Tiny Shoulders, Rethinking Barbie

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.

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.

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.

I cannot believe that people actually thought Barbie was FORCING people to be skinny. FORCING people into thinking that beauty is white, blonde and skinny.

The very first words from this documentary comes from a woman who says "I'm glad I didn't grow up with Barbie".

I wonder if Barbie has also told people to go rob a bank. People need to take responsibility for themselves. If a toy can dictate your child's future, there is something wrong with the parents.

People need to look around at other things that were influencing children. Maybe famous people like Farrah and Jackie Kennedy. To blame this all on a doll is ridiculous.

I am glad I grew up with Barbie. The toy doll did not tell me to be skinny, blonde or anything else. The Barbie doll did encourage my imagination to play and dream as a little girl..

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.