Barbie is a fashion doll produced by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businessman Ruth Handler is credited with making dolls using a German doll named Bild Lilli as its inspiration..
Barbies are dolls of Mattel dolls and accessories, including other family members and collectible dolls. Barbie has been an important part of the toy doll market for more than fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving a puppet parody and lifestyle.
Mattel has sold more than a billion Barbie dolls, making it the largest and most profitable line of companies. However, sales have fallen sharply since 2014. The doll changed the toy business in affluent communities around the world by being a vehicle for the sale of related merchandise (accessories, clothing, Barbie friends, etc.). He has a significant impact on social values ​​by conveying the characteristics of female independence, and with its many accessories, the ideal upper-class lifestyle that can be shared with affluent friends. Barbie has evolved into a media franchise, including animated films, television specials, video games, and music.
Video Barbie
Histori
Ruth Handler watched her daughter, Barbara, playing with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At that time, most stuffed children's toys are baby representations. Realizing that there might be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of ​​an adult doll to her husband, Elliot, a founder of the Mattel toy company. He was not enthusiastic about the idea, as was Mattel's director.
During a trip to Europe in 1956 with his children, Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler found a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. An adult doll is what Handler thinks, so he buys three of them. He gave one to his daughter and brought the other back to Mattel. The Lilli doll is based on a popular character that appears on the comic strip that was drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the Bild newspaper. Lilli is a blond woman, a working girl who knows what she wants and does not use men to get her. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was originally sold to adults, the doll became popular among children who loved dressing it with clothes that were available separately.
Upon returning to the United States, Handler redesigned the doll (with help from engineer Jack Ryan) and the doll was given a new name, Barbie , after daughter Handler, Barbara. The doll debuted at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as the official birthday of Barbie.
The first Barbie doll wears a black and white striped zebra swimsuit and a ponytail ponytail, and is available either as a blonde or brunette. The doll was marketed as a "Model of Teen-age Fashion," with her outfit made by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson. The first Barbie dolls were produced in Japan, with their clothes sewn by Japanese home-based workers. About 350,000 Barbie dolls are sold during the first year of production.
Louis Marx and the Company sued Mattel in March 1961. After licensing Lilli, they claimed that Mattel had "violated Greiner & Hausser's patent for the Bild-Lilli hip joint, and also claimed that Barbie was a" take-off and direct copy "of Bild -Lilli.The company also claims that Mattel "wrongly and misleadingly claims that he is from design." Mattel's counter-claims and case were settled out of court in 1963. In 1964, Mattel purchased a copyright and a Greiner & ; Hausser right for the Bild-Lilli doll for $ 21,600.
Ruth Handler believes that it is important for Barbie to have an adult appearance, and early market research shows that some parents are unhappy with the stuffed chest, which has different breasts. Barbie's appearance has changed many times, especially in 1971 when the doll's eyes were adjusted to look ahead rather than having a polite daydream out of the original model.
Barbie is one of the first toys to have a broad-based marketing strategy on television advertising, which has been widely copied by other toys. It is estimated that more than one billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.
The standard series of Barbie dolls and related accessories are produced up to about 1/6 scale, also known as playscale. The standard doll is about 11Ã,½ inch high.
Maps Barbie
Media franchise
Barbie products not only include dolls with their clothes and accessories, but also a wide range of Barbie-branded goods such as books, clothes, cosmetics, and video games. Barbie has appeared in a series of animated films since 1987, and is a supporting character in the Pixar movies Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 .
Direct-to-DVD animated Barbie films have sold over 27 million units worldwide, in 2006. In addition, the brand has two television specials, Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World and Barbie and the Sensation: Rockin 'Back to Earth , and the hit song "Barbie Girl" (1997).
Inheritance and influence
Barbie has become a cultural icon and has been awarded a rare award in the world of toys. In 1974, a section of Times Square in New York City was renamed Barbie Boulevard for a week. The MusÃÆ' © e des Arts Dà © nà © rÃ,s coratifs, Paris at the Louvre held a Barbie exhibition in 2016. The exhibition features 700 Barbie dolls over two floors and is employed by contemporary artists and documents (newspapers, photos, videos ) that contextualize Barbie.
