Carol Magee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031526
- eISBN:
- 9781617031533
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031526.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
In the American world, the presence of African culture is sometimes fully embodied and sometimes leaves only a trace. This book explores this presence, examining Mattel’s world of Barbie, the 1996 ...
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In the American world, the presence of African culture is sometimes fully embodied and sometimes leaves only a trace. This book explores this presence, examining Mattel’s world of Barbie, the 1996 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and Disney World, each of which repackages African visual culture for consumers. Because these cultural icons permeate American life, they represent the broader U.S. culture and its relationship to African culture. This study integrates approaches from art history and visual culture studies with those from culture, race, and popular culture studies to analyze this interchange. Two major threads weave throughout. One analyzes how the presentation of African visual culture in these popular culture forms conceptualizes Africa for the American public. The other investigates the way the uses of African visual culture focuses America’s own self-awareness, particularly around black and white racialized identities. In exploring the multiple meanings that “Africa” has in American popular culture, the book argues that these cultural products embody multiple perspectives and speak to various sociopolitical contexts: the Cold War, Civil Rights, and contemporary eras of the United States; the apartheid and post apartheid eras of South Africa; the colonial and postcolonial eras of Ghana; and the European era of African colonization.Less
In the American world, the presence of African culture is sometimes fully embodied and sometimes leaves only a trace. This book explores this presence, examining Mattel’s world of Barbie, the 1996 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and Disney World, each of which repackages African visual culture for consumers. Because these cultural icons permeate American life, they represent the broader U.S. culture and its relationship to African culture. This study integrates approaches from art history and visual culture studies with those from culture, race, and popular culture studies to analyze this interchange. Two major threads weave throughout. One analyzes how the presentation of African visual culture in these popular culture forms conceptualizes Africa for the American public. The other investigates the way the uses of African visual culture focuses America’s own self-awareness, particularly around black and white racialized identities. In exploring the multiple meanings that “Africa” has in American popular culture, the book argues that these cultural products embody multiple perspectives and speak to various sociopolitical contexts: the Cold War, Civil Rights, and contemporary eras of the United States; the apartheid and post apartheid eras of South Africa; the colonial and postcolonial eras of Ghana; and the European era of African colonization.
Carol Magee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031526
- eISBN:
- 9781617031533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031526.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This chapter focuses on the second of the three case studies on how Africa is imagined through popular culture, namely, Mattel’s world of Barbie. This chapter first looks at Mattel’s Princess of ...
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This chapter focuses on the second of the three case studies on how Africa is imagined through popular culture, namely, Mattel’s world of Barbie. This chapter first looks at Mattel’s Princess of South Africa (2003), who was dressed in the same garments as Martha Nomvula in the Sports Illustrated photograph with Kathy Ireland. Research shows that this Barbie’s costuming is an homage to Ndebele culture, keeping with the Ndebele styles and traditions. In the same way that Sports Illustrated did previously, Mattel chose Ndebele culture as a representation of all South African indigenous cultures, as well as South Africa as a whole. The chapter thus examines the presence of Ndebele culture in the Sports Illustrated and Barbie worlds. Where the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue could be read as both reductive and empowering, the sense of empowerment in Mattel’s world of Barbie is largely diminished. The chapter thus asserts that even though Ndebele culture gains exposure to large audiences, this exposure does not adequately balance the problematic issues that this Barbie and its companion dolls manifest.Less
This chapter focuses on the second of the three case studies on how Africa is imagined through popular culture, namely, Mattel’s world of Barbie. This chapter first looks at Mattel’s Princess of South Africa (2003), who was dressed in the same garments as Martha Nomvula in the Sports Illustrated photograph with Kathy Ireland. Research shows that this Barbie’s costuming is an homage to Ndebele culture, keeping with the Ndebele styles and traditions. In the same way that Sports Illustrated did previously, Mattel chose Ndebele culture as a representation of all South African indigenous cultures, as well as South Africa as a whole. The chapter thus examines the presence of Ndebele culture in the Sports Illustrated and Barbie worlds. Where the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue could be read as both reductive and empowering, the sense of empowerment in Mattel’s world of Barbie is largely diminished. The chapter thus asserts that even though Ndebele culture gains exposure to large audiences, this exposure does not adequately balance the problematic issues that this Barbie and its companion dolls manifest.
