Barbie Nation
Susan Stern's film "Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour" provides an in depth look at the world of Barbie that most people would never know about. The audience is taken on a tour of the country and different Barbie collectors that are found all over the world. The film opens with an out of focus, very colorful shot that is difficult to figure out what it is. As the camera moves back it is revealed that they are Barbie shoes in an aquarium. From this bizarre opening image the film shows shots of some of the early Barbie commercials, Barbie auctions where some dolls are sold for more than four thousand dollars, and shots of gay pride marches. In these marches they show men dressed up like Barbie dolls while they march. All of these shots, along with the music in the background give the viewer an impression that the film will be an odd view on Barbie. The film uses voiceover narration to help give the audience more information. It is very well done in the film. While using narration to provide the viewer with information that they wouldn't be able to get from the movie alone, the filmmakers are able to keep the voiceover from getting in the way of the action in the film. One of the main sequences in the film showed the
When she went to a modeling agency she was told to lose five pounds to get a job. In the interview with her she states, "Everybody has a Barbie story, the stories are about us". This is disturbing not so much because of the kid but the thought that it is most likely the parents having her do that. While there are some strange people, and strange uses of Barbie out there, there is still the good side of Barbie as something that every one can relate to. She became a bulimic because she wanted to be a model because she wanted to be like Barbie. This scene helped to add to the overall bizarre feeling of the film. When he feels stressed he changes his Barbie's hair color to relax, not dying or bleaching, but removing the heads and re-sewing of different color thread into the heads of the dolls. Also included was an interview with Ruth Handler, the "mother" of Barbie. The beginning of the closing sequence is puzzling at first. The art show was used to give a more in depth look at some of the more strange areas of Barbie. On top of all this, the prayer leader is singing a song specially written for the Barbie convention. This statement is used to show that Barbie is a cultural issue in America. Mixed in with the shots of the Barbie art were interview segments getting the reactions of people in the museum to each piece. This closing sequence leads even more to the overall bizarreness of the film and the people in it. The flip side of that is when one of the little girls says, "if your not at least a little pretty people won't like you, and you'll have no friends".
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Acceptance Essays
