This edited collection invites fresh readings of play and storytelling in the Barbie movie (2023) through the lens of the Bible and theology.
For Christopher B. Hays, Meghan R. Henning, and their contributors, the Barbie movie is more than pink and mojo dojo casa houses; they argue that the film offers a nuanced reflection of Biblical and theological ideas. The chapters herein analyze the cultural impact of Barbie on its own terms, critically engaging its explicit attempts to offer social critiques of capitalism, patriarchy, ableism, and racism. From exploring Ruth Handler as God, Barbie as both Jesus and a jezebel, and historical Judean "doll-like" figurines, this volume's interdisciplinary interlocutors identify how Barbie depicts the stories we tell about ourselves, society, and God.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Foreword, Candida R. Moss
Introduction, Christopher B. Hays and Meghan Henning
Part I. Barbie, the Hebrew Bible, and the Ancient Near East
Chapter 1: The Creator and Her Creation: The Representation of Ruth Handler as God in the Barbie Movie,
Hanne Løland Levinson
Chapter 2: Innerbiblical Barbie: Teraphim and Image of God in Genesis, Collin Cornell
Chapter 3: Come Play With Me!: Barbie, Judean Pillar Figurines, and the Economics of Reuse, Kristine Garroway
Chapter 4: Why is Barbie Called a Jezebel?, Tammi J. Schneider
Chapter 5: "That Power Looks So Good on You": Esther/Ishtar in Pink, Esther Brownsmith
Chapter 6: 'What Was I Made For?' 'For Such a Time as This': Diaspora, Identity, and Purpose in Barbie and Esther, Alexiana Fry
Part II: Barbie, the New Testament, and the Classical World
Chapter 7: "Do You Ever Think About Dying?": Death and Transformation in Barbie, Breaking Bad, and the Bible, Christopher B. Hays
Chapter 8: Barbie's Otherworldly Journey: From Plastic Possibilities to Toxic Positivity and Back, Meghan Henning
Part III: The Barbie Movie in Contemporary Culture
Chapter 9: It's Hard to be Fragile When You're Made of Plastic: How Dolls with No Genitalia Expose the Absent Center of Greta Gerwig's Barbie, Kutter Callaway
Chapter 10: "Am-Bar-Be-Veil-Lents", Neomi De Anda
