Barbie in Pakistan: The Toy, the Movie, and the Cultural Ambiguities

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Barbie in Pakistan: The Toy, the Movie, and the Cultural Ambiguities

In Pakistan, Barbie the movie transcended its form as mere cinematic spectacle and metamorphosed into a tool through which the complex, unspoken, and ambiguous scales of morality can be analyzed. Farooqui's recent research on the reception of this globally successful movie examines the responses of its Pakistani viewers to show the complex national landscape of reactions that went far beyond simple movie criticism.

This post is part of a themed series on toys that asked contributors to think about a toy/toys/toy company and explore how various cultures, groups, audiences, or companies find and make meaning (or money) through such play.

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Contemplating Molly: Notes on Pop-Mart Toys (Part Three)

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Contemplating Molly: Notes on Pop-Mart Toys (Part Three)

Meet Molly. She was gifted to me during the seven weeks I spent this summer teaching, lecturing, and doing field work on fan culture in China. She is a product readily available at any of the Pop Mart stores in Shanghai. Across this post, I am going to explore some of the different ways we might make sense of Molly as an embodiment of Chinese fan culture.

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Contemplating Molly: Notes on Pop-Mart Toys (Part Two)

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Contemplating Molly: Notes on Pop-Mart Toys (Part Two)

Meet Molly. She was gifted to me during the seven weeks I spent this summer teaching, lecturing, and doing field work on fan culture in China. She is a product readily available at any of the Pop Mart stores in Shanghai. Across this post, I am going to explore some of the different ways we might make sense of Molly as an embodiment of Chinese fan culture.

Read More

Contemplating Molly: Notes on Pop-Mart Toys (Part One)

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Contemplating Molly: Notes on Pop-Mart Toys (Part One)

Meet Molly. She was gifted to me during the seven weeks I spent this summer teaching, lecturing, and doing field work on fan culture in China. She is a product readily available at any of the Pop Mart stores in Shanghai. Across this post, I am going to explore some of the different ways we might make sense of Molly as an embodiment of Chinese fan culture.

Read More