Concept:
The Barbies We Should Of Had.
The focus of my made to persuade is centred around feminism but specifically looking at the childhood dolls girls my generation were given and how this has effected us. I don't think I am alone when I say that these 'role mode' Barbies did not represent the majority of women, in fact I would go even further and say I don't think they represent any sort of realistic women. Barbie does not speak, does not have nipples, does not get her period and is always smiling, always beautiful no matter her profession. I think it had such a strong detrimental effect to women an II honestly think that perhaps women my age and older might need a Barbie they can finally relate to. It's about accepting the modern woman and removing these unrealistic, detrimental ideals placed on us in childhood.
This image caught my eye as I love the juxtaposition between the Barbie plastic, unrealistic body with the real, natural demonstration of being a women with the stained underwear. I think the image can also be a bit disturbing at first becuase we are just not used to seeing Barbie in this way and I'd love to explore more about bringing Barbie into the 21st century.
A clip from the episode I mentioned when the Barbie doll says, 'don't ask me, I'm just a girl!' Even though when first watching this I found it humorous after a while it just got quite depressing as the character Lisa is so exciting to have one of he female role models finally speak and then the disappointment that crosses her faces made me think about all the girls who have grown up with these detrimental figures.
I thought this was a really interesting twist on the analyse of Barbie as she explains it's not even the body of the Barbie that is the most detrimental aspect of it but the society around it that is even more of a bad role model for girls; she points out that there has been a female Barbie president before an actual one and Barbie dominates professions that in the real world have such a small percentage of women in it.
When contemplating about the representation of Barbie I remember a really significant episode in The Simpsons when one of the characters buy a doll that is a parody of Barbie and it's the first time there has ever been a speaking doll and all of the female characters are so excited but then are so disappointed by what she has to say as most of her comments are extremely sexist. Through researching this episode I found out they were mimicking a actual Barbie doll that was made in the 80's the was called 'Talking Barbie' which was soon removing from shelves after complaint about the things she was saying, one of the things she repeated was 'maths is hard, let's go to the mall.' This is appalling that girls have had to have this as a role model for so many years!
I found this video, really interesting as you can tell the makers of Barbie are trying to make her more modern but after the women talk to her for more than 30 seconds it becomes really obvious that most the things she has to say have no point or plot to them. I think this Barbie is just really similar to the horrific 'Talking Barbie' from the 80's but the sexism is more subtle, for instance you can't imagine a boy's toy saying any of those things, such as her constant need to bring up fashion and appearance which is so irrelevant for young girls.
Screenshots from the scene when the character Lisa places the talking Barbie in front of the rest of her dolls, ready to speak for the first time and then is extremely disappointed by her ridiculous, stupid comments. I think it summarise a lot of the experiences girls have now when they look back on the toys they were given when they were younger and contemplate how this affected them.
What Type Of Barbie?
There are so many walls to break when exploring a modern Barbie, there is sexuality, gender, appearance and just the general attitude women are meant to display.
I really like the idea of just removing Barbies made up face, perhaps by painting over it with her skin tone as most women do not, nor should have to, wear a full face of make up everyday. Barbie, not matter her job, is always looking beautiful, subtly telling little girls that no matter what appearance is the most important, not matter what you're doing there is no point in it unless you're looking beautiful.I think a lot of women would enjoy buying a Barbie that actual looks realsitc and has a bare face with some pimples.
I like the idea of exploring a actual angry Barbie, not one that always has a fixed smile and looks like she's willing to do anything. I think I could explore this perhaps with the packaging on the box with it saying the opposite of what you'd expect a Barbie box to say which not only would be quite funny and would hopefully sell but also be a way for women to see that those fixed smile Barbies were so ridiculous.
I think this sort of attitude with the no make up doll would be really humorous and somewhat a relief to girls to see Barbie in sweatpants, eating crisps and just not really caring. It would be so nice if there was a actual Barbie for young girls that said it's okay to relax and not always be chirpy faced, covered in make up and walking in high heels everyday, that is such a unrealistic expectation.
Both the mock up images of the transgender Barbie, the overweight Barbie and the cancer Barbie were all great examples of how the medium of the Barbie doll can be manipulated to convey a modern representation of the world around it. It has also got me thinking about how to manipulate the dolls and if I should use wigs or foam, I would need to experiment in more detail.
Looking at Experimental Packaging and Design:
Even though in my sketchbook I am looking at the actual packaging of Barbie dolls to get the exact colour pallet and font I wanted to see how designers have experimented with Barbie Packaging to make it into something modern and interesting...
This has made me think towards also experimenting with Realistic Barbies, so taking a more negative look on the project, so it wouldn't be so much a the Barbies we should of had but the Barbies that we do have now, making a comment on the unequal rights of women today. Also this is a great example of manipulating the packaging to create a message.
This image make e consider perhaps highlighting the ridiculous proportions of Baries body and how if she was a real women she wouldn't even be able to stand or breath but then I came to the realisation that this was the part of Barbie I was most uninterested in as the 'unrealistic body type.' It's been explored so much and been overused, also the Barbies bodies are very hard to manipulate without completely ruining the frame of the body.
Even though I am aiming to create a realistic Barbie Box I still think this image is so dynamic and interesting and makes a comment on the mass produce Barbies and how they seem so fake contorted a lot like of food that comes in a can. I also really like the juxtaposition between the bright pink effeminate packaging the cold realistic structure of the tin can.