Directed by Lagueria Davis and produced by Aaliyah Williams, Black Barbie delves into the hassle to extend illustration for younger Black women by way of the lens of the long-lasting Barbie doll.
Highlighting the cultural influence and tales behind the creation of Black Barbie, this documentary is a testomony to the ability of illustration and the perseverance of Black ladies. Workforce EBONY sat down with the filmmakers, Director Lagueria Davis and Producer Aaliyah Williams, together with key voices of Black Barbie, to debate their transferring documentary.
Listed below are 5 classes we realized—and 5 causes to look at.
The filmmakers needed to inform a historic story about Black ladies, by Black ladies, for Black ladies.
Davis says, “I got here into it pondering it felt actually essential that we be capable of have this story initially. It felt prefer it was one thing outdoors of simply magnificence. [We wanted to] get it proper for the tradition and needed the movie to carry out effectively. You’ve gotten one thing that is by Black ladies, for Black ladies, about Black ladies and there is societal pressures and obstacles there.”
Black Barbie reveals the story of a decadeslong effort by primarily Black ladies to extend illustration for younger Black women.
“Wanting on the timeline, there’s 30 years of a variety of change,” Williams states. “You lay it out from Brown versus Board of Training and integration of faculties to transferring by way of the civil rights motion, it simply made sense. It is like, we’re right here…so why not have dolls that characterize us?”
Black Barbie is a story of success even when the percentages might be stacked towards you.
“We talked rather a lot with Mattel’s archival folks, and we have been like, ‘Hey, are you able to pull us some advertisements or commercials or something that may present us what help Black Barbie acquired moreover simply the product itself,’” Williams mentioned. “Nobody might find that stuff. However unexpectedly, for them not less than, Black Barbie did very effectively by way of gross sales.
The primary Black Barbie doll was an opportunity for Black ladies to see themselves represented in a method that was beforehand tough to search out.
Former Barbie designer Kitty Black Perkins shared, “In conception, [Black Barbie] was actually part of me as a result of every thing that I designed for Barbie, I designed with the thought in thoughts, ‘Is that one thing that I’d put on?’ And once I requested myself that query and the reply was ‘No,’ I began over.
Black Barbie impressed younger Black creatives to pursue their desires and proceed to advocate for optimistic illustration within the toy business.
“Barbie was like my dream world as a result of she had blonde hair and blue eyes,” mentioned former Barbie designer Stacey McBride-Irby. “She had the Corvette. She had the dream home. She had all of the fashions. She made me need to be a clothier. So I went to vogue faculty. My grandmother did not actually need me to do this as a result of she did not see anybody who regarded like me, however my dad saved the newspaper article on Miss Kitty Black Perkins. In order that was my inspiration for going to vogue faculty.”
Black Barbie is now streaming on Netflix.
