards the doll was repeatedly reported, quite gleefully, across age, school and gender."
"The girls we spoke to see Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity, and see the torture as a 'cool' activity in contrast to other forms of play with the doll. The types of mutilation are varied and creative, and range from removing the hair to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving."
Analysis of the children's comments indicate that Barbie is hated because she is 'babyish', 'unfashionable', 'plastic', has multiple selves and because she is a feminine icon.
Microwaving Barbie? Now, that's what I call fantasy play. I love this turn of events for Barbie. She's a false image that is repeatedly marketed to kids that will never, ever look like her, no matter how hard they try, and they will try hard, make no mistake about that. So as I stood among 2,000 Barbie dolls that day I sang to my inner child, Imagination, Life Is Your Creation and then asked her, What do you want to be when you grow up? She said, Someone that doesn't try hard; someone that is good enough; someone that is good.
1 comment:
you mean to tell me this whole time she was never real? oh' the pain i feel. and i wanted to be just like her! hehe it really is amazing how much emotion one plastic call can create in one human being. what an awsome interpersonal experience for you sue! keep gettin' your learn on. it's facinating!
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