american idiot
Now that American Girl Dolls have taken over the Westside, my guess is that every girl in 3rd grade who does not have a birthday party at American Girl Place will be ostricized by her classmates. Parents, do your girl a favor and give her the party! It’s only $60 per kid to have a 90 minute birthday party, $60 x her 8 closest friends is under $500. (Or you could spend the entire day at Disneyland for the same price. You know, whatever the kid wants.)
*note that to have a “hair salon spectacular” at your 90 minute party there is an additional fee, so don’t forget to budget that in
Good thing they have an American Girl class on how to make money. It only costs $24 per person, which I suppose means that anyone idiotic enough to pay for the class really does need it. Talk about selection bias.
For the love of god, a $90 deserves better than this! She’s being toted around like a mere piece of merchandise! I am hoping they will soon develop a Department of American Girl Protective Services (DAGPS) to monitor these injustices and force these kids into a parenting class (for the cost of $29/hour).
Shit, you know, when I was a kid I was happy with a burger and fries. A McDonald’s Happy Meal was treat enough to get us through the month, and if we were extra good we could get a hot fudge sundae with nuts on top. Check this out: The dolls get salad nicoise. Can the kid even SAY “nicoise”? And tell me, what 8 year old kid likes portabello salad and artichoke dip? However I must admit that $22 seems reasonable, given $15 cost of having someone put a ribbon in the doll’s hair (gratuity not included).
Okay, okay, I know. I’m a rude bitch. Perhaps I need the American Girl manners class. I’m hoping for $90 a person they will teach me that it’s rude for an American Girl to want to have a career or be independent, and that proper manners include not thinking for oneself, falling victim to out of control marketing schemes, and pressuring others to spend money so that you can have anything you like. I also hope they eliminate that pesky imagination that kids have, and hopefully naturalize them into the submissive position of proper womanhood.
And for the girl who wants to do it on her own, she can pay $27 (per person) to learn from an American Doll Stylist how to put your doll’s hair in a ponytail. Please note that it is a 4 part class, and $27 for EACH PART. Part include “5 minute hair dos” for when your doll is really in a rush to get to the mall and just doesn’t have time for the braids, and “fancy up-dos” for when your doll is invited to a formal event or wedding (which won’t happen, since there are no male dolls for them to marry).
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^ ooo, didn’t know you were providing a business opportunity, eh mal?
bbdoyle - April 10th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
i love reading your commentary most of the time, but you’re wrong about the birthday parties at american girl place. you’re quoting the private room party. a regular birthday party doesn’t cost $60 per person there.
i mean this in all seriousness….why do you get so up in arms about this store? there are far more important things to get this upset about. i don’t think this store is one of them.
christina - April 11th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Bah! Obviously there are far more important things to get upset about; the Middle East Crisis, famine, the existence or non-existence of global warming, Sanjaya, pro-choice or pro-life, gas prices, homelessness, Sanjaya, the pet food scare, my piles and piles of dirty laundry, fetal alcohol syndrome, bunnies that sing “Jesus Loves Me”, and Sanjaya. But none of these things so neatly encapsulates what is wrong with consumerism when it’s targeted to children. If it were just a quality doll, I wouldn’t have a problem with American Girl. It’s American Girl’s promotion of all the peripherals and what that’s saying to kids, specifically to girls that’s maddening.
I’m not trying to “jump” you Christina, but maybe you can give us some examples of what’s “right” about American Girl. I mean that sincerely. There maybe an angle here I haven’t considered.
tequilaanddonuts - April 11th, 2007 at 11:22 am
my daughter has an american girl doll, but that doesn’t mean i bow to any little whim she has about taking a class there or buying anything and everything for that particular doll. she gets accessories as gifts from a lot of our family and i don’t believe it’s teaching her anything negative. they actually have a great library of books that are geared towards teaching girls things like how to deal with friend issues at school, how to create projects for school assignments, information on puberty and dealing with emotional changes and a whole bunch of other things that i think parents will find to be great resources.
just because all those things exist (classes, expensive meals, birthday parties, etc.) doesn’t mean that all the parents buy all that crap. i don’t see that the simple existence of these dolls necessarily teaches anything negative to kids; think about it…the types of parents who will push rampant consumerism and social irresponsibility will do that regardless of an american girl doll in their child’s possession.
something that american girl does is a girl of the year contest. they look for girls who are making a difference in their community, which is a good thing to encourage, don’t you think? if someone can’t see that as a positive thing coming out of this company, then sorry, can’t help you.
i don’t feel there is a single negative message coming from american girl dolls. a lot of the instructional type books really encourage girls finding their own voice and standing up for themselves and being happy with the way they are.
now if you want to talk about negatives, let’s discuss the barbie my scene dolls and bratz….
christina - April 18th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
“something that american girl does is a girl of the year contest. they look for girls who are making a difference in their community, which is a good thing to encourage, don’t you think? if someone can’t see that as a positive thing coming out of this company, then sorry, can’t help you.”
just so you’re clear on this. they are not doing this to honor the girl…it’s part of their marketing. their bottom line is still all about opening their trench coat and saying “pssst, hey you, come over here.”
btw, she’s not really asking for your help here
“i don’t feel there is a single negative message coming from american girl dolls.”
that’s fine…just be aware that you are in fact blinded by your own paradigm, that you’re a consumerbot, and that’s what your legacy is to your offspring. the mad rush to be like all your friends with blind brainwashed devotion is not “finding their own voice and standing up for themselves” it is, in fact, just the opposite. but then your a priori arguments are essentially tautological
bbd - April 22nd, 2007 at 10:53 am
> “i don’t feel there is a single negative message coming
> from american girl dolls.”
Mousilini made the trains run on time.
Hitler lowered staggering inflation.
Several corporations have philanthropic arms to make them seem like good menshes while continuing to pollute, control market prices, and do gladhand business with China.
And the library and leadership recognision and such at American Girl are just the shiny veneer of a capitalist machine. It’s nice that they do promote girl power and give positive messages, but this doesn’t negate that they’re still digging into parents’ pockets by using the little girls as tools to line their pockets through pressure. (Who can turn down their sweet little kid when they want something sooooooo bad, and their friends are all doing/getting it?) You’re being used, even if you have the sense not to buy into the whole product line (and I’m happy to hear that).
No argument about Barbie My Scene and Bratz. Those aren’t positive at any level.
Mushroom - April 22nd, 2007 at 1:49 pm
bbd, we’re all consumers, you moron. you are just as much of one as anyone else. or did you type that from a public computer at the library because god forbid you fall prey to marketing from any computer company and actually buy one and then fall prey to marketing from an internet provider and pay for service.
and i can’t believe you would compare american girl dolls to mussolini and hitler, mushroom. seriously?
newsflash, all of you buy stuff. you ALL fall “victim” to marketing ploys. what exactly makes this any better or worse?
christina - April 25th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
what exactly makes this any better or worse?
you
bbd - May 1st, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Nice manners christina.
tequilaanddonuts - May 1st, 2007 at 8:36 pm
I’d hate to think of what the American Girl doll equivalent of a computer or ISP would be. There is a difference between buying superfluous crap and paying a fair price for something useful.
cmgrowl - May 1st, 2007 at 9:48 pm
No male dolls? What do gender equality activists say to this?
asc - September 5th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
hey christina… there’s a big difference… how old are you? don’t answer me… i’m just trying to make a point here, for you to understand… how old are those girls? you think they are aware of the amount of money their parents are spending on stuff that isn’t at ALL useful? How about they donate that amount of money to the poor and victimized people in Darfur?
I’d love to hear you comment back
renoir - June 8th, 2008 at 5:47 pm