18th of October~ Forever in Kente: Ghanian Barbie and the Fashioning of Identity

Text: Forever in Kente: Ghanian Barbie and the Fashioning of Identity

Author: Carol Magee

Carol Magee is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, in the US. She specialises in African contemporary Art, with a focuses on photography. Magee received her PhD from the University of California and she is currently serving on the editorial boards of Athem Studies in Popular Culture and African Arts.

The article analyses issues of nolstagia, imperialism and indentity in the Ghanian Barbie, and in other ‘Dolls of the World’ collection dolls.

In the article, Magee narrates when she came across the Ghanian Barbie, five months after she had returned from her trip to Ghana. In a moment when she felt nostalgic for her time in there. She explains that after analysing the cultural information on the Ghanian Barbie box and on her clothing, she became aware of a greater cultural nostalgia that was taking place.

She observes that the, “Barbie is after all a fashion doll.” (MAGEE, 2005), and, for this reason, her clothes are an important part of any analyses of the doll. The author mentions that the Ghanian Barbie clothes are inspired on the Asante textile kente. An element that, according to her, “evokes a cultutal/national heritage that, I argue, promotes a reductive, essentialist notion of identity” (MAGEE, 2005) In contrast, the article mentions another doll, Asha, an African-American friend of Barbie, that also has kente in her outfit. However, Magee explains that in this second case this element is “not reductive or restrictive” (2005), as these two dolls, the Ghanian Barbie and Asha, embody two very different identities and illustrate very distinguish perspectives of world. Still, the author clarifies; both dolls expose the US domination in the world.

The “Dolls of the World” collection begun in 1980 and started being named “Princess Collection” in 2001. This Mattel collector’s Edition represents fifty countries from every continent. The dolls targets adults audiences and are not meant for playing. “Instead, they are to be placed on a shelf, where a relationship is imagined, rather than acted out with them.³” (MAGEE, 2005). For this reason, they are a great example of past memories nostalgia.

Barbir has colonized the world!

The concept of imperialism used in this article is explained as the process for which a country dominates other country resources. Magee points out that, historically, imperialistic dominations were primarily economic or political. However, in reality, one cannot be separated from the other. One example of this is the US imperialism and its promotion of democracy and capitalism. Using this idea, Magee describes the world of Barbie and economic empire of Mattel. “Barbie is sold in over 150 countries around the world, at a rate of two dolls per second.” (Varney, 1998, pp. 163-64 apud Magee, 2005.). This way the author establishes a connection between Barbie dolls and the spread of US cultural concepts around the world, and along with it a US domination, imperialism.

However, the concept of imperialism has evolved into a “New Imperialism”, whose concept focus on power is expressed through culture and civilization. Magee notes that “Culture” covers all the material production of a country and the symbolic meanings of those products. She emphasizes: “(…), products convey messages beyond their immediate and intentional meanings. Such non-overt meanings are frequently naturalized; their social and political implications for relations of power are not immediately, or necessarily, evident for either the producers or consumers.” (Magee, 2005)

Barbie dolls are a good example of how material objects can influence in a nation’s culture. Carol Ockman, cited in the article by Magee, highlights the connection between the doll and the ideal body type around the world, which is evolving towards a westernized body type. Other sources reinforce this idea, as they reveal that Barbies, even the “Dolls of the world” edition ones – which present cultural information borrowed from other countries -, help to promote US culture and values. In fact, the article describes Barbie as a symbol that reassures American middle-class values and promotes US nationalism and sense of superiority.  This way, the author questions what is the significance of the Ghanian Barbie in this setting, and how her clothing reassures it?

Kente

Going deeper into the discussion around the Ghanian Barbie and her kente inspired garment, Magee notes that the kente is a textile originally made to be  wore by the Asante royalty and still is an extremely important source of national and cultural pride in Ghana.

Ghanian former leader, Kwame Nkrumah, appropriated the kente as a national dress, which leaded, due to his association with Pan-Africanism, to the association of kente not only with Ghanian pride but also with African pride. Now, kente has become a symbol used in various ways by African-Americans to express their pride, being the clothing the most visible one. This way, according to Magee (2005), “kente has shifted from identifying a social class(royalty) of an ethinic group (the Asante), to also identifying a modern nation-state (Ghana), a continent (Africa), and a diasporic population (African-Americans).”.

Barbie

               Psychologists affirm that playing with dolls that have the same colour as you help kids to develop their sense of self-esteem. This is a privilege that African-Americans started having access to in 1968, when Christie – an African-American friend of Barbie- was launched. Yet, it was only in the 1980’s that African-American, Asian and Hispanic Barbies appeared more regularly. Nevertheless, while, according to DuCille (1994), the same brown plastic is used for all African-American manifestations of Barbie, it is through the clothing that ethnic and cultural differences are marked. Thus, within this context, the kente is used to express the African heritage, the African-ness.

