Barbie in A Christmas Carol
By Ashley Morford
In this version of Dickens’ story, Scrooge is represented through the famous opera singer and theatre company owner Eden; Marley is represented through Eden’s cold-hearted and cruel Aunt Marie; Bob Cratchit is represented through Eden’s friend and employee Catherine; and Tiny Tim is represented through the orphan Tammy (Barbie).
The movie is set in Victorian England, and what stuck out to me as a historically accurate representation of the time period is the hairstyles of the characters; for example, Eden has her hair set in ringlets, and one of her employees has a Thomas Henry Huxley beard.
We learned in class that Dickens believed in an innate human goodness located in each individual. We looked into the teachings of Freud, who introduced the idea that the true person is hidden and disguised, and is based on their past (Charles Dickens).This theory is clearly shown throughout the Barbie movie. Never once do the three ghosts lose faith in Eden’s innate goodness, even when she outwardly appears to be unaffected by the visions they reveal to her. They realize that her true feelings towards the visions -- sadness, horror, and the realization of her selfishness -- are hidden within her psyche. They know that Eden is really a good person and that she will be moved to change her ways.
Dickens’ three ghosts take Scrooge on a journey: into his past to show his trauma, into his present to show how warped he has become, and into his future to show his existential crisis (Charles Dickens). The same is true in the Barbie movie. Eden’s journey into her past reminds her of the trauma she experienced during her childhood because of her Aunt’s unbending rules and cold heart; her journey into the present shows her how much her employees detest her and how she has wrecked the holidays for each of them through her selfishness; and her journey into the future reveals the existential crisis she is destined to face -- poverty, a loss of fame, and the corruption of her friend Catherine’s loving heart.
Just as Dickens’ tale is an artistic criticism of materialism, so too is the Barbie version of the story. Eden can be considered a “materialist” since she is a person who lives for personal possessions and the obtaining of her own comforts, not worrying about others and never thinking about sharing her abundant wealth (Charles Dickens). As she was taught by her Aunt Marie: “In a selfish world, the selfish succeed” (Barbie).
But not only does this movie critique the materialistic nature of Eden, it also warns of where our consumerist society is headed in the future. Eden’s friend Catherine is known for being kind-hearted and generous. However, as Eden looks into the future, she sees with horror that Catherine too becomes obsessed with self-gratification, fame, and material possessions. No longer does Catherine worry about anyone else, no longer is she willing to reach out and help those around her -- in fact, once Catherine becomes rich and famous, she is not willing to share any of the wealth she has obtained. This shows that nobody is immune to the follies of our society and culture, which is money hungry and constantly makes us think that material goods are the key to happiness. In this movie, the future reveals that even those who are currently generous and giving will become selfish and materialistic. This definitely does not shed a good light on the future of mankind.
One of the main ideas which stuck out to me throughout the entire movie was the role of the female in Victorian England. The entire Barbie story is dominated by independent, young, and successful women; for example, Eden owns and runs a theatre company without relying on a man. In fact, the only two men in the story have minor roles and are seen as whimps. The women are the ones who are in control. In some ways, this is inaccurate of the time period since middle- and upper-class women were not supposed to work and, for the most part, men were the ones in control while women obeyed them. Also, men were commercially-minded while women were domestically-minded, unlike in the Barbie story, where Eden -- a woman -- owns her own theatre company (The Sexes).
However, the Barbie story also made me think of Sarah Stickney Ellis and her writings from The Women of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits [The Influence of Women]. Ellis’ work presents the idea that woman’s power is infinite and transcends time (Victorian Vibrancy); and throughout the Barbie movie, women are presented as powerful, successful, and in control without needing any help.
Works Cited
Barbie in A Christmas Carol. Prod. Anita Lee, Dir. William Lau, Perf. Leanna Araya. DVD. Universal Studios, 2008.
Ogden, Stephen. “Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol.” English 206 Lecture. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. 14 January 2009.
Ogden, Stephen. “The Sexes at the Intersection of Culture and Class.” English 206 Lecture. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. 23 March 2009.
Ogde, Stephen. “Victorian Vibrancy: the Sexes at the Intersection of Culture and Class.” English 206 Lecture. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. 25 March 2009.