The destruction of the atomic bomb had major significance that ushered in a new era of political and social history. The danger of fallout and world ending events was brought to the forefront of American cultural and military thought. From this new climate, many tried to grapple with this fear of nuclear annihilation in numerous ways outside of film and other means of communication.
One of the most powerful tools these post-apocalyptic songs have is the level of imagery conveyed in them. It’s this imagery that best conveys the social commentary of the songs. One such is David Bowie’s ‘Five Years’ (1972). “News guy wept and told us, Earth was really dying cried so much his face was wet then I knew he wasn’t lying”(1) The song conveys the Earth’s upcoming destruction and the reaction to it. It’s just one of the many examples of the reaction to the Cold War climate of possible nuclear annihilation.

In 1976, Billy Joel released ‘Miami 2017’ the opening line alone, “I’ve seen the lights go out on Broadway”is a similar kind of haunting imagery like “Five Years.” This song ties into Billy Joel’s own thoughts of New York at the time of a financial crisis, “I just had these apocalyptic visions of buildings burning and skyscrapers collapsing”(2) The apocalyptic feel of the song, ties into its connotation of its location in the “future” from the time of its release. Still the song conveys the anxieties of the time, for both New York and the mentality seen in the 1970s in a post-war America.
Finally, in 1980, Peter Gabriel released “Games without Frontiers” this song, is one of the many in Gabriel’s discography that connect to elements of social commentary. This kind of commentary is even evident in Gabriel’s songwriting in Genesis using wordplay and puns to convey internal problems in England in ‘Aisle of Plenty”. The song compares politics of the times and world leaders to children. The official video even features an atomic bomb going off and duck and cover videos to reinforce this connection to his anti-war themes and social commentary.(3) The songs title even conveys this, with the advent of the nuclear bomb old rules of warfare are outdated.
Throughout the decades following the end of World War II and into the Cold War, there was global change both socially and political. Many had to grapple with questions of the end of the world, that are now bubbling to the surface again in an intensely divisive political climate. The use of the atomic bomb encapsulates real world horrors and anxieties that many tried to addresses. This shows the power of the icon that is the Atomic Bomb and the long lasting effects it had on culture of the era that followed it.

1Bowie, David “Five Years” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWm03wYBTbM
2 Dan, Poepenbring “Miami 2017” The Paris Review Jan 4 2017
3Peter Gabriel, Games without Fronitershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZmlUV8muY

Images of album covers from google images

One of the important aspects of Barbie is not just the doll itself but how it is shaped (and has influenced) society and gender roles. In 1996, The Simpsons inspired by Mattel’s release of ‘The Teen Talk Barbie’ released the episode Lisa vs Malibu Stacy. This is one of many examples of satire and critique in the realm of the television show. It is also one of the best examples of a critique of sexism within the series.

     The Simpsons from the beginning provided social commentary on numerous aspects of American life. Matthew Henry writes, “Importantly, The Simpsons most commonly offers its satire from a leftist political position, and it works from this position to lambaste, among other things, the universality and normativity of so‐called ‘traditional family values’…” [1] The Simpsons’ dysfunctionality itself is a broad example of upsetting notions of traditional family values. In this episode specifically, it is Lisa’s crusade against sexism that is the major aspect of this “leftist political position” the Simpson writers established.

The satire mirrors real world aspects surrounding Barbie and sexism as well as the corporate nature of the doll. The “Talking Malibu Stacey Doll” mirrors the real life “Teen Talking Barbie” and the episode homages the real-life tactics used to call out the sexism of the talking doll by activists. “the BLO [Barbie Liberation Organization] saw potential for social commentary and began switching the voiceboxes of the Teen Talk Barbie and the Talking Duke G.I. Joe and then placing them back on store shelves for unsuspecting consumers…”[2]  The episode features one of the dolls quoting Spider-Man.

On top of that, the tactics used by the corporate Malibu Stacey execs compare to that of Barbie’s in the 80s. Jill Barad, a former CEO at Mattel has said, “In marketing what you want to do is, you want to flank your brand… so there’s very few areas of access for competitors”[3]The end of the episode ties into this notion, as Malibu Stacey cannibalizes sales from Lisa’s talking doll simply because “she has a new hat” This scene in itself ties into the Simpsons critique of sexism, emphasized with notions of consumerism. It also mirrors the tactics used by Mattel in the 80s.

The response to the real life talking Barbie featured backlash after one of the phrases was “math is tough”[4] One of the major critics of the doll was The American Association of University of Women.  “We are pleased that Barbie has finally been given a voice. But it is a shame that Mattel didn’t give her a more confident one”[5] It was the activists with the AAUW that caused Mattel to remove the phrase from Barbie’s voice box due to its stereotypical language. The AAUW points out that since this controversy Barbie has released other dolls encouraging women to excel in science and mathematics. This action reveals how Barbie continues to change from its early roles in domestic field. The “I Can Be Computer Engineer” doll does not discount the issues of body image and sexism controversy that surrounds Barbie and our culture views on Barbie.

Barbie is a challenging American Icon as at it’s core “In many ways, this makes Barbie a toy designed by women for women to teach women what…is expected of them by society”[6] The role Barbie plays in emphasizing expectations has been challenged in the past despite the doll’s popularity. Its longevity and continued popularity has opened doors for satire and criticism on top of intellectual discussion. This continued discussion makes the doll, cultural one of the most complicated American Icons

[7] figure 1 Screenshot from Simpsons episode

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[8] Real Life talking Barbie doll

[1] Henry, Matthew “Don’t Ask me, I’m Just a Girl”: Feminism, Female Identity, and The Simpsons 7 March 2007 The Journal of Pop Culture Vol 40, issue 2 https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.libproxy.temple.edu/doi/full/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2007.00379.x

[2] Ibid.,

[3] The Toys That Made Us Documentary; Barbie, directed by Tom Stern Nacelle Productions

[4] “COMPANY NEWS: Mattel Says It Erred; Teen Talk Barbie Turns Silent on Math” The New York Times 1992 The Associated Press

[5] Hill, Catherine “From Discouraged Math Student to Computer Engineer: One Doll’s Story” https://www.aauw.org/2013/12/11/barbies-story/ 11 Dec 2013 American Association of University Women

[6] Lord M.G Forever Barbie, William Morrow and Company, INC pg 8

[7] Oakley, Bill & Weinstein Josh “Lisa vs Malibu Stacey” 17 Feb 1994 Fox Television

[8] Teen Talking Barbie image Mattel Google images