Fascinating series, I can't say I was that interested in Barbie lore before reading it, but every essay pulled me right in. Looking forward to more from you!
Thank you! Trust me, I was not interested in Barbie lore before I began this, either, but I also would have never guessed her history was as colorful as it is.
And it all comes to a close. I have to say, when I saw subject of the first article I was somewhat skeptical. Serious analysis concerning a brand of cheap plastic crap? How wrong I've been proven! And what a dramatic conclusion, complete with fanfics enlivening the margins (Is this the first time our dear ape has ever finished one of his series?).
On to the serious thought. You've pulled on quite a few strands over the course of these essays. Consumerism, feminism, performative activism, the lasting impact of Calvinism on Enlightenment thought and American culture (hints of Yarvin here, no? Although the impact of the Puritans and Quakers on American culture is so titanic, especially post-1865, that it's hard to ignore in serious thought), bad parenting in general, the slightly timeless character of childhood, and of course throughout the strange decay that's gripped American culture for decades now. A long neck of the Lernaean Lizard, indeed.
Your ability to lead each of these issues naturally into on another has been very impressive. You stuff more in each piece than I could probably manage with several. Some of the topics don't naturally play well with each other in serious discussion, but you managed to string them together quite coherently. Using the Product as a natural way to explore them in a limited context, interplaying them more deeply throughout the course of each essay as they naturally cohere into a fuller picture.
On to unorganised thoughts. Especially well done was the interplay between essays. Threads would be pulled out, readied for the reader's attention, put down, and then brought fully into the fabric one or two pieces down the line. Definitely demonstrates the brainpower being put to work here. The little inclusion of the made-for-children magazines that disappeared circa-2012 or so still hits home. For a young, bookish lad like I was, those were dearly loved.
Haha, I had a lot of fun with the fanfic bits. The intention was for them to be so self-serious that they were comedic, so hopefully that came off in the execution and they were both dramatic and humorous. I do believe this is the first series I brought to a close, but at the same time, the Creepypasta "series" is kind of open ended and the pony one... well, much like this series, every time I thought I came to a logical end, there was more road to travel. I'm really debating on whether to cram everything into one massive finale like this or divide what I intended to be the end of the pony series into multiple parts. We'll see.
I appreciate the praise. The interplay between all these subjects - consumerism, feminism, even Calvinism and so on and so forth - they're all more interconnected than I think most people realize, which is one of my chief aims to explore with my essays on pop culture material. I noticed years ago that so many people who cry about "woke communism" and "SJW talking points", especially in video games and comics, failed to realize that the cynical, unscrupled, and hyper-capitalist neo-liberal elements of the culture that made them possible were always primed to go the way they did, since the bulwarks of a strong and principled culture that could have prevented it were effectively verboten in wider society. Maybe these changes weren't inevitable, sure, but none of these things exist in a vacuum. To a degree, it's all connected. You pull on neck of one hydra head, you always find a few more adjacent necks. Weaving all these disparate threads together to create a larger picture is one of the most challenging aspects of the writing process, so I'm glad to hear it works.
All that being said, thank you as always for your insight. It's valued and appreciated.
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it - this series was some of the most fun I've had writing essays. After weeks of diving into research on Barbie and American Girl, I admit, I'm a bit sad to leave them behind as well, but, at the same time, they're a rich vein of intrigue with a lot to explore and study. I actually ordered a book on the history and dirty dealings of Mattel, so once I finish that, I may return to the subject when I finish. Who's to say. But, again, thank you for the kind words.
"Identities [aren't] something you are anymore. These defining traits don’t naturally arise. They’re all prepackaged and sold at Wal-Mart and Macy’s and Target and distributed by Amazon."
I think this goes hand-in-hand with the constant push I'm seeing in more hi-falutin' academic materials, to convince us that the self is an illusion, a story told by nothing to no one. The WEF and the PMC are desperate to bulldoze all of these inconvenient personalities out of the way.
And I think marketing disposable identities to the masses is just the beginning of the reason why.
Absolutely. Nihilism and solipsism have been around since the dawn of philosophy but it isn't until relatively recently that there's been a big, mass push to really break down everything and render every individual thing effectively meaningless. It's one of the biggest pushes of post-modern thinking, I'd say. I'm not sure if the PMC and WEF is a symptom or a cause, but there's a connection between the two, certainly.
Thank you. Hard to believe it's over myself. It was a large undertaking to get through all this, so what I turn my attention to will probably be some one off's for the time being before I go for another series. But, then again, I never intended this one to be as... expansive as it got, so who knows. One off's get away from me, sometimes.
Fascinating series, I can't say I was that interested in Barbie lore before reading it, but every essay pulled me right in. Looking forward to more from you!
Thank you! Trust me, I was not interested in Barbie lore before I began this, either, but I also would have never guessed her history was as colorful as it is.
