While the subject is engaging in its own right, Black Barbie’s format isn’t helping. Jumping between what feels like something more investigative and a series of talking heads, the film at the very least is able to stay on track due to its singular purpose. This purpose is so strong that when the format shifts to something more akin to a panel decision it doesn’t lose that focus.
Historically, black dolls were never as marketed as heavily as their white counterpoints and while this documentary highlights the progress done in the years since toys became mass produced on both the shelves and in the lives of the children who play with them, it isn’t too tunnel-focused to where it cannot discuss the shortcomings of this kind of representation social justice.
While the subject is engaging in its own right, Black Barbie’s format isn’t helping. Jumping between what feels like something more investigative and a series of talking heads, the film at the very least is able to stay on track due to its singular purpose. This purpose is so strong that when the format shifts to something more akin to a panel decision it doesn’t lose that focus.
Historically, black dolls were never as marketed as heavily as their white counterpoints and while this documentary highlights the progress done in the years since toys became mass produced on both the shelves and in the lives of the children who play with them, it isn’t too tunnel-focused to where it cannot discuss the shortcomings of this kind of representation social justice.