Carol Magee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031526
- eISBN:
- 9781617031533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031526.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This chapter turns to the third case study concerning the imagining of Africa through popular culture. This chapter primarily engages the ways in which, like Mattel’s world of Barbie, the world of ...
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This chapter turns to the third case study concerning the imagining of Africa through popular culture. This chapter primarily engages the ways in which, like Mattel’s world of Barbie, the world of Disney — particularly the Walt Disney World Resort — creates a symbolic and metaphoric control of the world through its depictions of other worlds and cultures. Many instances can be found in the Walt Disney World Resort that present different perspectives of Africa. The problem with these perspectives, however, is that they all share some basic elements that work to create implicit messages about Africa as natural, inferior, and subservient to America. Like Barbie, the act of costuming is central to the construction of these messages, and is most evident with the “it’s a small world” ride. The chapter thus further examines and explores the implications of this ride for how Africa is perceived within American culture.Less
This chapter turns to the third case study concerning the imagining of Africa through popular culture. This chapter primarily engages the ways in which, like Mattel’s world of Barbie, the world of Disney — particularly the Walt Disney World Resort — creates a symbolic and metaphoric control of the world through its depictions of other worlds and cultures. Many instances can be found in the Walt Disney World Resort that present different perspectives of Africa. The problem with these perspectives, however, is that they all share some basic elements that work to create implicit messages about Africa as natural, inferior, and subservient to America. Like Barbie, the act of costuming is central to the construction of these messages, and is most evident with the “it’s a small world” ride. The chapter thus further examines and explores the implications of this ride for how Africa is perceived within American culture.
Carol Magee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031526
- eISBN:
- 9781617031533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031526.003.0007
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This chapter summarizes the implications and insights that have been explored throughout the book with regard to the way that Disney, Mattel, and Sports Illustrated have incorporated African visual ...
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This chapter summarizes the implications and insights that have been explored throughout the book with regard to the way that Disney, Mattel, and Sports Illustrated have incorporated African visual culture into their own culture products. These three major American popular culture icons have repackaged and re-presented this visual culture to American consumers in such a way that it produces certain meanings and implications about America itself. This African visual culture in American popular culture produces understandings and imaginings about both Africa and America, in that Disney and Sports Illustrated present the visual culture in its original African form — although positioned in new (American) contexts. Disney, for example, through its “it’s a small world” ride, offers a microscopic representation of the world, depicting children from a myriad of cultures, but at the same time it creates different explicit and implicit ideas and ideologies. Primarily, they help to define America in opposition to the differences in other cultures.Less
This chapter summarizes the implications and insights that have been explored throughout the book with regard to the way that Disney, Mattel, and Sports Illustrated have incorporated African visual culture into their own culture products. These three major American popular culture icons have repackaged and re-presented this visual culture to American consumers in such a way that it produces certain meanings and implications about America itself. This African visual culture in American popular culture produces understandings and imaginings about both Africa and America, in that Disney and Sports Illustrated present the visual culture in its original African form — although positioned in new (American) contexts. Disney, for example, through its “it’s a small world” ride, offers a microscopic representation of the world, depicting children from a myriad of cultures, but at the same time it creates different explicit and implicit ideas and ideologies. Primarily, they help to define America in opposition to the differences in other cultures.
Eric Klopfer
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262113151
- eISBN:
- 9780262277297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262113151.003.0004
- Subject:
- Computer Science, Game Studies
This chapter traces the development of handheld games. The discussions include Mattel’s release of its first popular handheld game—Football—in 1977; the emergence of portable consoles; the popularity ...
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This chapter traces the development of handheld games. The discussions include Mattel’s release of its first popular handheld game—Football—in 1977; the emergence of portable consoles; the popularity of Nintendo’s Game Boy and the Nintendo DS; the Tamagotchi; Floodgate Studios’ Mo-Pets; the advent of cell phone games; location-based games; and alternate reality games.Less
This chapter traces the development of handheld games. The discussions include Mattel’s release of its first popular handheld game—Football—in 1977; the emergence of portable consoles; the popularity of Nintendo’s Game Boy and the Nintendo DS; the Tamagotchi; Floodgate Studios’ Mo-Pets; the advent of cell phone games; location-based games; and alternate reality games.
