Random Barbie buzz

Confession time:  I'm not a tremendous silent movie fan.  Not yet, anyway.  I don't hate them, but I can count the number of silents I've seen on one finger.  Thus it might surprise y'all that I was delighted to see who debuted as a Barbie back in May.

I've been living under a rock for the past month, okay?  For the uninitiated, the doll is done up like silent film actress Anna May Wong.  Anna May was kinda ahead of her time; remember that during the era of silent movies the country was a lot more racist than it is now, and if you were any color other than white you could forget about being some kind of star...unless you were a jazz musician, or Josephine Baker.  Okay, there were exceptions back then, and Anna May was one of those.  She was seventeen when she got her first big role, that of Lotus Flower in a loose remake of Madama Butterfly.  Ms. Wong even made a successful transition to movies with sound ("talkies"), something that not all silent film stars could do.  She had to put up with racism and stereotypes for much of her career, but she stuck it out and was active in acting until her untimely death in 1961 (she was sadly a heavy drinker and had been unhealthy for some time).  She truly was a gem, one that richly deserves to be immortalized as Barbie.  By the way, I think it's so ironic that Anna May Wong's family was delighted to have a doll in their family member's likeness, but Frida Kahlo's descendents were...well, NOT happy.  Granted, Mattel didn't get the rights from the family to use Ms. Kahlo's likeness as a doll...but if that's the case then shouldn't the family be PO'd at the folk dolls on Etsy?  It makes one wonder.  Either way Anna May has been out for awhile, and I'm going to want her in my collection...someday.  I have been taking it easy with Barbie lately since I have so many already.  But this one, I like a lot.  Anna May Wong, Margot Robbie, and Fashionista #208 are all on my wish list right now, and I know if I'm patient enuff I'll find #208 in the local Wal-Mart.  Despite my complaining in the past, my local Wal-Mart does eventually get the new stuff.

In other news, I found this on Buzzfeed Thursday afternoon.  Apparently the author asked an AI app to show what the various states would look like as Barbie dolls.  Here's what Missouri looks like; to my delight, she's a little redhead.

For reasons unknown, Miss Nevada got pink hair.

I kinda wish that some of the dolls had some reference to the state they represent.  Arkansas could've had a few rhinestones on her to simulate diamonds, for example.  But it was the AI's decision so I won't complain.  Miss Emily puttered around with a similar AI app not too long ago, and the results were...humorous, to say the least!  A link to the article can be found HERE.

Then Friday morning I found THIS news story, about the most valuable Barbie dolls ever made.  To my considerable surprise, one of my childhood friends made the list.  Totally Hair Barbie was extremely popular in her day, and nowadays she can sometimes retail for as high as $160 American, provided she's in-box and in good shape.  A doll with that much hair isn't always in good shape, LOL.  Here's a reminder of what Totally Hair Barbie looks like;  even though she's a product of the nineties, her dress is sixties-flavored.

I gotta admit that she's cute, but y'all won't catch me dead paying $160 for her.  Hell, I paid that for my most expensive AG doll (Lark), and even then I called myself crazy.  What can I say, I thought Lark was adorable and wanted to own her!  I got a giggle out of Ferrari Barbie being on the list too, since Ferraris are ridiculously expensive.  Thus it would make sense that a doll designed after a luxury car would be kinda luxurious herself.  I wonder which Ferrari Barbie the list means, though?  This one?  This one?  The article says the doll had the Ferrari logo in diamonds as a headpiece, so it must be this one.

She is gorgeous indeed, but I won't be adding that one to my collection either.  Not anytime soon, anyway.  The list was rounded out by one of the Monique Lhuillier brides, a Bob Mackie design, and Athena (she's just a girl!)...and guess what?  Those three were the bottom five in an eighty-five-doll list!  Blond Diamond got #66.  Y'all remember her?  I talked about her back when she and the blog were young, and she was controversial.  A Day of the Dead doll, also controversial and dearly loved by Yours Truly, tied with Blond Diamond, as did Maiko Barbie, whom I loved when I was a teenager.  A bunch of 'em tied for the sixty-sixth slot, LOL.  Color Magic Barbie got the fifty-fifth slot, the first vintage doll that I saw (and again, one of my favorites).  Indeed, I usually specialize in the vintage, before-I-was-born stuff, and I was pleased to see vintage dolls occupying slots #43, #33, #29 through #26, #26, #24 through #18, #16 through #14 (#16 was just a dress!), #8 and #7, and #5 and #4.  No, the original Barbie did not get the number one slot, to my considerable surprise.  #29, #26, #21, #19, #18, and the dress at #16, were foreign releases, and that alone drives the price up for us Yanks.  If y'all want to see who they are, you get to read the list yourself!  And if any of y'all own any of the dolls on that list, it should be remembered that to be worth all of that money the doll must be mint in her box.  Guess who HATES keeping her dolls in their boxes???  <raises hand>  If I've got a gorgeous doll like Maiko Barbie, I'm busting her out of that box and letting her meet the crew.  To hell with resale value (and the raggedy, LOL).  I did it for Lucy, after all.  This one is represents the episode "The Audition," by the way; my Vitameatavegimin doll still resides on the island (I can't believe that post is ten years old now), but she's currently out of reach in my doll room.

Lucy wasn't on the list, and her box was in terrible shape, but my point still stands.  I want to have fun with my girls, not resell them.  Now if I had the Improvers Island Steel promotional doll I'd leave her in situ, because there's only four of them known in existence, but for the most part I prefer to play with my dolls, even the vintage ones.

What does my mama's old #3 Barbie have to say about all of it?

"Meh.  That's what I say."

#3 Barbie did make it onto the list, but she was blonde, had blue eyeshadow, and was in superb condition.  My mother's doll has obviously been played with, both by Mama and by me, and she's not too impressed with what she calls "those big shots" on the list.  She'd rather pal around with Lucy.

Barbie:  "Pardon me, Miss Lucy, but I love your show!"
Lucy:  "💖💖💖"

I do too, Barbie!  I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show are prime examples of how comedy should be!  Indeed, Don Knotts and Lucille Ball remind me a bit of each other, the way they act through facial expressions as well as goofy scripts.

Love,
RagingMoon1987