In 1986, artist Andy Warhol created a Barbie painting. The painting was sold at auction at Christie's, London for $ 1.1 million. In 2015, The Andy Warhol Foundation later worked with Mattel to create Andy Warhol Barbie.
Artist Outsider Al Carbee takes thousands of Barbie photos and makes countless collages and dioramas featuring Barbie in various settings. Carbee is the subject of a long documentary film Magical Universe. Carbee's collage artwork was presented at the 2016 Barbie exhibition at the Musée des Arts Dà © mà © rative, Paris in the section on Barbie-inspired visual artists.
In 2013, in Taiwan, the first Barbie-themed restaurant called "Barbie CafÃÆ'Â ©" opened under the Sinlaku group.
The Economist stressed the importance of Barbie to the children's imagination:
From the early days as a teen fashion model, Barbie has emerged as an astronaut, surgeon, Olympic athlete, downhill skier, aerobic instructor, TV news reporter, veterinarian, rock star, doctor, army officer, air force pilot, diplomat Summit, rap musicians, presidential candidates (undefined parties), baseball players, scuba divers, coast guard, firefighters, engineers, dentists, and more.... When Barbie first broke into a toy store, just when year The 1960s was broken, the doll's market was largely made up of babies, designed for girls to be picked up, fed and fed. By creating dolls with adult features, Mattel allows women to be whatever they want.
50th Anniversary
In 2009, Barbie celebrated her 50th birthday. Celebrations included a grounding show in New York for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The show features clothing donated by fifty famous haute couturiers including Diane von FÃÆ'¼rstenberg, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Bob Mackie, and Christian Louboutin.
Fictional biography
Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. In a series of novels published by Random House in the 1960s, the names of his parents were given as George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional city of Willows, Wisconsin. In the Random House novel, Barbie goes to Willows High School; while in the Generic Girl book, published by the Golden Book in 1999, he attended Manhattan Fictitious International College in New York City (based on Stuyvesant Real Life College).
She has a romantic relationship on-off with her boyfriend Ken ("Ken Carson"), who first appeared in 1961. A Mattel news release in February 2004 announced that Barbie and Ken had decided to split up, but in February 2006, to revive their relationship after Ken has a makeover.
Barbie has more than 40 pets including cats and dogs, horses, pandas, cubs, and zebras. He already has a wide range of vehicles, including convertibles, trailers, and pink Jeep Corvettes. He also holds a pilot license, and operates commercial aircraft in addition to serving as a flight attendant. Barbie's career is designed to show that women can take on various roles in life, and the doll has been sold under various titles including Miss Astronaut Barbie (1965), Doctor Barbie (1988) and Nascar Barbie (1998).
Mattel has created various companions for Barbie, including Hispanic Teresa, Midge, Christie African Americans, and Steven (Christie's girlfriend). Barbie's siblings and cousins ​​were also created including Skipper, Todd and Stacie (twin brother and sister), Kelly, Krissy, and Francie. Barbie was friendly with Blaine, an Australian surfer, during her split with Ken in 2004.
Controversy
Body Image
From the beginning, some complained that "the blond plastic doll conveys unrealistic body images to the girls."
Barbie's criticism is often centered around fears that children regard Barbie as a role model and will try to imitate her. One of Barbie's most common criticisms is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of ​​body image for a young woman, leading to the risk that the woman trying to imitate her will become anorexic. The standard Barbie doll is 11.5 inches tall, giving a height of 5 feet 9 inches on a 1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research conducted by the University Center Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, he will be short of 17 to 22 percent of body fat that a woman needs to experience menstruation. In 1963, the "Barbie Baby-Sits" outfit came with a book titled How to Lose Weight that suggested: "Do not eat!". The same book was included in another ensemble called "Slumber Party" in 1965 along with a permanent pink bathroom scale set at 110  £, which would be around  £ 35. Weight less for a woman 5 feet 9 inches tall. Mattel says that the waistband of a Barbie doll is made small because the belt of his clothes, along with the seams, buttons, and zippers, adds greatly to his figure. In 1997, Barbie's body mold was redesigned and waisted wider, with Mattel saying that this would make dolls more suitable for contemporary fashion designs. By 2016, Mattel introduces new body types: 'high', 'petite', and 'curved'. 'Curvy Barbie' received a lot of media attention and even made the cover of Time magazine with the title 'Now Can We Stop Talking About My Body?'. Although the shape of a curvy doll body is equivalent to a US $ 4 suit, many children think of it as 'fat'.
