The Iliad
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If I asked you to think back to February 4th and tell me what you did, most of you would say something about going to school, practice, work, etc. But how many of you would mention wishing a very important woman happy birthday? Sadly, the answer is very few, for while almost all of us know of her, we in fact know very little about her. So heres a brief history about the woman, who at age fifty-one is still influencing the future.
She is originally from Willows, Wisconsin, and a graduate of Willows High School. She is a woman who has done it all-Olympic skier, gymnast, skater, doctor, ballerina, and rock star. Shes served in the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. She has had over 43 pets in her lifetime-including 21 dogs, 12 horses, 3 ponies, 6 cats, a parrot, a chimpanzee, a panda, a lion cub, a giraffe, and a zebra. Her 39-23-33 frame has been the cause of much adoration and controversy. Who is this amazing woman? Her full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, but to the world she is best known as simply Barbie. Now a childhood icon, Barbie began her life when a woman observed her daughter playing with paper dolls. As the United States changed, so too did Barbie. Although it hasnt been easy, Barbie has survives decades to become one of the most famous toys in the world. While people have criticized her as setting unrealistic physical and professional standards for girls, Barbie has evolved from being merely a doll to being a symbol of fashion. Barbie was the brainchild of Ruth Handler who one day watched her young daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls. Handler realized that it was important for little girls to envision themselves as grownups and that dolls could help that process. In 1956, the family took a trip to Germany where Handler found a three-dimensional version of her idea. The doll was called Bild Lilli, a character from a popular German comic strip. Handler bought three of these dolls and, after giving one to her daughter, took the other two to the Mattel Toy Corporation, the company co-founded by her husband Elliot. Elliot Handlers initial response to his wifes idea was less than thrilled. He and the all-male board of directors at Mattel rejected the idea, saying that it would be too expensive. They eventually decided to manufacture Handlers concept in time for it to debut at the American Toy Fair in 1959. Although toy buyers were not thrilled, little girls were. According to margiesdollhouse.com, the first year of sales for the Barbie doll, named after Handlers daughter, set a new Mattel record with 351,000 sold at $3 a piece.
Barbie number one had a ponytail, a zebra-striped swimsuit, open-toed shoes, sunglasses, and earrings. She also had her infamous sideways glance. Other accessories were available for individual purchase. Her very first job was as a teenage fashion model.
Immediately after Barbies appearance on shelves, people had objections, primarily about her unrealistic body proportions. It was figured that for a woman to look like Barbie, she would have to stand at 72 and weigh between 115 and 130 pounds. She would most likely have to crawl due to being able to support her 48-inch bust on her thin legs. According to the book The World of Barbie Dolls by Paris and Susan Manos, an academic expert once calculated that a womans likelihood of having a body like Barbies was 1 in 100,000.
Despite these objections, within the ten years following Barbies debut, Mattel made many more advances in the doll industry. In 1961, Ken, named after Handlers son, was introduced as Barbies boyfriend. Ken first sported fuzzy hair, but that was soon replace by the painted plastic do hes known for now. Barbies best friend Midge followed in 1963. Next was little sister Skipper in 1965 and twin Tutti arrived on shelves in 1966.
After Mattels wonderful start in the doll business, it was no surprise that Barbie continued to thrive so well in the 1970s through the 1990s. The majority of the success came from the development of backgrounds and accessories for Barbie. Another bonus was the fact that as Barbie ages, so did her many fans, so much so that when they had their own daughters, they bought those daughters their own Barbie dolls. Thus Barbie was introduced to second and third generations.
Although Barbies basic shape stayed the same, little improvements were made. In 1970, Barbies elbows, knees, and ankles all became bendable, and Barbies head, waist, arms, and legs all swiveled. In 1971, Barbies sideways glance was replaced with her straightforward gaze. Mattel took the first step towards cultural diversity in 1980 when they introduced black and Hispanic Barbies. Oriental Barbie and a line of International Collection Barbies followed in the next years. A Native American Barbie was finally introduced in 1993.
One of the things that contributed to Barbies enduring legacy has been the way shes managed to stay current. In the early 1970s, as hippies, peace, and love were sweeping the nation, Barbie followed right along. In a line of Concert Tour fashions inspired by Madonna, a 1987 Barbie included a Day-Glo bustier and skintight black jeans. In 1999, Mattel released the Generation Girls, including Butterfly Art Barbie who sports a butterfly tattoo on her stomach and Barbies new friend Chelsie, who came complete with a nose ring. To the surprise of marketing experts, the 1997 Harley-Davidson Barbie was, according to Jane Hamadas Collectors Compass Barbie Doll, the hottest doll of the year. As popular as the Harley Barbie was, the sales did not even begin to compare with those for 1992s Totally Hair Barbie. According to Business Week, its ten million in worldwide sales make it the best selling Barbie of all time.
In the year 2000, Barbie celebrated her 41st birthday. Although Ruth Handler did not live to see her brainchilds 41st year, the Mattel corporation did and celebrated this landmark along with boyfriend Kens 41st in 2002. To the surprise of the nation, though, Mattel informed people in 2004 that this iconic couple of Barbie and Ken was splitting up. In a 2008 article entitled Barbie Liberation, Russell Arons, Mattels vice president of marketing, was quoted as saying that Barbie and Ken feel its time to spend some quality time apart. He also stated that the duo would remain good friends.
The single life did not slow Barbie down as she continued her seeming quest for world domination. The Internet website Robins Barbie Dolls reports that there are more Barbie dolls in Italy than there are Canadians in Canada. The Mattel Corporation reports that there is a Barbie doll sold every second. If you placed every Barbie and her friends that have been sold since 1959 head to toe, they would wrap around the earth seven times. The average American girl between the ages of five and eleven owns somewhere between seven and nine Barbies.
Over the course of the past decade, Mattel has found new ways to keep Barbie a part of the popular culture by introducing CDs, movies, video games, and even her own website, barbie.com. On Thanksgiving Day 2001, CBS aired Barbies first full-length feature film. Barbie in the Nutcracker quickly became one of the highest grossing childrens videos in history. Mattel has since let Barbie branch out even further with a variety of products ranging from MP3s to clothes.
As is the way of Barbie, she herself has managed to stay current with the styles and fashions of the times. Since her debut in 1959, close to one billion fashions have been produced for Barbie and her friends with more than 105 million yards of fabric going towards the creation of those clothes. She has more than one billion pairs of shoes and adds over 100 new pieces to her wardrobe each year. She even has according to dolls4play.com, her own signature color, simply called Barbie Pink.
Barbie, the doll that has done it all. She started as a character from a German comic strip, struggled through controversies, and even broke up with her long-time boyfriend, but still managed to become a household name and a favorite toy. The Barbie legacy has thrived for over forty-five years and will, no doubt, live on for many years to come.
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