Hi, ladies and losers, it's RagingMoon1987. American Girl's World By Us line is a little old news now, but they're also super-cute and colorful and...well, modern, so I want to voice my opinions. There are three multiracial dolls so far, and they're all...well, since they're modern girls and American Girl wants to keep their sales up, all three characters are lefties. Sigh...I always wonder about children of that age, whether they genuinely believe what they're saying or if they're just repeating what they hear at home. I know I was that way when I was a kid, and I'm NOT a leftie! That's just...well, kids. If you love your parents, you tend to say what they say because you believe them and trust them. Oh well, I'll discuss each girl's cause when I come to it, because they've all apparently got good reasons for believing the way they do. As always, keep in mind that all opinions in this post are mine and mine alone.
MAKENA WILLIAMS
WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT HER: The name, first and foremost. For me it's too similar to McKenna, one of my least-favorite Girls of the Year. Maybe it's pronounced differently. Makena also comes with a new head mold, and I haven't seen it IRL, but in pictures it looks kinda babyish, like Nanea's head. I also wish she was something besides a fashionista, but then again...have we had a fashionista in the AG line? I can't quite remember.
WHAT I DO LIKE ABOUT HER: The mold may look babyish, but the paint is ah-maz-ing. Makena has big pretty lips, painted eyelashes, and big, realistic eyebrows. I'll admit that I think painted lashes look a little weird with sleep eyes, but that's not a problem unique to Makena. I love her hair, I love her sparkly outfit, and I just think she's a cute doll. I also like how she fights with racism in a creative way, by utilizing her design skills. I hope her two friends are equally creative...
MARITZA OCHOA
WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT HER: Of the three World By Us girls Maritza has the weakest meet outfit, though granted, it fits her sporty personality just fine. That's...really all I have against Maritza. I wish she had a jacket to break up that track suit a little...oh wait a minute, Maritza's personal accessories include a jacket. I guess I'll just shut up, LOL! By the way...do all three of these little girls wear clothes that Makena designed? That would be a cute touch if they did.
WHAT I DO LIKE ABOUT HER: I love the name "Maritza," first and foremost. It makes me think of "Mariska," and Mariska Hargitay. Maritza uses the Joss mold, and from what I can tell in stock photos it's painted beautifully (she has painted lashes again). I also like Maritza's other two outfits, since they come in bright, splashy colors but are a completely different color scheme from her meet outfit. This is a cute doll, y'all.
EVETTE PEETERS
WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT HER: Another friggin' Josefina face. I'm gonna admit it: the Josefina face is not my favorite AG head mold. I have Luciana, I have Marina, and I have Julie, and I have a hard time photographing them because I keep catching them in bad angles. Also, does Evette have a hobby? Makena and Maritza have both a cause and a hobby, but so far I only see a cause for Evette. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, my dear.
WHAT I DO LIKE ABOUT HER: Everything, LOL. I was expecting Makena to be my favorite doll in this line, but Evette hauled off and surprised me. She's got gray eyes and freckles, and her outfit is so stinkin' cute, and she likes vintage clothes...she's a cute doll, and she's eco-conscious in a way that all little girls can emulate. No striking from school (that I know of), no boycotting Barbie (that I know of), just upcycling and reusing. A good way to stop waste is to not waste at all, and Evette is doing just that. I would like to see something addressing the problem with bees in this country, but...didn't Blaire do that? Her dress had bees on it, after all. I dunno; I never read Blaire's book.
So that's my take on these new girls. They're all more political than I care for a doll line to be. Seriously, when anything, music, media, toys, books, what have you take a turn to the left it looks like a desperate move. It's almost like the companies are saying "Look at me! I'm hip! I'm woke! I follow the trendiest issues! I have no idea why, BUT I DO!!! Join me!" Granted, Makena's race issue is definitely still a problem in this country, and I love her idea of combating it. Designing may sound shallow, but when you want to send a message you can very easily with a line of T-shirts. I'm on the fence with the other two and their causes, especially Maritza's. Regarding the dolls themselves? DAYUM, THEY CUTE!!! Talolili asked me about a week ago which one was my favorite and I...can't remember if I gave her a straight answer, but having seen them all...well, Evette is my favorite, but there's really not a loser in the bunch. Will I be buying any of them? Not anytime soon, no. But Evette is a must-have, at the very least.
What say y'all? Hot or not? Do you think AG is on to something here, or do they seem a little desperate to reach out to their fanbase by sounding hip and woke? Do you have/want any of these? Do you hope there'll be more characters (I do)? Discuss.
