Has Barbie (above in Swan Lake) become an unreachable ideal that is outdated and jejune? Or is she a role model as a gorgeous physician, veterinarian or senior executive who has stayed monogamous for more than 40 years?

One can dismiss the stars of Starrin’ and Stylin’ as shallow mall rats whose swollen lips and cosmetic-caked faces hide personalities thinner than a credit card. On the other hand, who in this celebrity culture wants to go unnoticed? If the styles are out there, why dress like Anne of Green Gables? And if girls really do wanna have fun, shop with their buds, and practice their developing social personas with a temp boyfriend or two, why indeed shouldn’t they? The golden years are brief; for many girls, work, marriage, the kid’s soccer practices and cellulite are but a few years removed from the mall’s protective doors.

In the end, dolls are molded lumps of plastic and swatches of synthetic hair; whatever image manufacturers and marketers project upon the dolls determines how consumers perceive them. What is hot (and what is not) in America is determined by societal shifts and evolving perceptions. Much of popular culture is shaped by how these changes and perceptions find transmission through the media. I hold the belief that animation has a more powerful presence among modern media than most people realize.

Witness the iconic endurance of Mickey and Bugs, the billion-dollar industry that is SpongeBob, or the long history of animation used in advertising. Animated features, videos and commercials were an integral component of a greater cultural shift that allowed the Bratz to topple Barbie. In a Darwinian sense, the Bratz adaptation to, and use of, the animated medium was superior in terms of image and profitability. The Bratz’ values concerning gender and capitalism have captured a greater range of transmission than Barbie’s has. The feedback loop to the larger culture is already evident in the fashions and behaviors of countless tweens who now style more like Bratz and less like Barbie.

Clothing and accessories sold separately. Dolls do not actually move by themselves.

Martin “Dr. Toon” Goodman is a longtime student and fan of animation. He lives in Anderson, Indiana.