Pregnant Midge, the collective human consciousness, and the implications of Barbieland
When the Barbie movie was first announced I was excited, and more so as every teaser came out. And then there she was, Midge. Anyone with remote Barbie knowledge, collectors, and other ilk knows Midge as the pregnant Barbie doll. I was surprised that Mattel allowed the joke and assumed it was just going to result in one scene and then I saw Alan and my curiosity was piqued.
Because I'm old enough to remember the Midge controversy.
Midge was not as popular in the 90s and 00s, but she still showed up. And as we all know, Barbie and Ken have been together for ages (Except that one time she dated another guy) but they never marry...
But Alan and Midge do.
In fact, Alan is the father of Midge's kids!
Yes, kids. Midge was pregnant more than once. The thing is, she came in a box without her husband. This led critics (and mostly weird moms) to call her a bad influence and accuse her of promoting teen pregnancy (??? idk how she's literally a doll)
Which resulted in a new boxset including Alan. As a cut-out.
But mind you, both Alan and Midge had sets with a child. In fact, the Happy Family line continued for a while after pregnant Midge.
So why is Midge only remembered as mysteriously pregnant?
Let's talk about the Barbie movie. And some things shown to us:
-The Barbies are aware of people playing with them in the real world.
-There is a Mount Rushmore style monument featuring Barbies with older face sculpts, but we don't meet any of those Barbies
-Alan and Midge both exist but do not directly interact
-Alan tries to leave Barbieland but does not mention Midge or any children he would be leaving behind
-The one Alan left resembles the original Alan
-Weird Barbie is um...weird.
Based on this I present this theory: The physical appearance of the Barbies in Barbieland are based on the collective consciousness of the humans.
Alan and Midge have both lost a lot of popularity since their debut. Initially Alan was Ken's buddy, while Midge was Barbie's best friend. They did not become a couple until later. However, Alan is still relevant among collectors and fans. Whereas Midge is remembered by two groups:
People who watched Life in the dreamhouse
People who remember the pregnant Midge scandal
I love dreamhouse Midge but I think the thing here is that more people remember the scandal.
So Midge's representation in Babrieland is based off the public's opinion of her. She is doomed to be forever pregnant because the majority of people remember her that way
Until we free her!
Remember Midge! Not for that removable belly, but for all she has been, all she has done and all those funny moment she had in the tv series!
Or something idk the movie isn't real. Let's just look at dolls now
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“They done went to witch doctors to bury the Barbie/ But I double back, kill b-tches, bury the body/ And that go for anybody/ You’ll be thoroughly sorry/ I could wage war or I could come in peace like Gandhi.”
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