Visual Culture Review: Girl's Dolls
This review was also done as part of my elementary level methods course, likewise to my fine art review. My artist review and gallery review was done in the next level course in middle level methods.
As humans our thoughts are formed by our experiences. This includes our experiences with what we have seen throughout our lives. Popular visual culture may be one of the most influential things in our lives. This is especially true with children because their minds are so susceptible to being impacted by the world around them since they are still developing.
One of the most influential imagery to me when I was younger was Barbie. When I was growing up the doll that every girl wanted was Barbie. We all wanted her dream house, her dream car, all of her clothes, and to be as pretty as Barbie. While young girls do still play with Barbie, the doll industry isn’t as monopolized, and now little girls have different options, such as Bratz.
Over the years these dolls have been criticized for having negative influences on young girl’s minds. They form influences on these kids as girls love their dolls, and often times idolize them. So, girls who like barbie are likely to also enjoy the color pink, wearing makeup and playing dress up. While there are some Barbie toys focused around interests and occupations, such as teacher Barbie, which promotes more than just a pretty face for children, this is not the main focus or purpose of the doll. There should be more dolls which highlight different points of interest, promoting thought and education, rather than just promoting girls to be pretty. Young girls are more than just a pretty face. They should not feel as though they must be pretty to be happy, or that a certain look is the only thing that should be considered “pretty”. However, this is not what popular visual culture teaches.
Additionally, dolls such as Bratz or Barbie typically have faces caked with makeup and particularly disproportionate body types. Each have accentuated curves, elongated bodies, and heads that are entirely off scale. This sets unrealistic expectations in these young kids minds of what it is that their bodies should look like. This could lead to them having irrational dissatisfaction in their bodies, and in turn themselves.
One of the most influential imagery to me when I was younger was Barbie. When I was growing up the doll that every girl wanted was Barbie. We all wanted her dream house, her dream car, all of her clothes, and to be as pretty as Barbie. While young girls do still play with Barbie, the doll industry isn’t as monopolized, and now little girls have different options, such as Bratz.
Over the years these dolls have been criticized for having negative influences on young girl’s minds. They form influences on these kids as girls love their dolls, and often times idolize them. So, girls who like barbie are likely to also enjoy the color pink, wearing makeup and playing dress up. While there are some Barbie toys focused around interests and occupations, such as teacher Barbie, which promotes more than just a pretty face for children, this is not the main focus or purpose of the doll. There should be more dolls which highlight different points of interest, promoting thought and education, rather than just promoting girls to be pretty. Young girls are more than just a pretty face. They should not feel as though they must be pretty to be happy, or that a certain look is the only thing that should be considered “pretty”. However, this is not what popular visual culture teaches.
Additionally, dolls such as Bratz or Barbie typically have faces caked with makeup and particularly disproportionate body types. Each have accentuated curves, elongated bodies, and heads that are entirely off scale. This sets unrealistic expectations in these young kids minds of what it is that their bodies should look like. This could lead to them having irrational dissatisfaction in their bodies, and in turn themselves.
I have seen artists do a few different things with this concept. First, I have seen artists make Barbie dolls that are the correct proportion, and set them next to an original Barbie to highlight how inaccurate their bodies really are. Similarly, I have seen artists create a life-size doll that has the proportions of Barbie. This allows the viewer to stand next to the life-size doll and see just how impossible it would be for them to achieve her body type. I have also seen Bratz dolls, which are known for heavy makeup and racy clothing, to have their makeup stripped from the doll's face, to have a new, more natural appearance and given more stimulating interests, such as science.
It is my belief that it is important to teach popular visual culture because it is of interest to everyone to know what influences them, and how. If we know what influences us we can decide if we like the influence, if it’s good or bad, why or why not, and if we need to change this factor. Even if nothing is done to change the influence, it is still good to have awareness of the situation. We can also learn to use it in our advantage. For example, popular visual culture can be particularly useful to those who work in visual communication, because they can use the culture in their own work to gain interest or to promote. Teachers can use popular visual culture in the classroom to gain the attention of children and helping them learn.
In conclusion, we are shaped by the world around us, by our experiences, and what we see. Popular visual culture is everywhere, it's seemingly impossible to avoid. Barbie has been one of the biggest totems of popular visual culture and has a huge impact in shaping the minds of children in a mostly negative way. Artists have seen this impact, and have started to make their own statements upon the issue. Because of these types of influences, it is important for us to know about the effect of visual culture.
It is my belief that it is important to teach popular visual culture because it is of interest to everyone to know what influences them, and how. If we know what influences us we can decide if we like the influence, if it’s good or bad, why or why not, and if we need to change this factor. Even if nothing is done to change the influence, it is still good to have awareness of the situation. We can also learn to use it in our advantage. For example, popular visual culture can be particularly useful to those who work in visual communication, because they can use the culture in their own work to gain interest or to promote. Teachers can use popular visual culture in the classroom to gain the attention of children and helping them learn.
In conclusion, we are shaped by the world around us, by our experiences, and what we see. Popular visual culture is everywhere, it's seemingly impossible to avoid. Barbie has been one of the biggest totems of popular visual culture and has a huge impact in shaping the minds of children in a mostly negative way. Artists have seen this impact, and have started to make their own statements upon the issue. Because of these types of influences, it is important for us to know about the effect of visual culture.