Tiny Shoulders, Rethinking Barbie (2018) User Reviews

I miss my Barbie

[gjoseph-292-93633 · 8/10 · 17 April 2019]

If you think Barbie is anti-feminist or teaches some antiquated way for girls to be, you are missing the point. Check out this documentary about Mattel's process of relaunching Barbie. What a complex problem to be faced with. Interviews include Roxane Gay and Gloria Steinem who do not love Barbie. There's also an interesting history of the doll including biographical info on Ruth Handler, her creator.

Whether you love Barbie, are ambivalent towards her, or think she's a bad role model for your daughter, this movie will probably not change your mind.

Reviews here WAY TOO HARSH

[lakishaferguson21 · 7/10 · 1 April 2020]

Obviously u folks spewing all this negativity towards this doc never played with dolls. I thought it was a really good, necessary watch. People saying "it's just a doll" never had insecurities or body image issues. Although I wished for more interviews with children, since their opinions mattered most with this subject matter, it was nice to hear from actual Mattel employees. I also enjoyed learning a little about the founding couple behind the brand, especially Ruth, who was a bad chick. Barbie has meant so much to women/girls the last 60+ years so as a progressive figure she was long overdue for a relaunch. I think she still has a ways to go to be more inclusive and to keep the attention of kids, but think it's a step in the right direction.

I do believe society has placed too much pressure on a doll, however since Barbie is in the public eye, there's a certain level of responsibility that entails.

Slick Mattel Promo Film

[mike_NY · 4/10 · 3 September 2020]

Interesting primarily from a marketing perspective. A story about good timing, a tenacious founder, and a chance encounter in Germany with a doll named Lil (sold in service stations and marketed to men!) gives way to a drearily self-important discourse in sociology. Yes, fine, Barbie was culturally relevant and yes this is a great big advertisement for woke mattel products. Guaranteed to give any survivors of corporate america (particularly in marketing & PR) severe agita. Trigger alert: Mattel employees with severe upspeak, vocal trill, and tragic buzz word addiction. 90 minutes seems like 4 hours.

Not worth it

[taunee-81075 · 4/10 · 19 May 2018]

I cannot believe that people actually thought Barbie was FORCING people to be skinny. FORCING people into thinking that beauty is white, blonde and skinny.

The very first words from this documentary comes from a woman who says "I'm glad I didn't grow up with Barbie".

I wonder if Barbie has also told people to go rob a bank. People need to take responsibility for themselves. If a toy can dictate your child's future, there is something wrong with the parents.

People need to look around at other things that were influencing children. Maybe famous people like Farrah and Jackie Kennedy. To blame this all on a doll is ridiculous.

I am glad I grew up with Barbie. The toy doll did not tell me to be skinny, blonde or anything else. The Barbie doll did encourage my imagination to play and dream as a little girl..

"Saint" Mattel's Pity Party

[nightowlneophyte · 3/10 · 30 January 2023]

It is not a bad thing that Barbies are being made with more variety now, and while it is a good step, this whole documentary puts Mattel in the light of "We're trying *so hard* but nobody likes us now, feel sorry for us."

A good portion of this documentary aside from the historical aspects of Ruth Handler and the various stages of feminism focuses on the Mattel executives whining framing themselves as being in such mental anguish for their decision to release this doll line of varying Barbie dolls, as if every single force in the world is against them and that they alone must sacrifice themselves in bringing this "new day" of Barbie to the public, as if this doll really is the center of the universe. Yes, Barbie is the most well-known fashion doll in the world, but it is not the end of the company to release variations of Barbie, and will not ruin the lives of every executive there. The tone comes across as very self-inflated, as if they must have any viewer who watches this documentary see the current Mattel in an almost saintly light in comparison to the Barbie of the past.

It is almost hilarious to look at this documentary in 2022, considering that there have been many complaints from collectors that the clothing designed for their plus-sized dolls often pales in comparison to their other designs for fashions for non-curvy Barbies. In hindsight, it seems as if the executives really did the bare minimum in making various body shapes and then immediately demanded sympathy and pity from everyone who enjoys Barbie dolls. Even the beginning with the seemingly shaming the Barbie doll for problems, that clearly aren't caused by an 11.5" plastic action figure, adds to the tone that everyone should be grateful for the sacrifices Mattel goes through for such minimum effort towards these any sort of body diversity.

It is difficult to sympathize with these executives. They were so wrapped up in their own obsession with their own egos to focus on just releasing the doll line with the best structural sound and polish they can, and focus on creating the best that they are able to for this doll line. Instead, it came off as a circlejerk of a pity-party, where they focus more on feeling like suffering heroes rather than making the best dolls they can for the people who actually enjoy Barbie dolls, whether that be kids or collectors.

