The museum of action figures and other amazing toys, will feature thousands of actions figures for guests of all ages. Action figures represent an amazing part of pop culture, thousands of people throughout the world decorate their homes with action figures. Action figures have been around since the 1960’s and they have a very interesting story of development. The story begins with the creation of the Barbie doll, and it was immediately popular and there was a problem there were no toys like Barbie for boys. Then they created the action figure to fulfill the new demand for articulating toys. “The first action figure was invented by Don Levine, Vice President and Director of Marketing and Development at Hasbro (---).” Levine developed a 11 ½ inch action figure inspired by the movie “The Story of G.I. Joe.” They began to use to the word action to market it, to young boys and distinguish it from dolls. Since it had lots of similarities to the Barbie doll. Levine was inspired while walking through an art store one day and he noticed a wooden artists mannequin an epiphany that he will create a figure that was able to move and pose just like the human body. The figure went to market in 1964 and it was immediately a success. “Within two years, G.I. Joe accounted for …show more content…
The character was sold with costumes and accessories, including marvel super heroes. In 1977 the Kenner company began to manufacture action figures based on its new movie Star Wars. This success expanded the toy market and increased the demand for licensed action figures. The Star Wars also changed the size of the typical action figure which was previously 8-12 inches to 3.75 inches. This helped decrease manufacturing cost and increase the profit for the action figures. Another reason they went with a smaller design was because the cost of plastic was
This website article provides the history of Barbie and her newly inspiring images for young women. Barbie was the new popular doll during World War 2 because she provided something inspiring for young girls and something that mothers felt strong about, independence. Barbie helped with what was being told to women, that they didn’t have to settle for being just a housewife or a stay at home mother. Women around the country could have a variety, a choice to work and have a career. “Barbie’s early professions were limited
The history behind Lego’s is an interesting story of how they came to be. The Lego was a great idea. The Lego is a fun, imaginative, creative, and educational toy! The story behind these amazing toys is interesting! The Lego goes way back to the great depression too! These bricks are cool to play with!
Herman, Sarah. A Million Little Bricks: The Unofficial Illustrated History of the LEGO Phenomenon. First edition. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, September 26, 2012. Print.
For starters the title, “Barbie Doll” holds a meaning. It symbolizes the ideal figure of a female body. Society creates this ideal that is embed into every century. It is never ending. It is intended that she must have the twig like arms and legs, the minuscule waist and nose,
The talking Barbie was made in 1968. The customers and the Mattel Inc. were there. It happened because the Mattel Company thought it would be cool to add sound to the very popular Barbie doll. Also, the Talking Barbie was originally created in Mexico but later versions were made in Hong Kong. How the talking Barbie worked is it talked when you pulled a string in the back of her neck.
The GI Joe doll portrays the image of a man in the military. He dresses in camouflage and carries around guns. Wagner-Ott describes the GI Joe doll as a "...butch version of Barbie with the same realism and detail, but applied to the toy soldier concept" (249). Considering Barbie's beautiful looks and countless perfect accessories, the GI Joe doll can relate to her. He has defined muscles, a smooth tan, and all of his accessories fit him perfectly. These two dolls display sexist attitudes in many ways. Barbie only moves in five different places, her neck, shoulders, and top of her legs, whereas, GI Joe can move in twenty-one different places. The movements of the dolls show that the male can be more active and mobile, but the female is restricted to a perfect posture and cannot do much outside. Even though Barbie has many career options varying from a nurse to a firefighter most of them she is not even physically capable of. Wagner-Ott states in her journal, "Because dolls and action figures are emotionally close to children's lives, they can become the source for discovering and analyzing how popular everyday objects help construct "students" sense of identity, politics and culture" (252). Children are beginning to see these dolls like Barbie and GI Joe and want everything they have to feel like they can be
90% of girls ages three through ten owned at least one Barbie doll. Ruth Handler’s idea for children to live there adult fantasies through a toy, came to life in a tall beautiful blonde doll. Barbra Millicent Roberts, or Barbie for short was named after Handlers daughter. Barbie was originally molded after the European Lilli doll that was made to be a gag gift, but Handler transformed this idea into so much more. The first Barbie doll was created in 1959, changing the toy making industry forever. This simple idea turned into a massive success. The sponsor of the phenomenon was Mattel Inc. founded by Ruth Handler and her Husband. Ruth Handler’s original idea of Barbie was revolutionary due to the many impacts on society this small doll created.
