I Watched “Barbie” — №2
(After Daughter’s response to my January 27, 2024, post..)
Well, my daughter ‘spoke’ with me about my Jan 27 perceptions of “Barbie”. So, after her ‘guidance’ about what Barbie meant and continues to mean for her, I stand before you ‘enlightened’. (But she was gentle and understanding of my bumbling, fossilized, brain, and all and explained how peace-loving Barbie dolls were..compared to ‘G.I. Joe’, the killer doll.)
By the way..Barbie didn’t ‘pack’, did she?
Truthfully and not funning, my Russian language and political economics major daughter who year-abroaded in St Petersburg, was clear and understanding …she provided me with new perceptions about the growing up of the part of her I was not aware of, despite that I so enjoyed seeing my child grow.
But, my wonderfully cheerful, and entertaining daughter I thought I thoroughly knew, was living another life before my eyes (no secrets there, just my Dad cluelessness.) Innocently and naturally, she was developing a set of expectations about their potential future through the vicarious, imagined life of Barbie.
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And the embarassment of it all was that often she and her 5–7 year old girl-pals wouldd sit on the floor in our den and play with their Barbies…while I graded papers, or read. (But I didn’t really notice… as the first order of parental concern, for me, was that the picture was a safe one.)
All this was explained to me in a straight forward, non-accusing manner.
Then we discussed the social context of little girls growing up, who played with dolls, then through a natural process outgrew them (then put them on a shelf, or in a chest, to occasionally recall those pleasant childhood moments.)
Nothing threatening there. …
Plus, in contrapose, ‘Barbie’ the doll is a universe away troops of neighborhood boys playing with ‘G.I. Joe’ dolls with their automatic rifles, belted hand grenades,..and cheerful ‘pretend’ murders of countless enemies. (And self-conditioning themselves to act out a mass shooting somewhere, anywhere, in real life.???)
So, back to ‘Barbie’ the movie.
As a Dad, I am happy now that my daughter and her girlfriends shared those happy childhood moments with their Barbie dolls. And maybe it’s not to be expected that I, even a mindful Dad — a grown up boy, would/could glom playing with a Barbie doll…and Barbie didn’t ‘pack’ did she?