It's a doll people

[campinchick1 · 1/10 · 29 April 2019]

Stupid movie! it's a doll! I don't think that playing with a pretty doll makes you feel bad or better about yourself. Barbie, if anything shows little girls they can be anything when they grow up. Like a doctor, flight attendant, bee keeper, veterinarian, dentist, astronaut. The movie was basically about people who don't like the way they look blame it on a doll.

So much of the feminist narrative is an inversion of reality, the over thinking of Barbie is one in a long line of casualties.

[yavoyavo · 5/10 · 1 May 2019]

If you wanted to watch a Barbie film with feminist talking heads and multiple mentions of "white supremacy" this is it. For me it was just interesting to see just how far off the mark certain types still were, ideology warping their understanding of basic realities.

Yes there are beauty standards. Academics have tried to deny this pointing to historic art painted for the pretentious rich of their day which like todays elites and their obsession with modern art is not representative of any wider norm. Go look up Michelangelo's Pieta for the honest reality that beauty has always been idealized. When creating art to glorify god not only is the mother of Jesus depicted as beautiful, but she is unrealistically young.

One should note the concern over body shaming coincides with an epidemic of obesity, so the assumption behind the concern is questionable as the protection from standards leads to undeniable real world harm far greater than hurt feelings. Its notable in asian cultures where obesity is far less common, body shaming is actually common.

The concern over eating disorders was one of the original pieces of "fake news". The statistics were fabricated, as were the reasons. All the elaborate explanations cultural and psychological were false, in real cases its simply a feminine form of OCD. Originally seen in religious form when afflicted nuns would starve themselves to be closer to god.

The pernicious use of childrens toys to indoctrinate should really stop, it doesn't work and those who push extreme ideologies denouncing such toys usually are the example of how their own ideologies are the true danger. Roxane Gay, Gloria Steinem, the bitter critiques of the permanently childless when they are the living examples of the wrongness of their ideas.

Maybe the lesson to women is that they should stop over thinking things. There is no similar documentary or concern over male toys like GI Joe or He-man, fantasy is fantasy. It' s even more disturbing once you realize that boys toys depict the selfless, while feminist toys depict the selfish. The feminist narrative has always been an inversion of reality.

Rethinking to overthinking Barbie

[fatimah-52797 · 2/10 · 9 December 2018]

I really daily run Barbie are qualified to be. They missed the whole point of Barbie! She's supposed to be fun to play with! And the thing is she was perfect what's wrong with playing with the perfect little doll? She had plenty of black fans in the early 60s! In the 80 she was cute too but it's these two thousands Barbie dolls that look weird, and then we get to meet the people behind it. People who are offended by growing up Etc. You know, the name of the documentaries tiny shoulders but they spend more time talking about her thigh gap. I'm actually offended by the plus size doll and I look similar to that plus size doll. Is this her face is so ugly! What was wrong with regular Barbie in the first place I think she's perfect and I ain't look more like the real Barbie than the Plus Size Barbie! Is so ridiculous and that plus size doll doesn't have any cute clothes I mean they're vaguely cute which is a problem that plus-size people have. In real life Barbie doesn't have that problem. The people who run Barbie currently just really overthink things to the point where it's no longer fun It also shows the company purposely getting low-ball publicity for Barbie which is kind of sad but I guess they needed to do it. Another painfully obvious thing is it the original creator of Barbie at the secret sauce and so did the second head of Barbie in the 1980s she did a really good job and make Mattel billionaires. They really need to take lessons from the previous CEOs and owners and creators of Barbie she doesn't need to be changed anymore we like her being very pretty and beautiful. We like her big breasts why take them away? In fact that's what the owner the original CEO said, none of the men thought that the dog will be successful because she had breast but when they sold out instantly by women. She also went on to make silicone breast which is actually very interesting and shows how powerful she is! Very happy for her and proud of her she's a very creative woman. Now, if we can only get this new generation that get up on that. For the most part it's just feels like another publicity stunt. It seems like Mattel sponsored it or something like that I guess the documentary tried but not until the very end to be a documentary more like a reality show

A bad attempt

[emilymary · 1/10 · 19 May 2018]

Barbie is a way of the past. No one needs this "brand" to show young women what they should be today. Tiny Shoulders is a lesson in bed marketing. Get it right.

You're right, there is a problem that needs to be addressed...

[mojo4030 · 1/10 · 15 December 2021]

Obesity in America is 36.5% of the population, another 32.5% is overweight. In all, more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. This is a MAJOR issue.

Barbies WEIGHT wasn't the problem.

She's so much more than her body and if you can only think about her body when you look at her, the issue is really on YOU.

The thing with Barbie is that she's perfect, she's gorgeous & she's a career woman.

Girls SHOULD aspire to have these goals which some perceive as unrealistic, because, frankly, it's no more unrealistic than a woman president (something we still have never seen).

--- The documentary was only interesting to me for the history of the doll, as well as a review of the intent of the doll by the creator. When I purchase Barbies in the future for my daughter it will be online VINTAGE 80's & 90's Barbies ONLY.