{"id":40156,"date":"2023-06-21T16:33:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T20:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40156"},"modified":"2023-06-21T16:40:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T20:40:04","slug":"barbie-nation-an-unauthorized-tour-1998","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/06\/21\/barbie-nation-an-unauthorized-tour-1998\/","title":{"rendered":"Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour (1998)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The 25th Anniversary Director’s Cut will be available on Demand June 27th.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One thing you can\u2019t accuse Susan Stern\u2019s documentary \u201cBarbie Nation\u201d of being is biased. Through and through \u201cBarbie Nation\u201d is a biography about the creation of Barbie, but it\u2019s also an objective one. It\u2019s bizarre, it\u2019s humorous, it\u2019s self deprecating, and most of all it reveals the pros and cons of the Barbie fandom. Director Susan Stern is a lot more interested in taking a look at the more surreal side of the Barbie fandom. While \u201cBarbie Nation\u201d does explore the culmination and conception of the doll, \u201cBarbie Nation\u201d also looks at the small pockets of fandoms that have popped up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a hotline, an S&M club; there\u2019s a collector that views Barbie as a symbol of America in the good old days, to a photographer who uses Barbie as a means of exploring her failed modeling aspirations. Scarier beyond the rabid adult fans willing to bid hundreds on antique Barbie dolls, is the interview with a young pair of Barbie fans, both of whom are barely in to puberty who discuss how Barbie is the epitome of beautiful, while they criticize their own looks and lack of body shape.<\/p>\n

Barbie Nation delves into the depths of Barbie’s dream house, intimately exploring the peculiar ways in which people have embraced Barbie throughout history \u2013 and the doll\u2019s own saucy rise from a German sex toy to the savior of Mattel. For the very first time, this captivating hidden gem will be readily accessible, offering an all-new scene featuring the cherished ‘Black Barbie’. For better and for worse, Barbie has been a household name that\u2019s allowed the world to kind of reflect on itself and garner a sense of self-realization. I wish Susan Stern had ventured deeper in to the idea of examining the themes that are presented. How and why did\/has Barbie connect with the LGBTQ and Drag community since her introduction?<\/p>\n

Were there any initiatives being placed to discuss body image? I mean, I know the movie was created in 1998, but I\u2019d have loved to see the director explore discussions about Barbie\u2019s features and how she influenced young girls. There\u2019s also not a lot of looks in to the more toxic corners of Barbie fandom, despite some anecdotes about blatant sexism and misogyny the creator of Barbie experienced while building the brand. In either case, \u201cBarbie Nation,\u201d much like other documentaries about fandoms is a fascinating sometimes bizarre look in to the world of Barbie.<\/p>\n