Cheers,
RagingMoon1987
When I first saw Makena's face, I thought American Girl was starting another new line of little girl dolls. I agree that it is way too similar to McKenna.
ReplyDeleteBecause the immigration laws used to be that a man had to be able to support his family before the family could come to the US, my great-grandmother and her two daughters spent years continuing to live in poverty after my great-grandfather came to the US, sponsored by his brother, and eventually the three females got sent to Russia from Poland as refugees during WWI. Back then, the US also cared if people brought disease into the country, as opposed to now, when people with COVID, tuberculosis, measles, mumps and more are flooding unchecked into the country. I'm a little bit salty about the whole "Immigration!" bandwagon; there are lots of issues that are just being swept under the rug. For that matter, I'm salty about kids getting into "activism" at all. This kind of stuff is a good way for kids and adults to feel good about themselves without actually achieving anything.
So is this a "How do you do, fellow kids?" situation? Eh, some moms will want to buy them for their kids, some kids will want them, other people will be turned off. I always look at companies jumping on fashionable bandwagons as a cynical ploy to appeal to the people who follow those trends. As an older woman, I yawn because these themes have been around for decades, but every new generation is like, "Look, I found this new cause that is So Important!" Not that people shouldn't have values, but kids shouldn't be used as mouthpieces. The older one gets, the more one realizes that the young don't know everything. Now get off my lawn.
As Makie found out, pushing the right values doesn't keep the company open if the business side isn't attended to as well. I'd say trust a big corporation like Mattel to do so, except that I think they're too bloated; trust third or fourth tier management to make stupid decisions.
Since American Girl is owned by Mattel, I can't see American Girl dolls boycotting Barbie, at any rate. :) Eh, Felicity literally arrived on my doorstep today, so I'm happy with my American Girl collection now. I don't really care about the modern company either way.
LOL, with the "boycott Barbie" dig I was making fun of Greenpeace and their "Barbie, it's over" campaign a few years back. Basically they claimed Ken dumped Barbie due to phony nefarious actions in Indonesian rainforests, and then they held him hostage until Mattel complied. It was the dumbest thing I'd ever seen, and it completely soured me on Greenpeace and the whole "green" movement. But you're right, of course; Barbie and American Girl will NEVER boycott each other.
DeleteI hear you completely on the whole immigration thing; yes, there are innocents in that mix, but there's also plenty of ne'er-do-wells, plenty of criminals, no doubt a few terrorists in this wave of Afghans that we're getting, and the diseases. I've always wondered...WHY is there such a push for us to get vaccinated, but not these illegals and "refugees"? Yeah, I got the vaccination (under my own free will), so why aren't they? And oh Lordy, I hear you on child activism too! I'd like to strangle Greta Thunberg.
Hope you're happy with Felicity! I love to hear from you, as always; we think a lot alike.
Somewhere on YouTube there's a video from one of the founders of GreenPeace who said the group met its initial goals, and then decided to go on to another cause, more extreme, and the founder said "I didn't sign up for this" and quit.
ReplyDeleteThere's already been an assault on a female soldier, attempted or actual child rape, and a woman strangled and killed by her husband, all done by recent Afghani refugees. People have turned immigration into a zero sum game; if you want to vet incoming legal immigrants and keep illegal ones out, you obviously hate all immigrants and you're an ist and a phobe. Yeah, no.
I like Felicity a lot. She's pretty historically accurate, and a redhead to boot!
"Ist" and "phobe"...yeah. I've heard 'em all and I've had 'em all thrown at me. When they run out they make a new one up.
DeleteI hadn't heard of Greanpeace's founder saying that, but I'm not surprised. Right after they targeted Mattel, they started bullying Gibson guitars. It never ends.
Oh, Felicity has always been my favorite historical. She was the only redhead, the only one with green eyes, and since my dad was a Revolutionary War re-enactor, he was able to verify that she was authentic. You've got a good dolly there.
Maybe that third gal's thing is nonpolarized environmentalism.
ReplyDeleteMaybe! We can always pretend!
DeleteThe problem with causes is the fanatics. Most of us are willing to work for and live with a nice middle ground, but not the fanatics. And sadly, they are the ones who get the attention.
ReplyDeleteYou got that right! I learned that about the local BLM group. There was a bunch of nice folks and ONE a-hole, and the a-hole gave the whole bunch a bad name.
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