rosejailmaiden (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rosejailmaiden) wrote2010-08-08 09:21 pm
rosejailmaiden) wrote2010-08-08 09:21 pm
Entry tags:
Srs fandom rant time
One thing that really gets me, that I've noticed about Monster High as I slowly get into the developing fandom, is that both the comment threads on the two scifi blogs that posted about them- Topless Robot and Bloody Disgusting- are full of MALE fans complaining about the line being horrible and "oversexualized" and fearing for the little girls that will inevitably fall in love with them.
To these guys: drop the "oh noes the little girls!" act and just admit, you don't want the opposite sex playing in your sandbox.
The line being unoriginal and Hot Topic makeover Bratz? The only "goth" dolls in the whole line are Draculaura and Frankie. The others are styled like the average high school girl. And the Bratz comment is utter BS and twaddle. The only thing they have in common with Bratz are the similar faces (which makes sense, given they're an anime-esque line) but even then you have MUCH smaller eyes and unique head sculpts and face-up on the dolls, unlike Bratz which seemed to be the same doll with different skin tones.
If anything the dolls have more in common with Japanese fashion dolls (unique face-up, joints, bodily proportions) than Bratz or even recent Western fashion doll lines like Liv or Moxie Girlz.
As for originality? Right, name one more doll line with the premise of "the children of horror movie characters in high school". One that's an ORIGINAL PROPERTY no less. Any comparisons to Living Dead Dolls are invalid since those were more action figures than fashion dolls in that they were one-off characters and didn't have alternate outfits to dress in.
Oversexualized? I won't deny that the dolls ARE sexualized to some degree- they're fashion dolls first and foremost, after all. But certainly not to the degree that Bratz ever was, and not really to the Barbie degree either, given their relatively flat chests. They have long legs and wear short skirts, yes, but in all honesty they look to have more in common with a lot of shoujo art- their proportions in particular- than anything else. And the Monster High characters are actually fleshed out and have personalities, backstories, and ambitions, to the point they have a diary right in the box to tell you the story behind the character and set up their place in the universe. Bratz had maybe 2 or 3 "main characters" and then just a bunch of throwaway ones for that line. The YouTube shorts have cute little morals, too, like caring for animals, standing up for what's right, and helping friends. Hell, Draculaura (daughter of Dracula) is best friends with Clawdeen (daughter of the Wolfman), despite the animosity between their races, and in her diary she says she maintains the friendship even in the face of disapproval from her father. Overall it's a FAR more positive line than Bratz and shouldn't ever be mentioned in the same breath as them.
It seems like most of this criticism is coming from males who hate the idea of a line that appeals to TEH WIMMINZ and might get a few girls into the sci-fi/horror treehouse they're running. And their manhood is apparently threatened by this. Grow the fuck up. That goes out to you, moron trolling the Facebook group discussion (who prompted all this). It's a big treehouse, and there's room in it for all of us.
To these guys: drop the "oh noes the little girls!" act and just admit, you don't want the opposite sex playing in your sandbox.
The line being unoriginal and Hot Topic makeover Bratz? The only "goth" dolls in the whole line are Draculaura and Frankie. The others are styled like the average high school girl. And the Bratz comment is utter BS and twaddle. The only thing they have in common with Bratz are the similar faces (which makes sense, given they're an anime-esque line) but even then you have MUCH smaller eyes and unique head sculpts and face-up on the dolls, unlike Bratz which seemed to be the same doll with different skin tones.
If anything the dolls have more in common with Japanese fashion dolls (unique face-up, joints, bodily proportions) than Bratz or even recent Western fashion doll lines like Liv or Moxie Girlz.
As for originality? Right, name one more doll line with the premise of "the children of horror movie characters in high school". One that's an ORIGINAL PROPERTY no less. Any comparisons to Living Dead Dolls are invalid since those were more action figures than fashion dolls in that they were one-off characters and didn't have alternate outfits to dress in.
Oversexualized? I won't deny that the dolls ARE sexualized to some degree- they're fashion dolls first and foremost, after all. But certainly not to the degree that Bratz ever was, and not really to the Barbie degree either, given their relatively flat chests. They have long legs and wear short skirts, yes, but in all honesty they look to have more in common with a lot of shoujo art- their proportions in particular- than anything else. And the Monster High characters are actually fleshed out and have personalities, backstories, and ambitions, to the point they have a diary right in the box to tell you the story behind the character and set up their place in the universe. Bratz had maybe 2 or 3 "main characters" and then just a bunch of throwaway ones for that line. The YouTube shorts have cute little morals, too, like caring for animals, standing up for what's right, and helping friends. Hell, Draculaura (daughter of Dracula) is best friends with Clawdeen (daughter of the Wolfman), despite the animosity between their races, and in her diary she says she maintains the friendship even in the face of disapproval from her father. Overall it's a FAR more positive line than Bratz and shouldn't ever be mentioned in the same breath as them.
It seems like most of this criticism is coming from males who hate the idea of a line that appeals to TEH WIMMINZ and might get a few girls into the sci-fi/horror treehouse they're running. And their manhood is apparently threatened by this. Grow the fuck up. That goes out to you, moron trolling the Facebook group discussion (who prompted all this). It's a big treehouse, and there's room in it for all of us.
no subject
Immature fanboys can be very silly that way.
That's so cute! I especially like the wolf and vampire daughters' friendships. Awww...
no subject
And it is quite cute! My little Drac is up on my dA page if you want to take a look!
no subject
First of all, Bratz are just sluts, basically, and I wouldn't let my kids play with Bratz because I don't want my kids to idolize slutty, stuck up girls who rely on daddy to do everything for them. At least Barbie was like a doctor and stuff and actually has some pretty nice dresses and classy looking clothes in her wardrobe. Being a tramp is optional for Barbie. Bratz don't even have a purpose, except to teach little girls how to dress inappropriately for their age.
Second of all, everything is sexualized to some degree. That's just marketing. Even dolls for guys like freaking GI Joe, his body is sculpted to be the ideal good looking man.
Lastly, the Monster High dolls are just cool. They're not little whores like the Bratz, they have a THEME. And it's not goth, I think it's great to have a line that interests people who like old school horror and monster lore and stuff like that. I would have totally loved to have some of those dolls as a kid/teen. I still find them appealing as an adult, actually, I just don't have a lot of money to go out and buy new stuff lol.
Sorry for the rant, lol, I just really hate Bratz more than anything, and I think these dolls are kinda cool and definitely not the same thing.
no subject
Cleo is the only character in that line who behaves remotely like a Bratz character, and she's the butt monkey in the series. She's also the most "human", which I think says a LOT (for being a mummy, I think she's only one in theme and not undead-ness- I haven't figured that one out yet. Or how her boyfriend is a Gorgon but she's not stone yet). It's pretty clear the creators are trying to make what amounts to the exact opposite of Bratz- be yourself and accept everyone, no matter how they look or who they are.
Honestly I think these are a lot more appealing to adults who probably wanted to do their Barbies up as zombies/werewolves/mummies as a little girl. I love that it works on both levels. I see a lot of nerd parents buying these to give their daughters, honestly.