SiftPop

by Patrice Downing, Contributing Writer

Do you know where the most coveted pencils in the world source their wood? Well, I do (surprisingly, it’s underwater… in Canada) thanks to an oddly specific little documentary I found called No. 2: The Story of the Pencil. One day, I was wandering the endless aisle of writing utensils at my local art supplier and the question randomly occurred to me: How many times have I been told to ONLY use a #2 pencil? What does that even mean? Now you might be asking, why would I spend 64 minutes watching a documentary solely devoted to the skinny, graphite-filled sticks found in the bottom of backpacks across the world? Well that’s because I’m the kinda nerd that not only has an insatiable thirst for facts, but also an unrelenting desire to find out exactly where things come from. When I got home and started Googling, a 2015 doc popped up, and an hour later, I knew more about pencils than the teachers that required me to use them. Every month in Fact on Fiction, we’ll be going down the rabbit hole together, to find the who, what, why, how, or when behind newly released content. We’ll be looking for the nuggets of truth  buried beneath the fluff, filler, fantasy, fabrication, and froth, because that is where the truly fascinating stories really begin.

With the recent release of the highly anticipated summer sensation, Barbie, there is no better time than now to unravel the glitter-infused threads that weave her intricately bedazzled backstory. Much like last month’s Transformer action figures, Netflix has a great episode of The Toys That Made Us devoted to the creation and evolution of the doll itself. It is a comprehensive look at the development and evolution of Barbie, and the changes she went through during her first 50-plus years, but I don’t think that’s the only story to tell here. The bigger story is how Mattel is working to keep one of their most treasured and lucrative properties popular 60 years after her introduction. 

How do you keep one of the most beloved and long-lived toy lines in existence relevant when it’s also one of the most divisive? That’s exactly what the team at Mattel set out to answer in 2014. Following continual dips in sales from their flagship female, coupled with consistent public criticism regarding body image, the Barbie design team was given the monumental task of reinventing one of the most recognizable images on the planet. Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie documents that process through interviews with both Mattel employees and executives, as well as critics, to see if their efforts were able to conserve the legacy, while pivoting the perception to reflect that Barbie is more than just a vapid vessel of vanity. No matter which side of the Barbie debate you land on, this film does attempt to equally cover the differing viewpoints concerning the good, bad, and ugly aspects of the (originally only available in) 11.5-inch tall princess of plastic. Obviously Mattel allowed what comes across as relatively unfettered access to their facility, employees, and processes while they embarked on the biggest and most publicized makeover in history. In what I’m sure they hoped would highlight just how serious they’re taking their role in supporting and encouraging body positivity, Mattel senior staff walks us through the action plan to revamp Barbie for the next generation both physically and culturally.  

A lot of weight has been put on those tiny shoulders over the years. Culturally, Barbie is a fashion icon, trendsetting with the most popular of celebrities, and even dawning the covers of Sports Illustrated, Beauty, Time, SuperModel,and Vogue magazines. She has also long been considered a symbol of feminism, having her own career and lifestyle, independent of longtime beau, Ken, while simultaneously being the center of their criticism for an unattainable body image and apparent affinity for the superficial (having the phrase, “Let’s go shopping,” come out mouth of 1968’s Talking Barbie, along with the addition of, “Math class is hard,” in 1992, didn’t exactly help). Throughout the documentary, we hear from the most prolific source of Barbie historic fact, former designer and author of Barbie Forever, M.G. Lord. Her interviews, along with archival footage, photos, dolls/accessories from the Mattel vault, as well as her personal collection, and footage/audio of Barbie creator Ruth Handler, anchor the timeline portion of Barbie’s journey from the 1959 toy fair where she debuted, to the international phenomenon she remains today. The bulk of the remaining time is spent back and forth between Barbie’s heads of design, public relations, and media, and with critics of her image and superficial lifestyle, Gloria Steinem, Roxane Gay, and Peggy Orenstein amongst others.

Having worked in retail for over 25 years, I found the aspects revolving around the physical design and production the most interesting. It’s easy for me to say, “Make a shorter, curvier, darker Barbie to look more like me,” but in practice, it’s just not that easy. Showing the behind the scenes of “playing” with the prototype dolls as they change the size, shape, and height show how much thought and care actually went into the redesign. It wasn’t as easy as, “just make her bigger, taller, or shorter,” but exactly how big can you make her legs before she stands and sits oddly, how much thigh gap does she need for garments to fit properly and easily enough for a child to play with, will a taller doll fit through the Dream House door, can a petite doll ride a bike, and probably most importantly, what do we call her? The name of the new design has to not only translate into a multitude of languages, but will be a moniker associated with the children who receive and play with her. Will a child want to play with a toy branded with “Curvy” across the box? If she gets it for her birthday, will her friends make fun of her? Will she be embarrassed? The team had more to take into consideration than just whether the box would fit on the shelf, if they could share shoes, or whether they could make outfits look right in multiple sizes, because ultimately, you can put time and work into a design all you want, but if kids don’t want to play with it, what have you accomplished?

Running concurrently throughout the documentary is the direction Barbie’s public relations team had to work to ensure timing, tag lines, and release schedules made the most sense and received the most favorable reception possible by the public. While they clearly had a misstep with the Sports Illustrated cover’s hashtag, they learned from their mistake and seemed to work that much harder to make sure they avoided a repeat with the Fashionista Barbie launch in January of 2016.  

The final event being covered is the curation of a 56 year celebration exhibit taking place at the Louvre in France (March 2016). The exhibit consisted of fashions, dolls, and accessories from the initial 1959 design, through the updated re-imaginings that now include four body types, 17 hairstyles, 14 facial sculpts, 22 eye colors, seven skin tones, and over 30 hair colors. Ending the film by going through the exhibit drives home the realization that Mattel has always, at its core,  attempted to evolve as society changes and make play available within the Barbie line reflect that. From the change of her gaze, to the downward position of the ‘60s, to the straightforward stare of the ‘70s, to the inclusion of business looks that convert to evening for working professionals of the ‘80s, to the colorful hair and alternative clothing and fantasy stylings of the ‘90s, to the shifting of shapes and sizes of aughts, Barbie has had quite the journey.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this month’s frolic through facts, whether you played with Barbie as a kid, or just took your own to see Greta Gerwig’s interpretation of Barbie Land come to life in theaters. Join me again next time as I continue my quizzical quest to find the Fact on Fiction.

You can follow Patrice Downing on Twitter and Letterboxd