barbiefourdecadesoffashionfantasyandfun

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Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion Fantasy and Fun

Marco Tosa

Tosa, Marco. Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun. Arnoldo Mondadori Editor. Italy. 1995.

Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun uses Barbie as an insightful metaphor for the consumerist fad cycle of introduction; growth; maturity; saturation; decline, and the not-so-pretty stage of obsolescence that follows the decline. Never quite making the spotlight, this delightful, thought provoking cult fiction has nevertheless provided readers with both entertainment and something to think about.

The cover story of Barbie’s life after fame disguises a thinly veiled commentary on the short attention span of the stereotypical average American. Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun begins with a prologue, casting a brief view into Barbie’s life as the ultra-glamorous, multibillionaire, socialite cover girl for the nation’s most successful girls’ toy company. However, within the first paragraph of chapter one, it is already plain that the plot has taken a darker, more depressing turn.

Barbie is now middle aged. She is still unimaginably wealthy, but is in a dangerously dark frame of mind, verging on clinical depression. Barbie’s self esteem took a huge blow, simultaneous with her product, and is now faced with the epiphany that her self worth had been unhealthily linked to the success of her company throughout her entire life. Barbie is coming to terms with the fact that the public has forgotten about her, and trying to find out who she is without her fame. She goes through what some might call a midlife crisis, selling her enormous mansion for a tiny cottage in the European countryside. She goes about her days in the remote little village where nobody cares who she is; spending nights passed out in the tiny local pub and days trying her hand at hiking and bungee jumping... But as Barbie’s mental health spirals down the drain, her little acts of rebellion become more radical and more pronounced.

Barbie becomes desperate for public attention, and begins doing things to try to draw media recognition. She leaves her tiny village, and returns to Hollywood. She cuts her hair, dyes it pink, and buys a tattered zombie costume dress. Barbie shows up to a red carpet event and causes a scene. However, her plan backfired, changing her hair which previously, being bleached blond and almost down to her knees, had been one of her most defining characteristics, had caused the public to not even recognize her. She was assumed to be a random crazy person, and was arrested before the press had even considered getting a photo. This really irritated her, and she hatched a plan to get back at her deserting fans once and for all...

The subtext was illustrated with perfect balance, not too in-your-face but certainly there. Marco Tosa’s only work has come close to achieving best-seller status, but has remained just barely out of the spotlight. Featured on blogs rather than booklists, it has been rumored that Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy and Fun, remains a word-of-mouth book by the reclusive author’s choosing. Instead, this book has been a little known favorite of the few who have found it.

4.5 of 5 Stars

Contributed by A. Wikle

September 17th, 2012