“Popular” Dolls: A Discussion of the Wicked Movie Dolls in the Context of Wizard of Oz Merchandizing Culture

“Popular” Dolls: A Discussion of the Wicked Movie Dolls in the Context of Wizard of Oz Merchandizing Culture

In this final installment of the themed series on toys, Henry Jenkins and Lauren Sowa discuss how the many Wicked branded toys and dolls fit into the larger culture of dolls and collecting that has a long history with The Wizard of Oz transmedia property. From book, to stage, to screen, and back to book, and stage, and screen again, The Wizard of Oz has over a hundred years of cultural influence – with branded merchandising following its every step down the yellow brick road. 

This themed series on toys 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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The Popularity of Cotton Dolls: The Desire to Return to Childhood

The Popularity of Cotton Dolls: The Desire to Return to Childhood

Cotton dolls, originally of K-Pop idols, have become a favorite object of high school girls and young office ladies, a totem of "Peter Pan syndrome.” Baudrillard called non-functional goods "gadgets," meaning that they were divorced from practical value and had only symbolic meaning. The practical value of the cotton doll lies precisely in the implementation of the symbolic meaning on the concrete and perceptible material, which forms an interesting contrast with Baudrillard's "gadget."

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