Tiny Shoulders, Rethinking Barbie

Obviously u folks spewing all this negativity towards this doc never played with dolls. I thought it was a really good, necessary watch. People saying "it's just a doll" never had insecurities or body image issues. Although I wished for more interviews with children, since their opinions mattered most with this subject matter, it was nice to hear from actual Mattel employees. I also enjoyed learning a little about the founding couple behind the brand, especially Ruth, who was a bad chick. Barbie has meant so much to women/girls the last 60+ years so as a progressive figure she was long overdue for a relaunch. I think she still has a ways to go to be more inclusive and to keep the attention of kids, but think it's a step in the right direction.

I do believe society has placed too much pressure on a doll, however since Barbie is in the public eye, there's a certain level of responsibility that entails.

If you wanted to watch a Barbie film with feminist talking heads and multiple mentions of "white supremacy" this is it. For me it was just interesting to see just how far off the mark certain types still were, ideology warping their understanding of basic realities.

Yes there are beauty standards. Academics have tried to deny this pointing to historic art painted for the pretentious rich of their day which like todays elites and their obsession with modern art is not representative of any wider norm. Go look up Michelangelo's Pieta for the honest reality that beauty has always been idealized. When creating art to glorify god not only is the mother of Jesus depicted as beautiful, but she is unrealistically young.

One should note the concern over body shaming coincides with an epidemic of obesity, so the assumption behind the concern is questionable as the protection from standards leads to undeniable real world harm far greater than hurt feelings. Its notable in asian cultures where obesity is far less common, body shaming is actually common.

The concern over eating disorders was one of the original pieces of "fake news". The statistics were fabricated, as were the reasons. All the elaborate explanations cultural and psychological were false, in real cases its simply a feminine form of OCD. Originally seen in religious form when afflicted nuns would starve themselves to be closer to god.

The pernicious use of childrens toys to indoctrinate should really stop, it doesn't work and those who push extreme ideologies denouncing such toys usually are the example of how their own ideologies are the true danger. Roxane Gay, Gloria Steinem, the bitter critiques of the permanently childless when they are the living examples of the wrongness of their ideas.

Maybe the lesson to women is that they should stop over thinking things. There is no similar documentary or concern over male toys like GI Joe or He-man, fantasy is fantasy. It' s even more disturbing once you realize that boys toys depict the selfless, while feminist toys depict the selfish. The feminist narrative has always been an inversion of reality.

Interesting primarily from a marketing perspective. A story about good timing, a tenacious founder, and a chance encounter in Germany with a doll named Lil (sold in service stations and marketed to men!) gives way to a drearily self-important discourse in sociology. Yes, fine, Barbie was culturally relevant and yes this is a great big advertisement for woke mattel products. Guaranteed to give any survivors of corporate america (particularly in marketing & PR) severe agita. Trigger alert: Mattel employees with severe upspeak, vocal trill, and tragic buzz word addiction. 90 minutes seems like 4 hours.

Obesity in America is 36.5% of the population, another 32.5% is overweight. In all, more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. This is a MAJOR issue.

Barbies WEIGHT wasn't the problem.

She's so much more than her body and if you can only think about her body when you look at her, the issue is really on YOU.

The thing with Barbie is that she's perfect, she's gorgeous & she's a career woman.

Girls SHOULD aspire to have these goals which some perceive as unrealistic, because, frankly, it's no more unrealistic than a woman president (something we still have never seen).

--- The documentary was only interesting to me for the history of the doll, as well as a review of the intent of the doll by the creator. When I purchase Barbies in the future for my daughter it will be online VINTAGE 80's & 90's Barbies ONLY.

If you think Barbie is anti-feminist or teaches some antiquated way for girls to be, you are missing the point. Check out this documentary about Mattel's process of relaunching Barbie. What a complex problem to be faced with. Interviews include Roxane Gay and Gloria Steinem who do not love Barbie. There's also an interesting history of the doll including biographical info on Ruth Handler, her creator.

Whether you love Barbie, are ambivalent towards her, or think she's a bad role model for your daughter, this movie will probably not change your mind.