BARBIE

How has the iconic doll evolved to embrace diversity in American society ?

I - Introduction

1/ Brainstorming :

When you hear the word 'Barbie' what other words come to mind?

Draw a mind map to share your POV to the class.

2/ History

A - Watch the video and answer TRUE or FALSE to the questions below. 

If the answer is false, correct the statement. 

1. Barbie was created by Ruth and Elliot Handler in 1959. TRUE FALSE 

2. Barbie was named after Ruth Handler's daughter. TRUE FALSE 

3. Barbie was unveiled at an American International Toy Fair in 1959. TRUE FALSE 

4. Barbie's first appearance was in a black and white striped dress. TRUE FALSE 

5. Barbie was marketed as a teenage fashion model. TRUE FALSE 

6. Barbie's hairstyle changed to blonde towards the end of the 1960s. TRUE FALSE 

7. Hispanic Barbie was introduced in the 1990s. TRUE FALSE 

8. Totally Hair Barbie is the best-selling Barbie to date. TRUE FALSE 

9. In 2004, Barbie broke up with her longtime boyfriend, Ken. TRUE FALSE 

10. Barbie celebrated her 60th birthday in 2019. TRUE FALSE 

B - Watch the video again and write a summary IN FRENCH to show what you have understood. 

C - PART 1: Barbie's beginnings, where did her story start? 

Read the document and answer the questions. 

The impact of the Barbie doll on girls' body images and the spread of a stereotypical model of womanhood has been the subject of extended reflections |…| Yet one story that's much less known is that of Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie and one of the founders of Mattel. The first part of Ruth Handler's life is a succession of challenges. 

Born Ruth Moskowicz in Denver, Colorado, in 1916 she and her family were Polish Jews who had earlier immigrated to the United States The youngest of children she could not attend university and initially found work as a secretary. 

She married Elliot Handler in 1938 and together they traversed the ordeal of World War II, which affected all of the United States Then came financial hardship for the young couple,  living in  California with two children. At the time Ruth was 30, but she had a huge ambition for her life and a big vision for the Handler family. |…| Ruth wanted to make a toy for girls, and knew that she had a test market close at hand her daughter Barbara. 

The  idea emerged during a trip that the family took to Switzerland in 1956 In the window of a Swiss shop Ruth discovered a sex-symbol doll with a generous shape, Bild Lilli, based on a cartoon character created for the German tabloid Bild. Ruth immediately understood the  marketing potential of the doll, and took several back to the United States.

In the 1950s, dolls intended for girls were often babies or mother or housewife characters. Ruth Handler's insight was that girls of the 1950s no longer wanted to grow up just to be mothers, and the Barbie doll announced a certain emancipation from the exclusive role of a mother. While we can now see in Barbie the personification of the woman as object Ruth Handler's idea was to create a toy that reflected women's ability to work and be autonomous. As she stated in her 1994 autobiography: "My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices."  

When Ruth Handler presented her new concept to the head of a major American advertising agency, he stated "It has no chance of succeeding You're joking". Mattel's executive committee-composed entirely of men except for Ruth - also opposed the idea.  She not only imposed the project, she persuaded Mattel's R&D department to make a doll that would be sold at cost, with profits coming from the sale of clothes and accessories.

When the Barbie doll was presented at the New York International Toy Fair in 1959, all the big buyers, including the major American 60 store brands were unimpressed and refused to buy any. While many entrepreneurs would have given up. Ruth Handler decided to sell her doll directly to consumers A major publicity campaign was launched, which resulted in the worldwide success that we know today. 

Answer the questions writing proper sentences.

1. Who is Ruth Handler and describe her background?

2. How did Ruth Handler come up with the idea for the Barbie doll? 

3. What was the typical type of dolls intended for girls in the 1950s? 

4. What was Ruth Handler's philosophy behind creating the Barbie doll? 

5. Why did some people initially oppose the idea of the Barbie doll, and how she overcome this opposition? 

6. What was the initial response to the Barbie doll when it was presented at the New York International Toy Fair in 1959?

7. How did Ruth Handler manage to make the Barbie doll a worldwide success? 

II - An ever-changing model?

4/ Clara Amfo

The maker of Barbie has made a doll version of BBC Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo to recognise her work speaking out against racial inequality.

She has been named as a Barbie Role Model after she gave a powerful speech calling for everyone to be anti-racist following the death of George Floyd in the US last year. His death caused protests around the world and shone a light on the problems of racism and discrimination.

Clara says it is really important that there are a variety of dolls which represent different people to show kids that they "matter in the world". She said having her own doll is one of the best moments in her career.

Find the following information in the text above:

a) Mattel's decision:

b) Why:

c) Clara's reactions:

By pairs find information about the Dream Gap Project and about about alternative dolls to Barbie.

III - Barbie the movie

1/ Writen comprehension

The new movie "Barbie" is the biggest film of the year in the USA. It has broken several box office records. One of these is for making the most money for a non-superhero movie. Movie-goers in the USA paid a total of $162 million in the movie's opening weekend. Ticket sales worldwide were over $356 million. The film also made the most money for a movie made by a female director. "Barbie" was directed by Greta Gerwig, who also worked on the indie films "Lady Bird" and "Little Women". Gerwig also co-wrote "Barbie". It is likely that there will be sequels to the movie, so fans should get ready for "Barbie 2" and "Barbie 3". There may also be a spin-off that focuses on Barbie's friend Ken.
Ms Gerwig's movie is about the Barbie fashion doll, made by the American toy company Mattel. The toy was created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler and launched in 1959. It has become one of the best-selling toys ever made. Over a billion Barbie dolls have been made worldwide. Since the 1980s, Barbie has been the star of video games, animated movies and TV series. In Gerwig's film, Barbie unexpectedly leaves her near-perfect animated world of Barbieland to live in the human world. Movie experts say it is refreshing that "Barbie" is such an original movie. People may be getting tired of superhero films. A critic said "Barbie" was a funny, entertaining and feminist movie.

• https://www.axios.com/2023/07/23/barbie-box-office-opening-sale

1. TRUE / FALSE: Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

1. The article says "Barbie" has broken seven box office records. T / F
2. Over $356 million was spent at the US box office in one weekend. T / F
3. The movie is the biggest money-making movie directed by a woman. T / F
4. A movie company has almost finished the spin-off movie "Ken". T / F
5. Barbie has been around since 1959. T / F
6. Over a billion Barbie dolls have been made over the decades. T / F
7. Movie experts agreed that "Barbie" was not such an original movie. T / F
8. A critic said "Barbie" was a feminist movie. T / F

Vocabulary : 

• several
  
• worldwide
• made
• likely
• get ready
• launched
• unexpectedly
• experts
• critic
• entertaining

2/ Oral comprehension :

Watch the video, draw a mind map and make a poster to report to the class. 

Team 1 :

Team 2 : 

Team 3 :

Team 4 : 

Team 5 : 

Team 6 : 

Team 7 : 

Team 8 :

Team 9 : 

Team 10 : 

Team 10 : 

Additional resources :

IV - Final Task

Imagine your inclusive doll and its marketing campaign. Be ready to present it to the class. Your presentation should include the following information...

You will use the vocabulary below.

A homage = a tribute

A role model

Discrimination against

Topical issue => un fait/problème de société

Symbolical

Diverse

Unrealistic

Inspiring

Improve = ameliorate

Promote

Reflect

Empower = give power to ...

IV - TEST