SADNESS: Barbie & Ken Behind The Scenes
Story by:
Brittany High
One would assume Barbie lives the perfect life (I mean, if you don’t count her hoarding addiction). But you know what they say: money doesn’t buy happiness. And apparently Barbie’s Dream House, pink Ferrari, and all those damn shoes don’t guarantee a happy marriage.
Photographer Dina Goldstein imagined what might be going on after the Dream House doors close. Spoiler: it’s not all matching outfits and romantic strolls. There’s tension! Betrayal! An identity crisis! It’s like a soap opera, except with a whole lot more pink and fewer evil twins.
Her 2012 photo series In the Dollhouse tells its story across ten carefully staged images. Instead of photographing actual toys, Goldstein used human performers and an adult-sized, extravagantly pink dollhouse set. The result looks like an advertisement for plastic perfection until you notice that its inhabitants are having a spectacularly bad time.
Ken begins to question the role he’s expected to play and eventually embraces his authentic self. Barbie, meanwhile, finds her picture-perfect life coming apart. The point isn’t simply that the famous couple are miserable: Goldstein uses them to poke at the idea that beauty, possessions and keeping up appearances are supposed to make everyone happy.
Goldstein has said the series grew partly out of watching her daughters play with Barbie and Ken. Her earlier Fallen Princesses photographs also took familiar fantasy characters out of their happy endings and into more complicated lives. Apparently, nobody gets a free pass just because they come in a recognizable outfit.
And yes, the pink house looks fabulous. It’s just that the emotional real estate is a fixer-upper. Take a look at the images, and perhaps give your own dolls a little privacy. They clearly have things to work through.
what is this ? :)))
Sad ending.
Barbie y ken desde el backstage!
haha Yeah “barbie” would have to be “Birtha” to be eligible for BBC you know the saying “once you go black you can never come back!
I loved this! These photos were great!
Who the fuck has time to create these . . .
jajajajajajaj
There’s an eye in the window in the last picture. Was that intended, or just the photographer?
ooh, good find!
They left the last picture out. She kills herself.
fantastic!
incredible…. NO BBC!!! Very Creative Mind! Keep it up!
Lol You actually fill the need for this fictional depiction of Barbie to reflect your personal racist views… You must live a really sad life.
Stumbleupon… I think it’s time to have a talk about what you show people…
omg StumbleUpon led you here too!!??
why stumbleUpon? why?
Thank you stumbleupon…
Stumble Upon for me too. :/
This is hilarious! Someone needs to do a trailer trash Barbie saga next! There are just too many good scenes that could be shot!
this is so great!
Barbie needs Straight Spouse Network.
THIS IS AMAZING!
Great post! I love it!
OMG SO FUNNY! I love this. Yeaaa Stumble!
have barbie getting some BBC
BWC from G.I. Joe is better. Barbie isn’t overweight and skanky enough to go for BBC.
Well doesn’t someone feel threatened and insecure…
Nope, just being realistic.
Actually you are making broad generalizations that
usually derive from some sort of insecurity or small mindedness. Or else you
probably would have just kept your bigoted views to yourself. Goes that’s what
the internet’s for though…
Oh, get the hell over it. Butthurt by reality? Trying to be Mr Self-righteous P.C. “I’ll shame you” over f**king dolls? Funny how you don’t try to lecture the one who originated the comment about Barbie and “BBC”. Isn’t that a “broad generalization” and stereotype? Just shove a Ken doll up your butt, or a BC of any color, please.
Hahaha seriously you know those dudes like smadge100 always have small pricks, poor guy.
No, it’s dudes who make comments like yours who do. I am quite happy with my size, douche. “Hahaha”.
you probably do have a tiny penis though
it doesent really matter the way i look at it any white bitch that fucks a black asshole is a trader to there Race…..so go fuck your self
racist much your saying if a white person has sex with a black person they are going against their race have you every thought that “race” is just a color? that there is no difference between white black asian or hispanic?? get a life and look at it differntly
Oh and Sod off, there is such a thing if one felt like it to have a freedom of speech and thought, with out persecution…. and if i felt like being racist i am allowed to be…….
I was just adding fuel to the fire i could really careless….i’m just an asshole and was more then likely drunk that evening….and Yes i am Racist, But not to color But more To Everyone….and Especially Ignorance…
I am what the internet calls a Troll……Sorry
Amazing Photograph
LOVE IT!
You are awesome and very creative!
So barbie is upset and start being elen degeneres.. hmm explain a lot.
You aren’t getting it. Its just another miserable marriage where both parties are not getting what they want. Living the status quo but wanting something totally different. Its not about damning the man or making a gay joke. Its a reference to the boundless unhappiness that most married couples suffer through.
how is this even remotely funny?
why is it that Ken is the one who’s got issues and Barbie is the good one?
who’s to say that Barbie isn’t looking for a Sugar Daddy and spends all of Ken’s Hard Earned money on crap?
why do you make the man the bad guy?
gi joe is definitely the gay one. ken is just a metro–what do you call them?
Doug, I don’t think that was meant to be funny.
Ah yes, the old “Ken is gay” joke. This would have been hilarious in 1997. I would have laughed my ass off back then, maybe.
Love this photos!