It was very common to have a Barbie doll growing up, and it wasn’t just a toy, it was a representation of a “perfect life”. From dream houses, to boats, cars, a perfect boyfriend to exiting careers, Barbie had the perfect life. Barbie had the perfect lifestyle AND the perfect body, long legs, small waist and a curvy chest. This taught children from a very young age that having a boyfriend, a career, a house and a petite body is very important. (Worldpress 2011). Barbie’s “attention has been generated by the secondary role she plays in popular culture the artifact of female representation” (Wright 2003). Barbie isn’t just a toy, she mimics
Both Raphel's and Arneson’s articles show the commercialism of American Girl Dolls, of the newer generations, by sharing their own stories about the way the dolls influenced their lives and the stories they shared with their friends.
The types of toys that were found on the boys aisles were mostly a combination of the following: seventy-five Weapons, 164 Superhero Dolls/ Muscular Action Figures, thirty-nine Blue Collar Work, 300 Building Blocks/ Legos, 340 Remote Control Vehicles or Racing Vehicles, twenty Animals portrayed as “scary, mean, or aggressive,” twenty-five Military and sixty-...
In an article in Interview Magazine, Emily Prager discuses her opinions of Mattel's toy doll Barbie being designed by Jack Ryan, husband to Zsa Zsa Gabor, and designer of military missiles. The concept that a doll for young girls was designed by such a person greatly shocked Prager." Suddenly a lot of things made sense to me" says Prager. The element that Ryan designed Barbie may explain some of the key aspects of the doll itself.
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
One day, as Ruth Handler watched her daughter play with paper dolls, she noticed that often the dolls were put into adult scenarios, such as grocery shopping, working, et cetera (“The Creation of Barbie”). As most dolls in this era, the 1950’s, were either babies or small children, Handler got an idea: what if she created an adult doll (“The Creation of Barbie”)? So, she drew up a design for one, and she named her Barbie, after her daughter, Barbara (“The Creation of Barbie”). Then, in 1959, Mattel, a huge and very popular toy company, picked up the idea (“The Creation of Barbie”). Barbie made her first appearance in New York, at the annual toy fair (“The Creation of Barbie”). That year, 351,000 Barbie dolls were sold, which was a sales record in America (“The Creation of Barbie”). Today, Barbie continues to be the most popular doll in the world, with two sold every minute (“The Creation of Barbie”).
Barbie was first launched in March 1959, after Ruth Handler, president of Mattel, Inc., went on a trip to Europe and discovered a unique German doll, “Bild Lilli.” The aforementioned doll was special in that she was an adult, whereas man...
It may seem trivial and go unnoticed to most, but by assigning Barbie a real career, people are able to identify with and recognize her. The marketers also provide Barbie with a life other than modeling, such as friends and a home. The Ken doll, which is commonly known as Barbie’s boyfriend, makes her appear more real to the audience. Girls are able to identify with the idea of a boyfriend, which makes the notion of Barbie seem more realistic and desirable. The same idea is applied to the many friends Barbie has been accompanied by over the years. Lastly, and perhaps most famously, Barbie, like almost all of the girls who play with her, have a home. The Barbie Dream House is just another clever way her marketing team has presented her to society as a real person. Humanizing Barbie, and portraying her in such a manner makes her more attractive to potential buyers. The girls who engage in play with dolls do not want merely a doll; they desire something they can relate to and envision in the real world. Imaginative play is a large portion of childhood, and the ability for children to posses a doll like Barbie , who represents a real person in society, is extremely valuable. The use of social constructionism in the marketing of products such as Barbie is both brilliant and effective.