Classic English Literature
Introduction
There is an old proverb “A picture is worth a thousand words”. When the great Napoleon utter these words, little does he know that in future in the visual era, pictures are going to rules the text and will do a great work in shaping our culture. Some people believe that it is instead a Chinese proverb. However, whatever be its source, the line suggests something powerful that pictures remind the viewer of a particular subject and depict an idea. Sometimes it depicts an idea in a very significant way and this transforms into a culture gradually over the years. Due to globalization, we are all now exposed to millions of visuals and information each and every day. We obliterate some of these as we don’t find anything interesting or thrilling. However, if we are constantly bombarded with such visuals; there is fair chance that we will notice them.
It takes much time to transform a visual into an idea and then a popular cultural belief. Thus, it is very important to critically examine whether the pop culture images provoke any responses and this can be best understood if we examine how the Barbie doll image changed the way the girls used to perceive their body and influence culture at large. Barbie has something mysterious in terms of look which draws girls from more than 150 countries and despite much opposition from feminists, the sales are still soaring.
Body
It was in 1959 first time at the toy fair in New York that the world got an opportunity to see the Barbie doll that had imaginary physical shape with waist line being narrow and slim. Girls used to look upon the thin, blond image of the Barbie, as an epitome of feminism. In fact unconsciously, the manufacturers of Barbie project thin figure with good fair complexion and flawless skin as feminine beauty. As the popularity of Barbie doll grow over the years among girls, its distribution also gets increased across the globe with minor changes in hair color and complexion. Culture is always influenced by mass media , texts and images are all forms of this. A religion of thinness was spread and girls start dieting to attain that dream waistline of Barbie. As a result over the years body dissatisfaction developed and this led to a culture of dieting among girls. We can also say this like disordered eating. According to some studies, it has been found that Barbie doll projects a powerful image on the mind of girls who grew playing up with these dolls.
In fact, Barbie is the most iconic symbol of American culture and American materialism.This kind of doll being sold at the fair is generally termed as a plastic doll of Barbie. According to a psychological experiment conducted in the United Kingdom in the year 2006 by a bunch of psychology professors it was found that those who were exposed to Barbie doll images suffer from self- low esteem. Based on one of the leading research and analysis carried out on 162 girls who were in the age group of 5-8 years, it was found that even through the functioning of dolls cease to operate as a motivational role models for the girls of older age, there is a tendency to have its impact when it is seen at the early age. Because, younger lot get motivated and idolize body image of the doll unrealistically, thereby attributing to an enhanced risk of unhealthy practice of eating and cycling for weight loss. Despite all these studies and awareness among the parents, the image that Barbie projects is hard to defy and forget. It is still the best selling fashion model in the toy market. Zoonen has rightly mentioned that “Barbie appeared with that all-important ideal figure, with her high pointy breasts and her flat belly. She has clearly become an icon; she exemplifies female physical perfection in our society, perhaps globally” (p. 125). As a result, it has significant and towering impact of the Barbie as an icon for which all the girls are addicted to imitate the physical shape and size of doll. Consequently, they spend lot of time in grooming her physical appearance by applying cosmetic or artificial product. As far as modern personalities are concerned, Charlotte Hothman and Sarah Burge from UK women and Cindy Jackson from USA are some of the instances when the leading personalities of the world tried to copy the doll’s look. It is speculated that Sarah Burge had gone under the knife for more than 100 times and Charlotte has spent over ten thousand pounds in order to achieve the perfect Barbie look. Jackson also spent a large amount on cosmetic surgery. All three women have declared that their obsession with this look started when they were young girls. There is also a Ukrainian model who is currently making waves over the You tube because of her cosmetically enhanced looks. She is a teacher by profession and due to obsession of looking like Barbie doll she has undergone the knife. Some claim it is makeup trick. However, with doll like body proportions, surely she will influence many other girls of her age to be self-image conscious.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the above facts, we can safely conclude that visual pop culture images or texts work in the same way, portraying an idea, event, person, movement, or era in a significant way. Whenever we see a monument or an old fort, we feel nostalgic about that era. Same happens with visual images of pop culture. Can someone forget the famous image of Jackson’s, Moon Walk? The iconic style in which the pop king used to deliver his performance gets depicted over the mass media through many of the images apart from the famous Moon Walk. Lakhs of youngsters follow in the footstep of Jackson and join dancing classes. A sense of euphoria was created in America as well as the whole world, whenever Jackson delivers his performance over the stage. Some other examples are like that of Marilyn Monroe with her fluttering skirt is till today considered as an expression of sexuality at its best. All these visuals still reminded us about the culture of that era. With respect to cultural ideas and beliefs, we can say that pop culture images played a significant role. Visual of popular culture reflect and echoes our spirits of that particular time period.
Works Cited
- Landrine. Hope; Russo, Felipe. Nancy. Handbook of Diversity in Feminist Psychology, New York, 2010.Print.
- Zoonen, V. Liesbet. Feminist Media Studies. London. SAGE Publications Limited.2006. Print.
- Moss. Mark. Toward the Visualization of History: The Past As Image, United States of America, 2008. Print.
