Barbies n' Grease
I'm a straight male in my late 20's and I own Barbie dolls. I don't collect them or anything, but over the years, I've amassed probably around 20 or so 'fashion dolls.' It's funny... when its sold in the action figure aisles, given a gun & holster, and its box has G.I. Joe written on it, it's called a "12 inch figure," but never EVER a "doll." I've got bunches of those... superheroes and Star Wars mostly... but I'd never considered owning a Barbie doll until a few years ago when I saw how much my mom appreciated the ones I gave her one year for Christmas. (Incidentally, this was the one gift I ever gave someone that made them cry. You see, back when she was little, she always wanted a Barbie but never got one. And this one year, they came out with Barbie as "My Fair Lady" And since that movie was sort of a bonding thing with us, it seemed like the thing to do.) Actually, the first 'fashion doll' I bought for myself wasn't even really for myself. Back in the day, when I was obviously feeling a bit more optimistic about things, I bought "Enchanted Christmas Belle" just in case I ever had a daughter. Creepy, I know, but my thought process at the time was, "What if there are no "Beauty & The Beast" toys when my kids are growing up?" (Y'all know I'm gonna force-feed my kids the stuff I like, right? These kids WILL have good taste.) So that opened a tiny floodgate and I've purchased a few Barbie's and Barbie-like dolls since. They're all from movies and fairy tales too.... Some Disney villains and heroines, X-Files Barbie, Wizard of Oz Barbie, the fancy schmancy Queen Amidala dolls, Barbie as Wonder Woman, etc... And it's not like I dress 'em up and have tea parties, so hopefully it's not too too weird.
Anyway, I suppose I bring this up because a) the new Barbie as Rapunzel stuff is pretty neat, b) "Beauty & The Beast" comes out on DVD on Tuesday, and c) we are selling THE cutest Halloween costume of Padme Amidala. I was thinking about hiding it til it gets marked down and buying it just in case. I wish I felt optimistic again.
On a semi-related note, one thing I don't think I'm gonna let my kids watch as youngsters is "Grease." (When I was little, we had a VCR that was almost as big as the TV and the 3 films I watched most were "Star Wars," "What's Up, Doc?" and "Grease.") And it wasn't until semi-recently that I realized just how messed up a message this movie has. "Don't fit in? CHANGE!" Now I'm not one of those extreme "the media is to blame!" people, but this particular movie definitely influenced me. First of all, I wanted to BE Danny Zuko. And back when I had no shame, I tried to. I could do the talk, the walk, the Greased Lightning dance without understanding any of the words to the song (pussy wagon?), the hair combing, all of it. At Rydell High, he was the epitome of coolness, and I didn't question it for a moment. And meanwhile, the guy was a dope. He did at least TRY to better himself for a while there.... until the end, that is, when his dopeyness was ultimately rewarded with a hot chick. Or at least what the movie told me was a hot chick. Today, I'd take Sandy in her cute yellow skirt over the heavily made-up, leather pants any day. Or better yet, why not a little of both... just not at the same time cuz that'd look funny. It's just sad that she had to completely alter herself to finally fit in. And back then I thought smoking, tightpants Olivia was sooo hot. Hotter than Charlie's Angels and Princess Leia even! And really, I think it's because the movie was essentially telling me what was sexy that I believed it. And most of us buy into what society tells us even today, when we should know better. It's hard enough being a guy that doesn't look like Anakin Skywalker or Prince Charming or Tom Brady or The Rock. I can't imagine what it's like for a gal when they're given this nearly impossible standard of beauty to reach, especially during those 'all-important for future development' high school years. Which reminds me that I could really do without the rose-colored view of high school. High school = hell. Even as kid, I thought it would be scary. I was afraid to go because no one had taught me the dances yet. I'm STILL crushed that I didn't go to my prom. And who has a graduation with a big-ass carnival like that? Fantasy land, I tells ya.
So yeah, I bought my sister the "Grease" dvd last week and watched some of the musical sequences. They're still fun and stuff, but my kids will have to make due with select songs from the soundtrack until daddy either lightens up or has a nice long talk with them. I won't instill fear in them... which is kinda what happened to me. And which I'm still dealing with. I'll just level with them and hopefully they'll question what they are force-fed. Or something like that.
Anyway, I suppose I bring this up because a) the new Barbie as Rapunzel stuff is pretty neat, b) "Beauty & The Beast" comes out on DVD on Tuesday, and c) we are selling THE cutest Halloween costume of Padme Amidala. I was thinking about hiding it til it gets marked down and buying it just in case. I wish I felt optimistic again.
On a semi-related note, one thing I don't think I'm gonna let my kids watch as youngsters is "Grease." (When I was little, we had a VCR that was almost as big as the TV and the 3 films I watched most were "Star Wars," "What's Up, Doc?" and "Grease.") And it wasn't until semi-recently that I realized just how messed up a message this movie has. "Don't fit in? CHANGE!" Now I'm not one of those extreme "the media is to blame!" people, but this particular movie definitely influenced me. First of all, I wanted to BE Danny Zuko. And back when I had no shame, I tried to. I could do the talk, the walk, the Greased Lightning dance without understanding any of the words to the song (pussy wagon?), the hair combing, all of it. At Rydell High, he was the epitome of coolness, and I didn't question it for a moment. And meanwhile, the guy was a dope. He did at least TRY to better himself for a while there.... until the end, that is, when his dopeyness was ultimately rewarded with a hot chick. Or at least what the movie told me was a hot chick. Today, I'd take Sandy in her cute yellow skirt over the heavily made-up, leather pants any day. Or better yet, why not a little of both... just not at the same time cuz that'd look funny. It's just sad that she had to completely alter herself to finally fit in. And back then I thought smoking, tightpants Olivia was sooo hot. Hotter than Charlie's Angels and Princess Leia even! And really, I think it's because the movie was essentially telling me what was sexy that I believed it. And most of us buy into what society tells us even today, when we should know better. It's hard enough being a guy that doesn't look like Anakin Skywalker or Prince Charming or Tom Brady or The Rock. I can't imagine what it's like for a gal when they're given this nearly impossible standard of beauty to reach, especially during those 'all-important for future development' high school years. Which reminds me that I could really do without the rose-colored view of high school. High school = hell. Even as kid, I thought it would be scary. I was afraid to go because no one had taught me the dances yet. I'm STILL crushed that I didn't go to my prom. And who has a graduation with a big-ass carnival like that? Fantasy land, I tells ya.
So yeah, I bought my sister the "Grease" dvd last week and watched some of the musical sequences. They're still fun and stuff, but my kids will have to make due with select songs from the soundtrack until daddy either lightens up or has a nice long talk with them. I won't instill fear in them... which is kinda what happened to me. And which I'm still dealing with. I'll just level with them and hopefully they'll question what they are force-fed. Or something like that.