Wright State University
CORE Scholar
Urban Affairs and Geography Faculty Publications
Urban Affairs and Geography
Winter 1995
When Barbie Dated GI Joe: America's Romance with
Cold War Toys (Review)
Marjorie L. McLellan
Wright State University - Main Campus, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/uag
Part of the Cultural History Commons
Repository Citation
McLellan, M. L. (1995). When Barbie Dated GI Joe: America's Romance with Cold War Toys (Review). The Public Historian, 17 (1),
152-154.
http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/uag/17
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Urban Affairs and Geography at CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion
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[email protected].
152 * THEPUBLICHISTORSN
exhibitrequiresthe curatorsto makesome tough
still thriving.AI1Y
choices,and the choicesare especiallydifficultin the badlyunderfundedworld of the countyhistoricalsociety. WhatI saw at the
LawrenceCountyHistoricalSocietyshowedme that it's makingthe
rightkindof choices.
PERRYK. BLATZ
DuquesneUniversitr
When Barbie Dated GI Joe: America'sRomancewith Cold War Toys.
exhibithistorianand principalresearcher;
HELENS. SCHWARTZ,
designer;CHRISTOPHER
educator;KEVINMURPHY,
CARMEZY,
LORENA
and JEANBURKS,curators.Strong
PENSCH,LYNNEPOIRIER-WILSON,
Museum,Rochester,NewYork.LocalfundingfromHerter,Secrest
Bank.
at LawandMarineMidland
& Emery,Attorneys
playhypedthefamilybombshelteras analternative
Advertisements
Gun
roomtandchildrenplayedatwarwiththeAtomicFlashZoomeray
or the AgentZeroMWeaponsSet.TheRiskgame firstissuedin 1959,
WhenBarbieDated GI Joe, a Strong
hadas its goalworlddomination.
Museumexhibitwhichopensin a falloutshelter,is notso muchabout
andexpectations.
play,however,asit is aboutadultfantasies
children's
arguesthatthe strengthof muExhibithistorianHelenS. Schwartz
evidence.Theobjectsin
seumresearchis thatit beginswiththematerial
WhenBarbieDated Gl Joe showhowColdWarideologycollidedexploworld
a miniature
of gender,reproducing
sivelywithculturalconstructs
boysanddomestic,consumption-oriented
action-oriented
of aggressive,
girls.FromtheLittleLadyElectricStoveto theEasyBakeOven,1950sera toyspromptedgirlsto assumea femininestanceof preparedness
throughshopping,cooking,andcleaning.Mattel'sdesignersimagineda
changeof clothesforeveryoccasion,fromthe Barbie-Qto the Theater
werefarmoreexcitingthanthe crudelylimitedcareer
Date.Weddings
in thisfeminized
Menwereonlyappendages
optionsorevenparenting.
landscape Ken,the exhibitpointsout, existedonlyto escortBarbie.
The boys}world,set in the Westor on the newfrontiersin space,was
one of gunsandgizmossuchas the New SmokingTexan,Jr.andthe
to imagcappistols.Whilegirlswereencouraged
AtomicDisintegrator
boysmodeledthemselveson
ine domesticblisswiththe insipid"Ken,"
adultcontradicthe manlyG.I. Joes.Clearly,child'splayreproduced
the maledollsor actionfigurescartions.In spiteof thesedifferences,
purchases.
riedboysintothesamebraveworldof endlessaccessory
amongthe
the negligibleblackrepresentation
Theexhibitjuxtaposes
of the 1963Marchon Washnewsphotographs
toyswiththe dramatic
ington.Mattelmarketedits firstblackdoll, Francie,in 1967,without
latermodelswerepopular.
muchsuccess,although
feelingsabouttechTheexhibitalsoewloresthepublic'sambivalent
the terrorof radiatiorl,
spinyGodzillasrepresented
nology.Over-sized,
thattheycouldsafelyharnessthe dangerbutchildrenwerecomforted
TheStory
produced
forthebenefitof society.Chemeraft
oustechnology
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Adssuch as this StromBecKer
Toys
fromPbf hiss maganne,
revealhowtoysfromthe ColdWar advertisement
period,designedby adults,communicated March186,
adultconcern.
