Today I'll be looking at an article written on The New Yorker written in 2013 by Adrienne Raphel about American Girl. The article covers the past and present of American girl but mainly touches on the issue of AG moving away from their past and into what it is now. I will be doing this by giving both a summary of each paragraph and then my own thoughts on the entire paragraph. The post is quite lengthy, and I apologize.
The first paragraph tells of the author's first and only doll, Samantha who was gifted to her by her grandmother when she was five. The doll of course was very special and the author loved her to death. One quote I wold like to draw attention to is this "I brushed her hair with a special wire brush that came with her". This is a bit unclear as to whether the brush came with the doll, or maybe the author got a brush with her. But it almost confuses me because the dolls have never come with brushes,yet I don't know if Pleasant Company ever sold any type of brushes. But overall, ok,great you had Samantha.
The next paragraph tells of another aspect of American Girl, friends with AG. She talks about how the people owned dolls that reflected their personality, and also just how much these girls wanted to become their dolls. One girl even faked having bad vision just so she could get glasses like Molly. (this is where parents need to draw the line and have a talk with their children about stuff like that) I do agree with this, well marginally. I never had any friends besides my younger sister that had AG dolls, but kids do connect well over their toys, and that can always be how the next long-lasting friendship starts.
The third paragraph is really just explaining that Molly&Emily will be archived. My thought: *tear*
The fourth paragraph references another article from The Atlantic about how girls actually like the discontinued dolls and how the stories for the dolls have gotten watered down overtime. I agree with the first part being that some girls do like the discontinued dolls, but I overly agree with the watered down story-lines. I guess AG wanted to avoid having "scary" stories like Addy's or controversial stories like Gwen's.
The fifth paragraph just tells about the creation of American girl in 1986, and how they started as books and then became dolls.
The sixth paragraph tells about the status of American Girl today, how many dolls they've sold,the stores,etc. It also mentions that AG had sales that rose by 14% in the second half of 2013. This means that Saige was a really popular doll, and I'm surprised we haven't had any other GOTY,MAG or even historical dolls that mimic her.
The seventh paragraph contrasts Pleasant Company, referring to how the modern line has changed overtime. It's really all just details.
The eighth paragraph tells about just how expensive the dolls are. Not only that, but the "big-ticket items" are expensive too. Not going to lie, this is very true. The lowest price of anything at American Girl (I think, and picking from available products) goes to the sparkly hair pick at $6 USD. (I can say USD now because AG has opened stores in Canada and Mexico.
The ninth paragraph talks about the launch of InnerstarU and quotes spokeswoman Julia Parks of American girl. Notable quotes include "Consistent with how books bring our historical characters to life, Innerstar University allows us to build a bridge between the contemporary doll a girl owns and the online world where she is spending more time,” Julie Parks, the spokesperson, said. " (The New Yorker) This is actually genius, notice the part where it says "the online world where she is spending more time". It's obvious, girls are on the computer more these days, so why not put the doll on the computer? Of course then you may ask why they discontinued InnerstarU. Well, my theories include that it 1)got old:girls just weren't caring about it anymore 2) required too much maintenance 3)more girls are playing on ipads and phones, not necessarily on the computer.
The tenth paragraph tells about the author's experience with the demo-site of InnerstarU, where you could look around at a few activities, but not experience the whole site. One key quote from the author says "Shelby directed me to the “Real Spirit Center” so I could do yoga with a doll avatar. To play doll yoga, you slowly trace your mouse over the doll as she goes through sun salutations. It’s as exciting as it sounds." (Raphel) Now, yeah sure that game was boring, but I'm going to stick up for a moment for the site, as other games, such as the diving or cheer leading game were way more entertaining, and that it was kind of a biased move just to play one game and be done with it. On the other hand, at least she's done her research.
The eleventh paragraph just makes that age-old argument that Pleasant Company is better than Mattel. Of course, that's a story for another day. One quote I would like to draw attention to is this one by Robin Bernstein, a Harvard University Professor and cultural historian. "You buy yourself,” Robin Bernstein, a Harvard University professor and cultural historian, told me. “It’s all about you, you, you.” Instead of you becoming your doll, your doll becomes you." (The New Yorker) Now, I have no idea why she just seems to throw this random person into the article. I mean, my only guess is that this is the guy that works for American Girl. If that's the case, she should have specified that. But I do like that last part "your doll becomes you" because that was kind of the point of InnerstarU.
The twelfth and final paragraph (congratulations if you've almost read the whole thing) is a conclusion where the author almost shakes her head and says "But with characters coming out and disappearing each year, American Girl’s emphasis is on expanding your network of friends, rather than deepening your relationship with one doll and her world—and, in turn, with the world." (Raphel) This quote is rather interesting, let me give my thoughts on each part. "Characters coming out and disappearing each year" well- I mean it's not... yeah, it does suck the way they do it. "Emphasis on expanding your network of friends rather than deepening your relationship with one doll and her world" OK, I'm going to say this now. I don't fully agree with this. The new Truly Me line really promotes the whole " be yourself" thing, and there is still emphasis on the stories.
As a final note, the article has good and bad points, but does a nice job of portraying American Girl to the public. If you read this whole thing, congratulations! Also, what articles would you like me to respond to next.