And it all comes to a close. I have to say, when I saw subject of the first article I was somewhat skeptical. Serious analysis concerning a brand of cheap plastic crap? How wrong I've been proven! And what a dramatic conclusion, complete with fanfics enlivening the margins (Is this the first time our dear ape has ever finished one of his series?).
On to the serious thought. You've pulled on quite a few strands over the course of these essays. Consumerism, feminism, performative activism, the lasting impact of Calvinism on Enlightenment thought and American culture (hints of Yarvin here, no? Although the impact of the Puritans and Quakers on American culture is so titanic, especially post-1865, that it's hard to ignore in serious thought), bad parenting in general, the slightly timeless character of childhood, and of course throughout the strange decay that's gripped American culture for decades now. A long neck of the Lernaean Lizard, indeed.
Your ability to lead each of these issues naturally into on another has been very impressive. You stuff more in each piece than I could probably manage with several. Some of the topics don't naturally play well with each other in serious discussion, but you managed to string them together quite coherently. Using the Product as a natural way to explore them in a limited context, interplaying them more deeply throughout the course of each essay as they naturally cohere into a fuller picture.
On to unorganised thoughts. Especially well done was the interplay between essays. Threads would be pulled out, readied for the reader's attention, put down, and then brought fully into the fabric one or two pieces down the line. Definitely demonstrates the brainpower being put to work here. The little inclusion of the made-for-children magazines that disappeared circa-2012 or so still hits home. For a young, bookish lad like I was, those were dearly loved.
tl;dr good poast
Haha, I had a lot of fun with the fanfic bits. The intention was for them to be so self-serious that they were comedic, so hopefully that came off in the execution and they were both dramatic and humorous. I do believe this is the first series I brought to a close, but at the same time, the Creepypasta "series" is kind of open ended and the pony one... well, much like this series, every time I thought I came to a logical end, there was more road to travel. I'm really debating on whether to cram everything into one massive finale like this or divide what I intended to be the end of the pony series into multiple parts. We'll see.
I appreciate the praise. The interplay between all these subjects - consumerism, feminism, even Calvinism and so on and so forth - they're all more interconnected than I think most people realize, which is one of my chief aims to explore with my essays on pop culture material. I noticed years ago that so many people who cry about "woke communism" and "SJW talking points", especially in video games and comics, failed to realize that the cynical, unscrupled, and hyper-capitalist neo-liberal elements of the culture that made them possible were always primed to go the way they did, since the bulwarks of a strong and principled culture that could have prevented it were effectively verboten in wider society. Maybe these changes weren't inevitable, sure, but none of these things exist in a vacuum. To a degree, it's all connected. You pull on neck of one hydra head, you always find a few more adjacent necks. Weaving all these disparate threads together to create a larger picture is one of the most challenging aspects of the writing process, so I'm glad to hear it works.
All that being said, thank you as always for your insight. It's valued and appreciated.
Amazing. I enjoyed the whole series. Thank you for taking the time to go into this much depth, it was truly interesting and I’m sad it’s over.
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it - this series was some of the most fun I've had writing essays. After weeks of diving into research on Barbie and American Girl, I admit, I'm a bit sad to leave them behind as well, but, at the same time, they're a rich vein of intrigue with a lot to explore and study. I actually ordered a book on the history and dirty dealings of Mattel, so once I finish that, I may return to the subject when I finish. Who's to say. But, again, thank you for the kind words.
Also:
"Identities [aren't] something you are anymore. These defining traits don’t naturally arise. They’re all prepackaged and sold at Wal-Mart and Macy’s and Target and distributed by Amazon."
I think this goes hand-in-hand with the constant push I'm seeing in more hi-falutin' academic materials, to convince us that the self is an illusion, a story told by nothing to no one. The WEF and the PMC are desperate to bulldoze all of these inconvenient personalities out of the way.
And I think marketing disposable identities to the masses is just the beginning of the reason why.
Absolutely. Nihilism and solipsism have been around since the dawn of philosophy but it isn't until relatively recently that there's been a big, mass push to really break down everything and render every individual thing effectively meaningless. It's one of the biggest pushes of post-modern thinking, I'd say. I'm not sure if the PMC and WEF is a symptom or a cause, but there's a connection between the two, certainly.
Everything I read about John Calvin confirms my opinion that he was the most miserable fucking guy in human history.
He's certainly in the top ten. I wonder if he could have ever guessed how badly he would have fucked up Protestantism.
Wonderful series! Sorry to see it end. I look forward to whatever the hell you turn your attention to next!
Thank you. Hard to believe it's over myself. It was a large undertaking to get through all this, so what I turn my attention to will probably be some one off's for the time being before I go for another series. But, then again, I never intended this one to be as... expansive as it got, so who knows. One off's get away from me, sometimes.