(Photograph
courtesyof lEe StrongMuseum,Rochester,
NewYork.)
154 * THEPUBLICHISTORIAN
PractiExciting!
of AtomicEnergyin a sciencekittoutedas "Harmless!
ride"featuredfinsjustlikethe
"rocket
cal!"Whiletheblue,supermarket
CapeCanaveral
familyChevrolet,boysalso boughtthe reality-based
Playset.
wenton a hiatusfrom1977to 1981.In the exG.I.Joeproduction
Organibythe BarbieLiberation
hibit,a pairof talkingdolls,sabotaged
Cold
hostilityto thesestillubiquitous
zation(BLO),suggestmodern-day
modifiedG.I.Joe, smuggledbackinto toy
Wartoys.The "surgically"
Eventoday,Barbies,
stores,chirps,"whatshouldI wearto the dance?"
Joes,andtheirplasticpalsremainstaplesatthe malltoystore,andLego
homeinteriorsnotverydifferentfrom
marketsa line of pastel-colored
in the 1950s.
Furniture
marketed
Bathroom
the LittleMissHomemaker
however,andnewenemies
Barbie'scareeroptionshavebeenenhanced,
mutantshavereplacedthe
pollutersandsociopathic
likeenvironmental
red menace.In 1991,DesertStormcollectors'cardsbrieflytookthe
placeof the Fightthe Red MenaceBubbleGumCardspublished40
yearsearlier.
The focusof the exhibitis not the ColdWar,but the toys thatit
the ColdWaritself,however.Alluspawned.Thetoystendto trivialize
to
andcounterpoint
arethe backdrop
sionsto historicaldevelopments
the toys,butnoneof thesemilepostsconveysthepowerfulundertowof
Onlya smallillustration,
fearbeneaththe period'sostensibleoptimism.
a paintingbya younggirlfromRobertCole'sThe Moral Life of Children
it is, unfortunately,
(1986),suggeststhe period'scripplinginsecurity;
toys.
lostamongthesurrounding
however,of thewayin whichtoys
Theexhibittakesgreatadvantage,
triggermemories.Viewersadd theirown storiesandpage througha
smallnotebook:"Itscaredthe Hellout of me. I expectedthe worldto
end at anytime."Nuclearfearsinvadedthe family,"I wasjealousof
neighborswith falloutsheltersand angrythat my familydidn't'care
in thethirdgrade,
thinking,
enough'to tryandprotectus!""Iremember
as I satin the halland'covered'myhead,'whatwasI protectingmys@lf
from?'Howweremytinyarmsgoingto protectmybodyfromfalling
A womanwrotethat,asa child,inspiredby
lights,ceiling,roof,bricks?"
sheaspiredto
"BattleNurse!"
a VietnamWar-eraD.C.Comicfeaturing
foratombombvictims.
becomea nurseso thatshecouldcareheroically
evokesthe worldof experience
The personaltestimonyof foreboding
visitor
that the toys alonecannotcapture.The low-techhandwritten
new Civil
comments used to even greatereffect at Birmingham's
RightsInstitute,wherethe word"dogs"speaksvolumes ultimately
provesmoreengagingandmovingthancomputerterminalsandvideo
components.
As the StrongMuseumclearlyintends,by focusingon whatEberle
topics,"When Barbie Dated Gl Joe leavesviewersa bit
called"heavier
"Ican'tbelievepeoplewereso
morecriticalof theirownassumptions:
naive. . . [It] makesme wonderwhatwe'lllearnin fortyyearsabout
whatwe do today."
MARJORIE L. McLELLAN
MiamiUniversity