After last lecture I really wanted to devote my last three posts to exploring appropriation in different ways. After taking this course I have come to realize that appropriation can be found all around us. I’ve become quite interested in how appropriation causes controversy and how it is used as a reflection of society.

For example, Ruth Handle invented The Barbie doll in 1959. She named the doll after her daughter, Barbara. Barbie was first introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City. The doll was intended for little girls to dress up and play with.

Okay so what exactly does this have to do with authorship an appropriation? Well let’s start from the very beginning. Dolls, figurines and most toys are appropriations in themselves as they mimic real life. Dolls are miniature replications of women for little girls to dress up and play with. Well in 1959 that all changed. The Barbie doll was available to young children and she became much more than just a doll.

Before we get into the Barbie craze we must understand her roots. The Barbie doll is an appropriation based on a German doll called Bild Lilli. The Bild Lilli Doll was a German fashion doll produced in the early 1950s. The doll was an appropriation based on the comic-strip character created by Reinhard Beuthien for a comic book entitled Bild-Zeitung. Mattel gained rights to the doll and began to produce the Barbie doll we know today.

Not only is Barbie herself an appropriation but she was a fashion doll who wore clothes that were styled to resemble what was in fashion in America during this time period. The controversy here was not a result of Barbie extensive wardrobe but rather Barbie’s plastic proportions. If Barbie were life sized her measurements would be an impossible 36 bust 18 waist and 38 hips.

This became so controversial because Barbie was now and idealistic icon of feminine beauty. She became to be known as the perfect women and young girls would aspire to look like their plastic pals. An appropriation was being made… women began to appropriate Barbie’s image into their own look. Thin and blonde became the new beautiful and celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly reinforced this.

Sooner then later Barbie became a much more diverse doll adapting to different cultural identities and even professions. Barbie was now an ethnic woman and a working girl yet still managed to maintain her impossibly perfect 18-inch waste. There have been many lawsuits and even bands of distribution of the doll, as it formally did not conform to different ideals of beauty in other countries which inspired the creation of dolls like Fulla, an alternative to Barbie sold in Middle Eastern countries. Barbie’s Waist eventually began to widen over time and is now much bigger then it was in the 1950’s. I think this can be looked at as a reflection of today’s society, and it’s fight against the ideals of anorexicly thin girls.

Barbie is an appropriation of the German doll Bild Lilli who is an appropriation of a comic book character. Barbie later begins to appropriate modern culture as she takes on numerous occupations. Women’s rights were slowly being introduced and the dolls reflected this. Barbie also reflected the world’s racial digression as she became available in many different ethnic backgrounds. Barbie also inspired a series of films, cartoons, books, and collectable paraphernalia. Finally Barbie inspired the future of plastic dolls most recently a line of dolls called Bratz. These dolls have also caused much controversy for their large eyes, full lips, small noses, long thin legs and big breasts.

–Allison