Diversity
Complaints also show a lack of diversity on the phone. Mattel responded to these criticisms. Beginning in 1980, produced Hispanic dolls, and then came models from around the world. For example, in 2007, he introduced "Cinco de Mayo Barbie" in a red, white, and green ruffled dress (echoing the Mexican flag). Hispanic report that:
[O] ne of the most dramatic developments in Barbie history came when he embraced multi-culturalism and was released in a variety of original costumes, hair color and skin tones to be more similar to the girls who idolize them. Among them are Cinco De Mayo Barbie, Spanish Barbie, Peruvian Barbie, Mexican Barbie, and Puerto Rico Barbie. He also has close Hispanic friends, like Teresa.
"Colored Francie" debuted in 1967, and he is sometimes portrayed as the first African American Barbie doll. However, it is produced using an existing head mold for a white Francie doll and has no African characteristics other than dark skin. The first African American doll in the Barbie range is usually regarded as Christie, who debuted in 1968. Black Barbie was launched in 1980 but still has a Caucasian feature. In 1990, Mattel created a focus group with African African children and parents, early childhood specialists, and clinical psychologist Darlene Powell Hudson. Instead use the same mold for the newly created Caucasian Barbies. In addition, facial features, skin color, hair texture, and names are all changed. The body looks different, but the proportions are the same to make sure the clothes and accessories can be exchanged. In September 2009, Mattel introduced various So In Style, which was intended to create a more realistic portrayal of African Americans than the previous dolls. By 2016, Mattel extends this line to include seven skin colors, twenty-two eye colors, and twenty-four hairstyles. Part of the reason for this change is that sales are falling.
Mattel teamed up with Nabisco to launch a Barbie crossover campaign with Oreo cookies. Oreo Fun Barbie is marketed as someone with whom young girls can play after class and share "America's favorite cake." As has become custom, Mattel produces white and black versions. Critics argue that in the African American community, Oreo is a derogatory term that means that the person is "black on the outside and white on the inside," like the chocolate sandwich cake itself. The doll did not work and Mattel pulled back unsold stock, making it sought by collectors.
In May 1997, Mattel introduced Becky's Smile Sharing, a pink-wheeled doll. Kjersti Johnson, a 17-year-old high school student in Tacoma, Washington with cerebral palsy, points out that the doll will not get into the $ 100 Dream House Barbie lift. Mattel announced that they will redesign the house in the future to accommodate the doll.
Worry Influence Concern
In July 1992, Mattel released the Teen Talk Barbie , which spoke a number of sentences including "Do we ever have enough clothes?", "I love shopping!", And "Want to have a pizza party?" Each doll is programmed to say four out of 270 possible phrases, so no two dolls are given that tend to be the same. One of these 270 phrases is "Mathematics Class difficult!". Although only about 1.5% of all dolls sold say the phrase, it led to criticism from the American Association of University Women. In October 1992, Mattel announced that the Teen Talk Barbie would no longer pronounce the phrase, and offered swap to anyone who had the doll do it.
In September 2003, Saudi Arabia's Middle East state banned the sale of Barbie dolls, saying that he was not in line with Islamic ideals. The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of the Deputy states, "Jewish Barbie Dolls, with their open clothes and embarrassing postures, accessories and equipment are a symbol of decadence toward the West being misled, let us be wary of the dangers and caution. In Middle Eastern countries, there is an alternative doll named Fulla, which is equivalent to Barbie but is designed specifically to accommodate the Islamic community. Fulla is not produced by Mattel Corporation (although Mattel still licenses Fulla's puppets and franchises for sale in some countries), and "Jewish" Barbie dolls are still available in other Muslim-majority countries including Egypt. In Iran, the Sara and Dara dolls, introduced in March 2002, are available as an alternative to Barbie, though they have not been as successful as Barbie.
In April 2009, the launch of Totally Tattoos Barbie with various tattoos that can be applied to the doll, including the lower back tattoo, caused controversy. Mattel's promotional material reads "Adjust the mode and apply a fun tempo tattoo to you too," but Ed Mayo, Consumer Focus chief executive, argues that children may want to tattoo themselves.