               Going almost against one of the most attractive features of Barbies - being easy to be manipulated by the owner -, the Ghanian Barbie was designed “in such a way as to discourage and/or prevent her from being undressed and her outfit changed.” This means that this Barbie will remain always in a kente, and, for this reason, unlike her fellow Asha; she cannot have more than one identity. Instead, she will always have only one –cultural pride- aspect. She will never have any other subjectivities that could be add to her personality.

Asha on her Kente outfit

Other dolls.

Magee mentions that Mattel conducts a careful research while designing its dolls. As it is extremely important for them not to be offensive. In especial, for the culture who is being represented. However, even though the company did a great job designing the Ghanian Barbie clothing, on the back of the doll’s box – blended with some information about Ghana – is printed a Yoruba mask, from Nigeria.

The souvenir

               The “Dolls of the World” Barbies can be considered a souvenir, that is; an object that serves the purpose of reminding one of a travel experience, a childhood  memory or of a place one desires to visit. The relationship between a souvenir and its owner is usually distance. Magee (2005) explains that this is necessary for if the relationship achieve closeness the desire for the objected would be fulfilled and the necessity of the souvenir eliminated. In this context, the Ghanian Barbir kente outfit and detailed accessories, and the fact that her clothing can never – or are not supposed to – be removed, will preserve the doll as an distant, different, foreign object – a souvenir.

The Collection

               In order to understand the meaning of a collection it is necessary to know how that collection is organized. (Stewart, 1993, p. 154 apud Magee, 2005). In the case of the “Dolls of the World” Collection, while some dolls are based on the nation – Ghana, Italy, others are based on more specific locations – Paris, Hawaii. However, when all the dolls are displayed together, their differences are minimized and they all become part of the Barbie community. (Magee, 2005)

They look differente, but they are all clearly Barbies.

               What is interesting about the “Dolls of the World” collection is that they usually invoke romanticized cultural elements from the past of the culture being represented. That means that their costumes are usually based on references from the past of ones culture, bringing traditional elements from the past to the present. This way, their clothing, and consequently their identities, are understand as a “time-locked view of ethnicity”. This instance of nostalgia allows one to imagine a romanticized past with the culture being represented. Which means, that in a setting where most of the “Dolls of the World” are consumed in the US, this allows Americans to idealise a relationship with the other country with who they become connected through the doll.

               However, it is important to note that, because the Barbies of the “Dolls of the World” series are stuck in a romanticised past and identity, they do not exist in the same reality as the “regular” Barbie does. In this context, and while the regular Barbie can be considered an icon of feminine success – for all her clothes and accessories are read as a sign of economic and social position, the dolls of the World series are perceived as inferiors to the regular Barbie.

Some Brazilian Manisfestations of Barbie:

(They all represent a very especific social group or tradition. Although I am Brazilian I would not purchase any of these dolls for I do not identify with any of them)

               Another significant fact that Magee (2005) points out is that, differently from other Barbie’s friends and family members who are meant to have their own identities, the “Dolls of the World” do not have their own names. So, instead of having proper names – such as Barbie’s Ghanaian friend Ama, they are named; Ghanian Barbie, German Barbie, Chinese Barbie, Brazilian Barbie, between others. This is interesting because it exposes the dominance of the Barbie – a US figure, over “others”. Magee notes that “Without clearly delineated identities, it is easier to forget the individuality of the peoples of those countries represented.” (Magee, 2005)
               In the end, Magee meditates around the fact that the Dolls of the World dolls can serve as a 'distraction', as they allow the owners to create an imagined reality with the culture that the doll is representation, which keeps the owners distant from the true realities of the people being portrayed. Rather than a dicussion about the desig of the Dolls - if Mattel did or not a good job representing the cultures they intended to - this text reveberates if it is 'ok' to 'sell' this unrealistic - yet detailed - cultures.

Some more Dolls of the World Barbies:

China

Australia

UK

Philippines

Argentina

India

See more here: http://www.thebarbiecollection.com/gallery/dolls-of-the-world

11th October~ The Lure of the East; Exhibition Making and Orientalism

Text: Staging The Lure of the East. Exhibition Making and Orientalism

Author: Christine Riding

The exhibition The Lure of the East, held at the Tate’s Britain was the first large-scale survey of British Orientalism painting. It was not the first one to address Orientalism in the visual arts. And, according to Tate Britain, the exhibition was fitting and singular, as the only other exhibition of this level had been held twenty-three years before. According to the text, some decisions made during the development of the exhibition project are common to all exhibitions, as all curators have to work considering the gallery space and budget while developing a quality content. The Lure of the East was organised in categories (portraiture, religious subjects, interior and harem subjects, etc.). This decision was made to achieve the original idea of the exhibition as an exploration of the work of painters and watercolourists reimagining settled conventions to new subjects and environments. Riding relates that some painting that were key pieces in the curators’ “wish list” owned by the Qatar Museums Authority could not be collected in time, not being included in the exhibition nor in the catalogue.

