2024-07-04 07:32:36
In the beginning, Barbie was white and blonde. It’s different today. An anniversary show tells how the doll portrays the world. It was also about a time when Barbie was ahead of the truth.
They may be the most famous 29 centimeters of plastic in the world. Barbie is not only a toy legend, a beauty icon and now also a movie star. The doll is also a repeated target. Barbie has always studied science. In London, an exhibition opening now at the Design Museum is dedicated to the event. It’s a kind of birthday gift: Barbie turns 65 this year.
But retirement is out of the question. His team is already working on ideas for 2026, said Kim Culmone, Vice President of US toy company Mattel. “Barbie is not a static thing,” emphasized Culmone. Barbie cosmos produces 300 to 400 items every year. The challenge: Barbie has to be timeless and contemporary at the same time, says the creator.
Back then it was a fantasy: Barbie as an independent woman
The London exhibition is not a trace of how the figure has changed since the first doll was presented in a fair in 1959. The aim is to show how the “Barbie world” reflects the real, western consumer world. Fashion, hairstyles, accessories, cars and home furnishings are always a reflection of the times. And sometimes they are ahead of the curve. A “Dream House” shows Barbie as an independent woman in 1962. “In fact, it is impossible for a woman to get a mortgage without a man’s sponsor,” reads a label.
Curator Danielle Thom wants to look at the scene “through designer glasses.” “On a macro level, a cultural story can be told through a toy,” Thom said. It is about the development of the face, hair and movement. By diversity. For a long time only blonde, white Barbies, but the figures have also had dark skin and dark hair. A doll sits in a wheelchair.
“Barbie is a designer,” says museum director Tim Marlow. “The journey began in a stadium, and now it goes to space.” Recently, astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took a Barbie to the International Space Station. In true fashion, the doll wears a field suit. By the way, not for the first time: A few years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969, there was an astronaut Barbie – way ahead of his time.
Everything turned pink
Since the Hollywood blockbuster “Barbie” with Margot Robbie in the title role, the most famous doll in the world has become not only a social but also a pop culture phenomenon. Pink is in: Director Marlow wears a pink shirt under his jacket. Several journalists also attended the press preview in Pink. Logically, which color dominates the exhibition. Even the letters on the outside of the museum’s walls correspond.
Barbie stands for records. One of the best selling dolls in history. Barbie has portrayed more than 260 occupations, including astrophysicist, singer, tennis player and president. In 1973 the doll appeared as a doctor. At the time, less than ten percent of doctors in the United States were women. “We girls can do anything,” said Barbie in the 1980s, but today it means more, “You can be anything.” Ken’s long-time partner only appeared in transit.
A doll that can’t walk in real life
However, the criticism of Barbie has been there since the beginning. Legs are too long, hips are too narrow, breasts are too big: one of the most common accusations is that the doll is too thin and spreads unrealistic body shapes. In fact, a woman with such size can’t even walk straight. Barbie “mother” Ruth Handler modeled the character on the German “Bild-Lilli” doll, which was based on a sex comic. Critics say the figure supports the stigma and stereotypes of women.
There is nothing about this in the show. There, Barbie is always portrayed as a progressive woman. Manufacturer Mattel is a partner of the show.
The company is building the doll as a feminine symbol. “We present him as an example to all,” the show emphasized. The famous Barbie pink, which was long considered a “typical girl’s color” and a symbol of naivety, is also given a new meaning: “In today’s world of Barbie, pink signals hope, self-confidence and the power of femininity.” The green purple of the German National soccer team – a BestSeller – also shows how much the color reaches the body. (dpa)
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