In November 2014, Mattel received criticism over the book I Can Be a Computer Engineer, who described Barbie as incompetent on the computer and required two male friends to complete all the necessary tasks to return two laptops after her download the virus to both. Critics complain that the book is sexist, as other books in the series I Can Be describe Barbie as someone who is competent in the job and does not need help from others. Mattel later removed the book from sales in Amazon in response to the criticism.
Security Issues
In March 2000, the stories appeared in the media claiming that the harsh vinyl used in vintage Barbie dolls could leak toxic chemicals, causing harm to children playing with them. The claim was described as an overreaction by Joseph Prohaska, a professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The modern Barbie doll has a body made of ABS plastic, while its head is made of soft PVC.
In July 2010, Mattel released "Barbie Video Girl", a Barbie doll with a pinhole video camera on his chest, allowing clips up to 30 minutes to be recorded, viewed and uploaded to a computer via a USB cable. On November 30, 2010, the FBI issued a warning in a private memo that the doll could be used to produce child pornography, although publicly stated that "no evidence has been reported that the doll has been used in any way other than intended."
In March 2015, there was concern about a doll version called "Hello Barbie", which could hold a conversation with a child using voice recognition technology. The doll sends data back to a service called ToyTalk, which, according to
Parodies and lawsuits
Barbies are often the targets of parody:
- Mattel sues artist Tom Forsythe through a series of photos called Food Chain Barbie where Barbie comes in a blender.
- In 2011, Greenpeace parodied Barbie, asking Mattel to adopt a policy for its purchase that will protect the rainforest. According to Phil Radford, Executive Director of Greenpeace, the organization of "global forensic and research testing shows how Mattel products use mixed tropical hardwoods from Asia Pulp and Paper, a company that undermines the paradise forest in Indonesia... Sumatran tigers, elephants and orangutans are pushed to the threshold extinction because Mattel is not interested in the origin of the Barbie pink box. "Four months later, Mattel adopted a paper sustainability policy.
- Mattel filed a lawsuit in 2004 against Barbara Anderson-Walley on his website, which sells fetish clothing.
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featuring "Barbie Crystal Meth Lab".
- Saturday Night Live shows a Barbie ad parody featuring "Gangsta Bitch Barbie" and "Tupac Ken". In 2002, the show also aired a comedy drama, starring Britney Spears as Skipper's sister from Barbie.
- In November 2002, a New York judge rejected an order against British-based artist Susanne Pitt, who produced a "Dungeon Barbie" doll in slave apparel.
- The Aqua song "Barbie Girl" is the subject of the lawsuit Mattel v. MCA Records, which Mattel lost in 2002, with Judge Alex Kozinski saying that the song was "parody and social commentary".
- Two ads by Nissan car companies featuring dolls similar to Barbie and Ken were the subject of another lawsuit in 1997. In the first advertisement, the female doll was lured into the car by a doll resembling G.I. Joe is worried about Ken's doll, accompanied by Van Halen's "You Really Got Me". In the second ad, the "Barbie" doll was rescued by the "G.I. Joe" doll after she was accidentally hit by the pool by the doll "Ken" to Kiss's "Dr. Love". The advertiser says that the doll's name is Roxanne, Nick, and Tad. Mattel claims that the ad is doing "irreparable damage" to its product, but it is completed.
- In 1993, a group calling itself the Barbie Liberation Organization secretly modified a group of Barbie dolls by embedding a ballot box from G.I. Joe dolls, then return Barbie to the toy store from where they were bought.
- Malibu Stacy from episode The Simpsons "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" (1994).
Collecting
Mattel estimates that there are more than 100,000 glamorous Barbie collectors. Ninety percent are women, at an average age of 40, buying more than twenty Barbie dolls annually. Forty-five percent of them spend more than $ 1,000 per year. The Vintage Barbie doll from the early years was the most valuable at auction, and while the original Barbie sold for $ 3.00 in 1959, the boxy Barbie mint from 1959 sold for $ 3552.50 on eBay in October 2004. On September 26, 2006 , Barbie doll set a world record at auction Ã, £ 9,000 sterling (US $ 17,000) at Christie's in London. The doll is Barbie at Midnight Red from 1965 and is part of a private collection of 4,000 Barbie dolls sold by two Dutch women, Ietje Raebel and his daughter Marina.