The text focus in the “broader context and reception of Orientalist art”, specifically in London in 2008. The author narrates what was like working in an art-gallery in a period of political tension between the East and the West and her perception of the west as an ignorant to the Islam and Muslims. She also reports two episodes in which Tate Britain’s was involved in the “insensitive perception of Islam and Muslim”. She explains that these episodes had influenced in how The Lure of the East developed in to a project that, she states, “must be understood within this rather tangled political, social and cultural landscape.” (Riding, 2001) Riding mentions the exhibition catalogue introduction about Orientalism points diplomatically “that ‘the political dimension of our subject-and indeed of each object within it-is never far from the surface’ and that the exhibition tour coincided ‘with a moment when European and American political relations with the Middle East have been particularly difficult.” (Riding, 2011) In addition, the author notes that this introduction was the longest and most complex she had ever personally read until the present moment.

The text reports the importance of the exhibition catalogue, which is how the curators can explain key points and contexts of the exhibition to the uninformed visitors of the gallery. She explains that due to the limited number of words the curators can fit in the catalogue, they have to be more careful with what they write, as the information could generate misunderstandings. She also points out that all the information given to the visitors is from an academic opinion of the curators only, excluding the viewpoints of academics from the East. For this reason, the layouts had to be thought carefully, especially considering the religious settings and, as a creative result, the curators decided to bring “other ‘voices’ (that is alternative readings and opinions)” from international commenters, some of whom were based in Jerusalem, Baghdad, Istanbul, etc.

Riding narrates a little of the marketing process to invite visitors for the exhibition. She  explains that, for her, there are two types of visitors. The first being genuinely interested visitors that are curious and seek for knowledge about the theme.  The second type is, in her words, “everybody else”, the general visitor, which is the public that Tate Britain decided to target. She comments about the paintings chosen to be used in the marketing campaign for The Lure of the East, Hhareem Life and Leila. She emphasises that the paintings portray a “gender stereotyped”, in which women are objectified. Riding explains that a majority of advertisings, almost ninety percent, uses sexualised women to sell products.

11th October~ OTTOMANIA: a hit TV show reimagines Turkey’s imperial past

Text: Ottomania: a hit TV show reimagines Turkey’s imperial past

Author: Elif Batuman, 2014.

The text “Ottamania: a hit TV show reimagines Turkey’s imperial past” was wrote by Doctor Elif Batuman, a New Yorker with Turkish heritage who writes for The New Yorker, an American magazine in which this texts was published. In the text, she deliberates about the connections between the Turkish national identity crises, the country’s political scheme, protests at the Gezi Park and the attention a popular TV show called Magnificent Century gets in this unstable social setting.

               The texts starts with an introduction to Magnificent Century, a soap opera that started airing in 2011, which talks about an Ottomanian sultan known as Süleyman the Magnificent. The show focus on the life of his harem; the intrigues between the sultan’s wife and concunbines, and has become extremely popular. Batuman explains that the show is part of a trend called Ottomania, which has spread through a variety of areas from food to design and is characteristic of the politics of the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdoğan’s foreign politics promoted the Ottoman style, however the Prime Minister did not sympathised with the soap opera plot. He considered that the show did not represent the Turkish family values, or the values and aspects of the Ottoman Empire that he would like to present. Batuman emphasizes the controversy of Erdoğan’s disgust for the show as she explains how Magnificent Century “conquered” the public from countries with affectionate memory of the Ottoman rule. In addition to the introduction of the text, Batuman points that it was Erdoğan’s decision of demolishing the Gezi Park to build a shopping mall in the style of Ottoman barracks that trigged protests in the country.

                In the text, the author gives important information about Turkish history, especially about the Ottoman Empire, which allows a general reader to have a better understanding of the context. It becomes noticeable on it the development of the identity crisis issue of the Turkish nation over their history. Batuman also talks about the directors of the TV show, Yağmur and Durul Taylan; about how they engaged to this project and the difficulties faced in a country with censorship. The author also discourses about the importance of Roxelana, one of the sultan’s concubine that married him and gave birth to his successor. She mentions the disparity in the way that the contemporary Ottoman society probably viewed her as a ruthless opportunist who only cared about her own children and the current opinion about Roxelana, which was tremendously influenced by the soap opera Magnificent Century. Batuman explains that many believe that Roxelana’s greed and the sultan’s decision of murdering Mustafa, his first-born with another concubine, is what lead the Ottoman Empire to its end. A believe that is not supported by Günhan Börekçi, an Ottoman historian who is one of the consultants for the Magnificent Century show. In addition, Batuman points out that the soap opera illustrates the identity crisis of Turkish people, as they for a long time were represented as a nation born by the hands of Kemal Atatürk, a commander that later became known as “The father of the turk”.

Paintings of Roxelana

Gezi Park Protestants