Doc Corner: 'Barbie Nation' and 'Black Barbie'

By Glenn Charlie Dunks

If the box office is anything to go by, there is a very solid chance that most of The Film Experience’s readers have seen Greta Gerwig’s Barbie by now. You probably haven’t seen Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour, a documentary from the time of VHS in 1998 that made comparatively far less noise but which is returning for its 25^th anniversary with a new so called “director’s cut” (I’ve never seen the original so can’t vouch for how different it is) and a digital release. It bares all of the hallmarks of an independent work of documentary from the ‘90s, from its video aesthetics to its barely-an-hour-long runtime. But that’s partly why it is so entertaining.

The other part is because it takes a remarkably similar tone to Gerwig’s film. Reverent, but critical and with interesting narrative avenues that are there because they, presumably, tickled its directors fancy.

Director Susan Stern’s film is credited as a cult classic. Again, I cannot vouch for that claim—but it honestly makes sense. I can’t imagine Mattel were too enthused about a movie that showed Barbie engaging in BDSM sex acts and which touted its legacy as a queer icon as much as one for women and girls. At least in 1998. Although the leather and chains probably wouldn't have flown even in a modern version.That Barbie places its own metatextual gaze on the doll’s legacy and that of its maker, Mattel, this rerelease is even better timed that just as a cash-in on the craze of the day. While I would never say Barbie and Barbie Nation share much DNA beyond subject matter, we as audience members are likely more savvy to the former’s ideas now than we would have been in the late ‘90s, which makes Stern’s film all the more impressive for having had the tenacity to go in some of the directions it chooses at a time when the brand was famously litigious. If Todd Haynes’ Superstar and Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” lawsuits, also from the 1990s, were anything to go by, Mattel weren’t too thrilled about products that show off their banner brand in less than flattering light. “Unauthorized” being right there in the title, after all.

Barbie Nation does come from an era of documentary filmmaking where resources were far less advanced and a lot less money was dedicated to it. But beneath the sometimes fuzzy shot-on-video look and the obvious giggles to be found at the fashions on display (to say nothing of a surprise appearance by RuPaul), there is fun storytelling at hand. It has an interview with Ruth Handler, which seems kind of wild in retrospect. There is a National Barbie Convention and a protest that blames Barbie for the deaths of women from breast implants. And with its occasionally quite smart editing, build around juxtapositions and curious excursions, Stern is able to make something really entertaining and which really does speak to many similar themes found in the box office behemoth of 2023. Using Barbie as the catalyst for subversive art isn’t new, and I’m glad that Stern’s film has returned to show that even 25 years ago, plenty of people were looking at Barbie is ways that went beyond the two dimensional image so many have.

Another documentary that I’m surprised wasn’t snapped up sooner by a distributor is Black Barbie: A Documentary. I saw this film as a part of the HotDocs festival following its premiere at SXSW. Given the diversity of Gerwig’s film, I would have thought somebody would want to rewrite a bit of the history here and get Lagueria Davis’ film out to ride the tide of Barbie hysteria. Barbie was only ever white. A black doll was always something else. Barbie’s cousin, perhaps. Whenever it does make its way to audiences, I hope they take heed of its message. Barbie is a very 2023 idea of Barbie (and hopefully better for it in the long run).

As you would probably expect, Black Barbie isn’t just about black Barbie dolls. It’s about representation, and about the biases at play in an industry that for so long never ever conceived of the idea of black children wanting a doll like Barbie. Biases that continue today, as people question how Barbie as a product could have such a hold on such a broad swathe of the public. As a film, it doesn’t have the retro entertainment appeal of Barbie Nation, but as a document of an era as interesting as any sealed-in-the-packaging doll, it covers a lot of ground with humour and gentle, evolving drama. Herein are stories of determination but also sadness. And for something that has given so many people joy over the years, Davis is able to strike a delicate balance. What one may assume from Black Barbie, the final product is probably not quite it.

Release: Black Barbie is still making the festival rounds. Barbie Nation can be rented or purchased at the usual places found via the film's website.

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