Thursday, May 21, 2009

Made of Plastic! It's Fantastic!

If you haven't already guessed, I've decided to do my post on Barbies! They've been around for fifty years. I just finished designing a booklet on them and they really interested me. It seems that no other toy has made such an impact on our culture than Barbie. There are avid collectors who will fight tooth an nail to get the desired beauty they want.

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The first Barbie was a blonde bombshell with heavy lids.

A lot people are so extremely pissed off at Barbie for promoting a poor self-image for girls, but if anything, I think Barbie was and still is a positive influence for every girl. Barbie has been a supermodel, a cowgirl, a babysitter, a doctor, a big sister, a secretary, a socialite, a princess, an astronaut, a cowgirl, a rockstar, and thats just the beginning of her list of occupations!

Astronaut
Barbie was an Astronaut before women were even allowed into the space program.


All though, yes, I can see how someone could see Barbie as an incarnation of pure vanity and self absorption, but to many little girls(And some adults!), Barbie is an escape from every day life. She's the dream! She can do anything, and look good while doing it!



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Barbie for president!


Barbie is not just a doll. She's an American symbol. Whether you like it or not, Barbie is a representation of the styles and quirks of the different decades. 1959-64 was all about elegance and sophistication, 65-early 70's were all about understatement and funkyness. Minimal make up and no frills hair for the flower child Barbie and extreme craziness for the Mod Barbies. while the late 70's were dramatic and hip. Disco and glittery clothes with Farrah Fawcett inspired looks. The early 80's were sweet and innocent, also known as the Raegan era. The early 80's also had a bit of funk to the Barbie clothes. The late 80's were totally bitchen! The big hair, the purple eye shadow! RAD! You can pretty much look at a Barbie from any era and tell what the style was at that time.


Malibu
A 1971 Barbie as a surfer girl! Before SPF obsession.

1977
1977 Barbie had her first set of lowlights!

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1977 Barbie had a Farrah inspired look.

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1983 innocent Reagan-era Barbie with delicate features.

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A 1986 rocker Barbie with extreme hair and purple eye shadow! Moderation is for other decades!




So this concludes my blog about Barbie. I just thought I'd share what I thought, since we are upon Barbie's 50th birthday. So until next time! Party like it's 1959!


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I thought I'd throw in the Barbie I had when I was a young lad. Totally Hair Barbie!



















1 comment:

  1. Interesting specimen of American culture...you hit the nail on the head with this one!

    ReplyDelete