Tiny Shoulders, Rethinking Barbie

An excellent documentary tracking the change that occurred at Mattel in 2016. Shortly before that, the company focused much more on the success Monster High and Barbie was somewhat forgotten. The same generic doll was still being released, but sales numbers were declining. Animated feature films were fine, but online content offered only parodies in the style of Life in a Dreamhouse. The film series showed attempts at a modern update, especially in the choice of themes: Princess Power is a superhero comic, Star Light Adventure a sci-fi, and Video Game Hero has its own specific genre in the title. The world changed and Barbie had to change too. Because the public had forgotten about the diversity that Mattel had offered in previous years, resulting in new body proportions - the classic slim Barbie is now also being released as a curvy doll, as very tall or very short (later also with prominent muscles and a smaller bust). At the same time, in the inexpensive playline, all possible ethnic variants, hair textures, types of faces, skin colors, and last but not least, the full range of disabilities and differences from the classic universal blue-eyed blonde with perfect fair skin are available. We have Barbie (and Ken) in a wheelchair, with vitiligo, with braces, with a prosthetic leg, freckles, Down syndrome... Why did all of this come so late, and why was it such a problem? Because the different sizes of Barbie have their limits in the compatibility of the entire world of accessories. For wheelchair users, the size of the elevator in the dollhouse had to be changed, the clothes are really no longer (and can not be) universal, and it's all a bit more complex than it might seem to laymen. In addition, customers are often idiots, because they are able to complain that the curvy Barbie does not fit the pants for the petite Barbie, even though the size is clearly marked on the package using instructional images. This leads to the creation of a kind of one-size-fits-all fashion, which, however, does not satisfy demanding collectors. People at Mattel have had and have very complex issues, criticism is naive, children are demanding, and collectors will not forgive you anything. And then celebrities like Gloria Steinem come on the scene with their apotheosis on the topic of "Barbie is not enough." But what more should she be when the American woman in the 20th century was everything from a woman at the stove to a movie star and Barbie encompassed it all (including the model of an astronaut, a businesswoman, and madame President). If you can't move forward in terms of professions and inspiration, you have to change the appearance again. So who is superficial here? (07/29/2023)