In recent years, Mattel has sold a variety of Barbie dolls aimed specifically at collectors, including porcelain versions, vintage reproductions, and Barbie portrayals as characters from movies and television series such as The Munster and Star Tracks . There are also dolls of collector editions depicting Barbie dolls with different ethnic identities. In 2004, Mattel introduced the Color Tier system for Barbie dolls of his collection including pink, silver, gold and platinum, depending on how many dolls were produced.
In March 2018, at the International Women's Day, Mattel launched the "Barbie Celebrates Role Models" campaign with a line of 17 dolls, informally known as "sheroes", from diverse backgrounds "to showcase examples of extraordinary women". Mattel developed this collection in response to concerned mothers about their daughters who have positive female role models. The dolls in this collection include Frida Kahlo, Patti Jenkins, Chloe Kim, Nicola Adams, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Bindi Irwin, Amelia Earhart, Misty Copeland, Helene Darroze, Katherine Johnson, Sara Gama, Martyna Wojciechowska, Gabby Douglas, Guan Xiaotong, Ava Duvernay, Yuan Yuan Tan, and Leyla Piedayesh.
Competition of Bratz doll
In June 2001, MGA Entertainment launched the Bratz doll series, a move that gave Barbie her first serious competition in the fashion doll market. In 2004, sales figures showed that Bratz dolls beat Barbie dolls in the UK, although Mattel maintains that in terms of the number of dolls, clothing, and accessories sold, Barbie remains a leading brand. In 2005, figures show that Barbie doll sales have dropped 30% in the United States, and 18% worldwide, with much decrease attributed to the popularity of Bratz dolls.
In December 2006, Mattel sued MGA Entertainment for $ 500 million, alleging that the creator of Bratz, Carter Bryant, worked for Mattel as he developed the idea for Bratz. On July 17, 2008, a federal jury agreed that the Bratz line was made by Carter Bryant when he worked for Mattel and that MGA and Chief Executive Officer Isaac Larian were responsible for altering Mattel properties for their own use and intentionally interfering in the contractual obligations paid by Bryant to Mattel. On August 26, the jury found that Mattel had to be paid $ 100 million in damages. On December 3, 2008, US District Judge Stephen Larson banned MGA from selling Bratz. He allows the company to continue selling dolls until the winter holiday season ends. When appealing, the residence is granted by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; The court also overturned the original District Court verdict for Mattel, in which MGA Entertainment was ordered to lose the entire Bratz brand.
Mattel Inc. and MGA Entertainment Inc. returned to court on January 18, 2011 to renew their battles over who owns Bratz, which this time includes allegations from both companies that the other party steals trade secrets. On April 21, 2011, a federal jury returned a verdict in favor of the MGA. On August 5, 2011, Mattel was also ordered to pay MGA $ 310 million for attorney fees, steal trade secrets, and fraudulent claims rather than the $ 88.5 million issued in April.
In August 2009, MGA introduced a variety of dolls called Moxie Girlz, which was intended as a substitute for Bratz dolls.
Barbie syndrome
"Barbie syndrome" is a term that has been used to describe the desire to have a physical appearance and lifestyle representation of a Barbie doll. This is most often associated with preadolescent and teenagers but applies to all age groups or sexes. Someone with Barbie syndrome tries to imitate the physical appearance of a doll, even though the doll has an unattainable body proportion. This syndrome is seen as a form of body dysmorphic disorder and produces a variety of eating disorders as well as an obsession with cosmetic surgery.
Ukrainian model Valeria Lukyanova has received attention from the press, in part because of her appearance which has been modified based on Barbie's physical. She states that she only has breast implants and is very dependent on makeup and contacts to change her appearance. Likewise, Lacey Wildd, the American reality television personality often referred to as "Million Dollar Barbie" has also undergone 12 breast enlargement surgeries to become "extreme Barbie".
Rodrigo Alves, "Ken Doll Man" has undergone cosmetic procedures worth more than 373,000 pounds to match the appearance of a male partner Barbie. This procedure includes several nose jobs, six ab implant packs, butt lift, and hair and chest implants.. The same nickname, Justin Jedlica, American businessman, has also received some cosmetic surgery to enhance Ken-like appearance.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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