At the beginning of our study of the Contemporary Period, we noted that while western culture has spread around the globe, there are some areas of the world actively resisting what they perceive to be negative cultural influences from the West. This article on the hard line of the fundamentalist Islamic government in Iran against the iconic "Barbie" doll is an example.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080428/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_iran_toys_1
Questions to ponder:
Why might the theocratic government in Iran react so negatively to "Barbie"? From their point of view, what image does "Barbie" project about values in the United States and other western societies?
Do you think they will succeed in keeping "Barbie" and other western cultural influences out of their society? Why or why not?
8 comments:
Well, this definately reminds me of the practive DBQ's we did about how China was cutting itself off from trade. That is like what Iran is doing and cutting themselves off from foreign, destructive toys like "barbie". This will only bring internal conflict because like the article said, there are people smuggling these toys into the country which causes conflict to begin with. This only disrupts what the government is trying to ban.
The theocratic government in Iran would act so negatively to "barbie" because it portrays a person that Iranians, nor anyone else, look like causing the Iranian people to want to become like that barbie doll which would be destructive to the Iranian culture. The image of "barbie" projects that the US and other western societies are all under the influence of how to look. The body features (I'm sure you know what I am talking about) portray a sexist view of females which Iran is against. I don't think that Iran will succeed in keeping "barbie" out of their society because it is already all over and now allowing it will just cause more of a problem. Like in history, nothing has been kept the same, it changes through time.
Sorry this is so long.
-Katelyn LaBree
kWell, the government in Iran doesn't like Barbie because Barbie is a toy that protrays something that we all know probably won't happen to any females and the government doesn't want that kind of influence in their country around their children. Barbie shows that the U.S. is more concerned about how someone looks rather than anything else. I respect that Iran doesn't want to have these kind of toys in their country and I think that they will keep these toys away from their children. They may have some trouble with the people sneaking them in, but there will always be those who disobey the law.
-Carrie Boone
Wow, Katelyn...you mean there are PATTERNS in history???!!! How cool is that! :-)
Carrie, I like the way you looked at this from the Iranian point of view. If Barbie was all you knew about the U.S., wouldn't you have a somewhat negative, if not entirely accurate, impression of us?
Bonjour, Mrs. Stotler! "Barbie!" Of all the things Iran could be doing to help their society, they choose to ban a toy. Barbie is unrealistic, as you have said in class. Big boobs, big butt, thin waist...does that exist naturally? Barbie gives male children an "ideal woman." They will want to be with a woman like that, not a woman who doesn't look like that. And the Iran women would want to look like that, taking it over the limit, things that might go against society. They can't keep the influences out forever. Eventually, something has to give.
~H. Baker
Well, I definitely agree 100% with what Katelyn and Carrie said. With everything going on in the world today, it isn't any surprise that Iran is not going to like any external influences that come from the United States. Barbie is a well known American toy and just like Katelyn says, it portrays a very sexist view of females. Hardly anyone in the world is actually built like Barbie and if you have ever bought a Barbie for a child or if you still have one, you'll notice that the clothes are revealing and not very modest, which is the exact opposite of the way Iranian women are expected to dress. On the other hand, I do understand why the Iranians would want to ban these toys because they give unrealistic views of the world... Remember how a couple years ago, people were making a big stink about Harry Potter and some schools were banning their students from reading the books because they believed that the children would start believing in witchcraft and magic? Well, this is the same sort of thing. People in Iran don't want anything that is different from their culture or beliefs and action figures like Spiderman and Harry Potter might be a bad influence. I don't believe the government banning these toys is going to do any good because people will still smuggle them into the country. When the government makes things illegal or banned, it just makes people want to get a hold of them more.
-Jess Meyers
I agree with Jess when she said that when something is banned people will find a way to get them. And that Barbie's clothing is very revealing and inappropriate. And I wouldn't want my child to have a toy with clothing that they couldn't even where.
-Carrie Boone
The banning of Western toys is actually a very smart move for the Iranians. I say this because if the Iranian government gives a little here then, in the minds of the people, what else will they give into? So looking from the point of view of a government official you can see that this kind of thinking could cause mass chaos. With this argument you can see that the ban is a form of damage control. The people have already "tasted" the toys, so they're going to have them. However it will be because stores sold them to them, not because the government allowed it.
-Billy Reece
Billy, I see what you mean about how making an issue out of Barbie is to the advantage of Iran. If they can point to a grossly disproportional doll and her scanty clothes and say "This is what America is all about", then they score a public relations victory with many in their society who want to maintain their traditional values and see the U.S. as the root of all evil.
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