It seems like Barbie should be having more fun. She’s got mountains of stuff – accessories, vehicles, and-oh-that-closet. But, it all feels a little empty.
Take these photos of Barbie in Paris, for example.
The team at Barbie Style puts a ton of effort into their setups – it’s not photo shopped, they’re actually on site. And, having done a tiny amount of onsite, I can tell you that what Barbie is looking at is a few humans lying on the ground trying to get everything lined up behind her while making sure that she doesn’t fall over.Plus, they hand tailor all of her outfits.
But, it doesn’t exactly look like fun.Mostly, she’s standing around having her photo taken – I almost never see her actually *doing* something. Contrast that with a typical American Girl instagram photo.
They’re generally not posing for the camera. Either some happy child is carrying them around (which, I guarantee, is heaven for a doll) or they’re out on their own adventure, so involved with what they’re doing that they don’t even bother to face the camera.
I’ve read the social criticism of the Barbie figure, but I don’t think it’s anything inherent in the doll. I have a Barbie, along with my more customized dolls, and she’s just as likely to go on an adventure as any of them.
I think it’s something in the nature of her accessories. Barbie’s stuff just seems – paralyzing. I’m not sure what one is supposed to do with a “glam” house, but I suspect it involves a lot of sitting down. Compare that with American Girl Lea’s amazingly cool rain forest house
If she’s sitting in that place, it’s just long enough to write in her journal about the amazing adventure she had today.
[After drafting this, the barbiestyle account posted a few socialty-barbie type pics (complete with inspirational statements), like this one: