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作为世界上最成功的玩具，芭比娃娃的影响力已经超越了普通的玩具概念，在大众心理和文化领域产生了深远的影响。在美国，“芭比”已经成为了一个可以进行多重解析的文化符号，成为了一门“社会学”。
The Barbie doll is the best selling fashion doll of alltime. Mattel Corp., the producer of the doll, estimated thatthe average American girl between the ages of three andeleven owned ten Barbie dolls. More than just a toy, theBarbie doll has become an American cultural icon.
Barbie portrays the doll who could do anything.Barbie's many accessories represent the high consumptionlifestyle. She has her dream house, completely furnished,a sports car, and a wardrobe that expanded almost everyday.
The Barbie doll's status aS an icon stems from its useas a model for young girls' real life hopes and dreamsfor their own adult lives. The doll has been made funof by musicians and comedians andcriticized by feminist scholars. Butdespite any controversyl childrenthroughout America and the worldhave embraced the doll.
芭比娃娃是有史以来最畅销的时尚娃娃。芭比娃娃的制造商美泰公司估计平均每个年龄在3到11岁的美国女孩都拥有10个芭比娃娃。芭比娃娃不仅仅是一个玩具，而是已经成为一个美国文化偶像。
芭比塑造了一个无所不能的形象。她的众多配件代表了高消费的生活方式。她拥有家具齐全的“梦幻小屋”、一辆跑车，和一个几乎每天都在膨胀的衣橱。
芭比娃娃的偶像地位来源于它的榜样作用，她代表了现实生活中女孩们对自己日后成年生活的希望和梦想。一直以来，芭比娃娃都被音乐家们和喜剧演员们取笑，也受到女权主义者的批评。但是不论遭受何种争议，芭比仍是美国乃至世界各国的孩子们的最爱。
The emphasis on fashion of the doll were uniqueto the toy world at the time. The Barbie doll offeredyoung girls an opportunity to participate in the emergingworld of fashion. Mattel offered finely sewn outfits thatcopied the most desirable fashions of the time. Unlikebaby dolls, the 11.5-inch Barbie doll had full breasts,a tiny waist, and curvy hips. The fashionable outfitsdraped beautifully over the doll's curves, but somecritics worried that young girls who played with thedoll would develop unrealistic images about how theirown bodies should look. The controversy over thisissue has not faded over the nearly fifty years ofthe doll's history.
芭比娃娃的“时尚”在当时的世界玩具市场上是独一无二的。芭比娃娃给年轻女孩们提供了一个亲身感受时尚世界的机会。美泰公司仿照当时最受欢迎的时装(为芭比娃娃)精心缝制了的全套服饰。和婴儿娃娃不同的是，这个11.5英寸高的娃娃有着发育成熟的胸部、纤细的腰肢和曲线窈窕的臀部。时尚的服装与芭比的玲珑身材相得益彰，但是一些评论家们担心玩芭比娃娃的小女孩们会对她们自己的身材产生不切实际的想法。有关这个话题的争论在芭比娃娃诞生以来的近五十年时间里从未停止过。
"I can do it all" attitude of Barbie
While the teenage fashion model identity for the Barbiedoll remains, the doll has also been marketed as an adult capableof pursuing a career. Introduced during a period when mostwomen stayed home to raise families, Mattel offered glamorouswedding dresses for the Barbie doll, but it also created dolls andaccessories to allow young girls to imagine an adult life separatefrom raising a family. Within a decade of the doll's introduction,the career costumes available for the Barbie doll multipliedrapidly. The Barbie doll could be a surgeon, an Olympic athlete,a veterinarian, a reporter, a police officer, a paleontologist, and apresidential candidate, to name a few.
芭比娃娃的“无所不能”
芭比娃娃不仅仅是青少年的时尚榜样，还被塑造为一个能够追求自己事业的成年人。芭 比娃娃出现在一个多数女性呆在家里操持家务的年代，所以美泰公司为芭比娃娃提供了华丽的结婚礼服，同时还生产出了各种不同款式的芭比娃娃和服装配饰，使小女孩们可以去幻想在操持家务之外的成年生活。在芭比娃娃诞生后十年的时间里，芭比娃娃的各种职业服饰成倍地迅速增长。芭比娃娃可以“化身”为外科医生、奥林匹克运动员、兽医、记者、警察、古生物学者和总统候选人，这里只稍作列举。
Although Barbie sells that "I can do itall" attitude, there are still limitations onher. A large emphasis, when Barbie cameout, was on her beauty and clothes. Manywomen wanted to achieve the ideal body thatBarbie flaunted. Ironically, the dimensionsof Barbie would not even be anatomigallypossible on humans. The perfection Barbieportrays has influenced many women.They try to attain Barbie's body by havingoperations to make themselves "look like"Barbie. Barbie's image of being able todo it all may have put pressure on manywomen. In today's society, there is pressureon women to work, have a marriage, makemoney, take care of the kids, and still try tolook beautiful. Barbie's attitude idealizesthe hardships women must go through tobe "perfect".
尽管芭比的卖点在于它“无所不能”的姿态，但是她身上仍然有一些局限性。芭比诞生之初，她注重的主要是美丽的外表和服装。很多女性都想拥有芭比所炫耀的那种理想身材。具有讽刺意味的是，从解剖学上来说，人类不太可能拥有像芭比那样的身材比例。芭比所表现出来的完美形象使得很多想追求这种身材的女性通过手术来使自己“看上去像”芭比。芭比“无所不能”的形象也使很多女性备感压力。在当今社会中，女性的压力来源于工作、婚姻、赚钱、照顾孩子，同时仍要尽量看上去美丽。芭比的生活态度将女性要达到“完美”而必须经历的种种艰苦给理想化了。
What can Barbie tell us aboutAmerican culture?
Inscribed on Barbie are the traditional notions aswell as the changing values of a culture in the process ofdramatic social, cultural, and political transformation.As an artifact of postwar American cultural ambiguity,Barbie characterized not only conservatism andconformity but also contradiction, conflict, andcontestation.
Doll makers came to realize the enormous culturalforce embodied in Barbie. However, Barbie was notjust a personality in the age of mass marketing. Shestill persists today as a cultural icon. Barbie's identityis ambiguous, or maybe rather open-ended. She isa "fictive icon". She is also a "fantastic icon". Alongwith Superman, Barbie has the capacity to free people'simaginations. Her very essence is magical, romantic,and enchanting.
As an icon, Barbie has transcended identification asmerely an American woman or a female consumer-- shedefies national, ethnic, and regional boundaries. She isable to defy all boundaries because every person in theworld has access to her. Unlike human icons who eludeownership, Barbie is meant to be owned by everyone.
芭比娃娃可以让我们了解什么样的美国文化?
芭比娃娃身上带有传统观点的烙印，同时也显示了在激烈的社会、文化和政治变革中一种随之变化的文化价值观。作为一个战后美国文化模糊期的产物，芭比娃娃不仅代表了保守主义和顺从，同时也代表了矛盾、冲突和争议。
娃娃制造商们逐渐意识到芭比娃娃身上所蕴含的巨大文化力量。然而，芭比不仅仅是大众市场时代的一个“名人”，她作为一个文化偶像的地位至今仍然没有动摇。芭比的身份是模糊的，或者更确切地说是开放式的，她是一个“虚构的偶像”。芭比也是一个“非凡的偶像”，她和超人一样，有着解放人们想象力的能力。她从最本质上是神奇的、浪漫的和富有魅力的。
作为一个偶像，芭比娃娃已经不仅仅是一位美国女性或女性消费者的化身——她超越了民族、种族和区域的界限。芭比可以超越所有的界限，因为世界上的每个人都可以拥有她。和拒绝被占有的人类偶像不同，芭比就是要让每个人都能拥有她。
The Origin of Barbie
Believe it or not, Barbie originally was a real person. Her name was Barbara (Burble) Handler and her mother and fatherwere Ruth and Elliot. In the early 1950's, Barbie's motherwatched her and her girlfriends play with adult female dollsmore than they did with the baby dollso She lolew it was just asimportant for young girls to imagine what it would be like tobe grown up. Barbie's mother decided to make a female adultdoll--one that was life-like enough to serve as an inspirationfor little girl's dreams of the future. She had gone on a trip toEurope and returned with a Lillie doll, modeled after a characterin a German comic strip. She then spent lots of time designinga doll (Barbie) to resemble Lillie and even hired a clothingdesigner to make realistic clothes. The result was the Barbied011. Mattel agreed to back her efforts and Barbie debuted atthe American Toy Fair in New York City in 1959. Girls wentwild over her and set a new salesrecord for Mat-tel the very first yearat 351,000 sold at $3.00 each.
Since then the Barbie doll'spopularity has rarely waivered andtoday, with over one billion of herlook-alikes sold, the product line isone of the most successful in thehistory of the toy industry.
芭比娃娃的诞生
信不信由你，芭比娃娃原型确有其人。她的名字叫芭芭拉(昵称芭比)-汉德勒，她的母亲名叫露丝，父亲名叫艾略特。在20世纪50年代初，芭比的妈妈观察到芭比和她的女玩伴们玩得更多的是女性形象的娃娃而不是像她们小时那样玩婴儿样子的娃娃，她意识到对小女孩来说让她们想象长大成人之后会是什么样的也是很重要的。芭比的妈妈决心自己做一个女性形象的娃娃——一个形象逼真、能激发小女孩对未来幻想的娃娃。之前她去了趟欧洲，带回来一个“莉莉”娃娃，这是根据德国某连环漫画中的人物为原型制作的一个娃娃。她花了大量时间来设计一个与“莉莉”相仿的娃娃(即芭比)，甚至还请了一位服装设计师来制作逼真的服饰，芭比娃娃就这样诞生了。美泰公司决定支持她所做的事，于是芭比娃娃于1959年在纽约市举办的美国玩具展上首次公开亮相了。女孩子们全都为之疯狂，这个单价3美元的娃娃第一年就为美泰公司创下了销售量为35.1万的新纪录。
此后，芭比娃娃一直魅力不减，如今已有超过1O亿个各种各样的芭比娃娃售出，这一产品系列也是玩具工业史上最为成功的系列之一。
Grow up with Barbie
In nearly 50 years, Barbie has had more than 70careers, a thousand outfits, a host of friends, 20-oddvehicles, a commemorative U.S. stamp, and oneboyfriend. Introduced in 1959, Barbie changed the waylittle girls looked at dolls forever.
As the first teenage doll, Barbie was truly a breath offresh air. Until she appeared on the scene, little girls hadonly paper dolls or baby dolls to play with. Named forRuth Handler's teenage daughter, Barbie was conceivedand born as a liberated adult, a sophisticated careergirl unencumbered by husband, children or parents--aradical idea in the 1950s!
Barbie and her sisters, cousins, friends and pets havesold more than a billion dollars since 1959. On average,172,800 Barbie dolls are sold worldwide daily.
Since her introduction in 1959, Barbie has livedan exciting life. She has survived nearly 50 years ofpolitical, social and cultural changes. She graduatedfrom college, purchased numerous pieces of real estate,ventured into several male-dominated careers, servedin the armed forces, traveled the world and surroundedherself with multi-ethnic friends. The fabulous world thatMattel created for Barbie is a pretty good place for littlegirls to spend their time. Barbie has served as a mirror of American fashionhistory. Many dolls have come after her, but none haveher claim to fame: Barbie, the Ultimate Fashion Doll!
与芭比共同成长
在近50年的时间里，芭比已经拥有了超过70种职业、上千套服装、一大群朋友、20多辆汽车、一枚美国纪念邮票以及一位男朋友。自从1959年与公众见面后，芭比永远地改变了小女孩们对玩具娃娃的看法。
作为首个少女形象的娃娃，芭比无疑是一阵清新的风。在她问世前，小女孩们只能玩纸娃娃或婴儿样子的娃娃。而以露丝十几岁的女儿命名的芭比则是作为一个获得解放的成年人孕育并诞生的，她是一个不受丈夫、儿女或父母束缚的成熟的职业女性——在20世纪50年代这是颇为激进的想法!
自1959年来，芭比和她的姐妹、表姐妹、朋友和宠物们已经售出了十几亿美元。在全世界，平均每天有17.28万个芭比娃娃被售出。
自1959年问世以来，芭比一直过着激动人心的生活。她经历了近50年的政治、社会和文化变革。她大学毕业，购买过无数房产，尝试了好几个为男性所统治的职业，在军中服过役，周游过世界，身边拥有肤色各异的朋友。美泰公司为芭比创造的奇幻世界是小女孩们度过美好时光的绝佳天地。
芭比是折射美国时尚业历史的一面镜子。虽有许多娃娃效仿她，但没有一个能取得像她那样的盛名：芭比，绝对的时尚娃娃!
《芭比与胡桃夹子的梦幻之旅》
America's favorite plastic sweetheart, Barbie, stars in her very first movie. Theplot is only loosely based on the classic Christmas tale The Nutcracker, so expect to besurprised even if you know the story well.
Barbie in the Nutcracker starts with Barbie and her little sister Kelly practisingsome of the ballet steps from The Nutcracker ballet. Kelly is feeling a bit depressedbecause she can't seem to master the steps, and Barbie decides to cheer her up by tellingher the story of Clara from the ballet.3 Clara is given a wooden nutcracker as a Christmaspresent, but it is soon broken by her high-spirited4 younger brother Tommy.
The plot structure is somewhat unusual in that it is really a story within a storywithin a story. The story of Barbie and Kelly jumps into the story of Clara but we thenenter the fantasy land of Clara's dream.
In Clara's dream, mice emerge from the wainscot at night whilst Clara is sleepingand start fighting over food.6 The broken wooden nutcracker becomes a princess andstarts fighting with the mice. Clara wakes up and comes to the Nutcracker's rescue, butthe Mouse King uses his magical powers to shrink Clara down to the same size as thenutcracker and the mice.
Apparently, only the princess can restore Clara back to her normal size, so Barbieand the Nutcracker enters through the mouse hole into a magical kingdom where theMouse King rules.
The ending features some nice animated9 ballet dancing that looks very realistic.
《芭比之天鹅湖》
Barbie shines in her another animated movie, an adaptation of the classicballet Swan Lake A young girl named Odette (played by Barbie) follows abeautiful unicorn into the enchanted forest and picks up a magic crystal thatproclaims her destiny as savior of the enchanted forest. Odette, hampered by anoverwhelming sense of insecurity, proclaims herself unfit for the job and sets outto leave the forest when the evil wizard Rothbart turns her into a swan. Bolsteredby the powers of the magic crystal, Odette vows to defeat Rothbart Meanwhile,love blossoms between Odette and the town's Prince Daniel. Eventually, Odettefinds a courage within herself that, combined with her intelligence and the true love between her and the Prince, proves powerful enough to defeat Rothbart.The computer-generated animation is vivid and lifelike, the London SymphonyOrchestra gives a wonderful performance of Tchaikovsky's original music.
《芭比之真假公主》
The story is about lbv6, responsibility, and freedom. Based on Mark Twain's ThePrince and the Paupbr, the 85minute computer-animated adventure is about twoalmost identical girls who though born into very different circumstances, areamazingly alike. Barbie features an exciting dual role as a princess and a poor villagegirl. A chance meeting betweeh the young women becomes significant when princessAnnaliese is later kidnapped and (pauper) Erika suddenly becomes a crucial componentin the search for the princess and her captor. Can Erika pretend to be the princessand foil her captor? And what of the handsome King Dominick, who falls in lovewith Erika, mistaking her for princess Anneliese? In this magical musical performance,two beautiful adventurous girls dare to follow their dreams and discover that destinyis written in a very special place your heart.
芭比趣事
1.Barbie doll has had more than 80 careers--everythingfrom a rock star to a paleontologist2 to a presidentialcandidate.
2.Barbie doll represented a candidate for Presidentin 1992 and ran3 again in 2000 with a platform ofopportunities for girls, educational excellence andanimal rights.
3.The Barbie doll is currently marketed in more than150 nations around the world.
4.Placed head to toe, Barbie dolls and family memberssold since 1959 would circle the earth more thanseven times.
5.Every second, two Barbie dolls are sold somewherein the world.
6.Barbie doll has represented 45 different nationalities.
7.Barbie doll has had over 43 pets including 21 dogs,12 horses, 3 ponies, 6 cats, a parrot, a chimpanzee,a panda, a lion cub, a giraffe and a zebra.
8.The best selling Barbie doll ever was Totally HairBarbie, with hair from the top of her head to hertoes.
9.The first celebrity to join the Barbiedoll family was fashion model Twiggyin 1967 and the M. C. Hammer doll,complete with a cassette of his songs,was added in 1991.
10.Consumers can now use theircomputers and the Internet tocustomize their friend of the Barbiedoll through My Design, launched in1998.
11.Barbie doll has had more thana billion pair of shoes and overone hundred new additions to herwardrobe annually.
12.The Barbie clothing line for realgirls includes knit tops, backpacks,sleepwear and accessories.
13.Barbie doll was introduced in 1959and first appeared in the now-famousblack and white striped swimsuit andsignature ponytail.
14.The first Barbie doll was sold for$3.00.
15.Barbie doll is currently a $1.5 billiondollar-per-year industry.
世界上最贵的芭比娃娃
Diamond Barbie co-designed by De Beers comes with agown sporting 160 diamonds as well as white gold miniaturejewelry to give the world's most expensive Barbie doll theworld's most expensive look.
The one-off 40th anniversary Barbie created in 1999comes with a full figured price tag of 50,000.00 or about$85,000.00.
由戴比尔斯钻石公司协助设计的“钻石芭比”身着镶嵌有160颗钻石的礼服，佩戴迷你白金首饰，这套行头使这个世界上最贵的芭比娃娃看上去华贵至极。
这个为纪念其诞生40周年的一次性定制的芭比娃娃于1999年推出，售价高达5万英镑(约合8万5千美元)的价格把整个价签都填满了。
The Barbie doll is the best selling fashion doll of alltime. Mattel Corp., the producer of the doll, estimated thatthe average American girl between the ages of three andeleven owned ten Barbie dolls. More than just a toy, theBarbie doll has become an American cultural icon.
Barbie portrays the doll who could do anything.Barbie's many accessories represent the high consumptionlifestyle. She has her dream house, completely furnished,a sports car, and a wardrobe that expanded almost everyday.
The Barbie doll's status aS an icon stems from its useas a model for young girls' real life hopes and dreamsfor their own adult lives. The doll has been made funof by musicians and comedians andcriticized by feminist scholars. Butdespite any controversyl childrenthroughout America and the worldhave embraced the doll.
芭比娃娃是有史以来最畅销的时尚娃娃。芭比娃娃的制造商美泰公司估计平均每个年龄在3到11岁的美国女孩都拥有10个芭比娃娃。芭比娃娃不仅仅是一个玩具，而是已经成为一个美国文化偶像。
芭比塑造了一个无所不能的形象。她的众多配件代表了高消费的生活方式。她拥有家具齐全的“梦幻小屋”、一辆跑车，和一个几乎每天都在膨胀的衣橱。
芭比娃娃的偶像地位来源于它的榜样作用，她代表了现实生活中女孩们对自己日后成年生活的希望和梦想。一直以来，芭比娃娃都被音乐家们和喜剧演员们取笑，也受到女权主义者的批评。但是不论遭受何种争议，芭比仍是美国乃至世界各国的孩子们的最爱。
The emphasis on fashion of the doll were uniqueto the toy world at the time. The Barbie doll offeredyoung girls an opportunity to participate in the emergingworld of fashion. Mattel offered finely sewn outfits thatcopied the most desirable fashions of the time. Unlikebaby dolls, the 11.5-inch Barbie doll had full breasts,a tiny waist, and curvy hips. The fashionable outfitsdraped beautifully over the doll's curves, but somecritics worried that young girls who played with thedoll would develop unrealistic images about how theirown bodies should look. The controversy over thisissue has not faded over the nearly fifty years ofthe doll's history.
芭比娃娃的“时尚”在当时的世界玩具市场上是独一无二的。芭比娃娃给年轻女孩们提供了一个亲身感受时尚世界的机会。美泰公司仿照当时最受欢迎的时装(为芭比娃娃)精心缝制了的全套服饰。和婴儿娃娃不同的是，这个11.5英寸高的娃娃有着发育成熟的胸部、纤细的腰肢和曲线窈窕的臀部。时尚的服装与芭比的玲珑身材相得益彰，但是一些评论家们担心玩芭比娃娃的小女孩们会对她们自己的身材产生不切实际的想法。有关这个话题的争论在芭比娃娃诞生以来的近五十年时间里从未停止过。
"I can do it all" attitude of Barbie
While the teenage fashion model identity for the Barbiedoll remains, the doll has also been marketed as an adult capableof pursuing a career. Introduced during a period when mostwomen stayed home to raise families, Mattel offered glamorouswedding dresses for the Barbie doll, but it also created dolls andaccessories to allow young girls to imagine an adult life separatefrom raising a family. Within a decade of the doll's introduction,the career costumes available for the Barbie doll multipliedrapidly. The Barbie doll could be a surgeon, an Olympic athlete,a veterinarian, a reporter, a police officer, a paleontologist, and apresidential candidate, to name a few.
芭比娃娃的“无所不能”
芭比娃娃不仅仅是青少年的时尚榜样，还被塑造为一个能够追求自己事业的成年人。芭 比娃娃出现在一个多数女性呆在家里操持家务的年代，所以美泰公司为芭比娃娃提供了华丽的结婚礼服，同时还生产出了各种不同款式的芭比娃娃和服装配饰，使小女孩们可以去幻想在操持家务之外的成年生活。在芭比娃娃诞生后十年的时间里，芭比娃娃的各种职业服饰成倍地迅速增长。芭比娃娃可以“化身”为外科医生、奥林匹克运动员、兽医、记者、警察、古生物学者和总统候选人，这里只稍作列举。
Although Barbie sells that "I can do itall" attitude, there are still limitations onher. A large emphasis, when Barbie cameout, was on her beauty and clothes. Manywomen wanted to achieve the ideal body thatBarbie flaunted. Ironically, the dimensionsof Barbie would not even be anatomigallypossible on humans. The perfection Barbieportrays has influenced many women.They try to attain Barbie's body by havingoperations to make themselves "look like"Barbie. Barbie's image of being able todo it all may have put pressure on manywomen. In today's society, there is pressureon women to work, have a marriage, makemoney, take care of the kids, and still try tolook beautiful. Barbie's attitude idealizesthe hardships women must go through tobe "perfect".
尽管芭比的卖点在于它“无所不能”的姿态，但是她身上仍然有一些局限性。芭比诞生之初，她注重的主要是美丽的外表和服装。很多女性都想拥有芭比所炫耀的那种理想身材。具有讽刺意味的是，从解剖学上来说，人类不太可能拥有像芭比那样的身材比例。芭比所表现出来的完美形象使得很多想追求这种身材的女性通过手术来使自己“看上去像”芭比。芭比“无所不能”的形象也使很多女性备感压力。在当今社会中，女性的压力来源于工作、婚姻、赚钱、照顾孩子，同时仍要尽量看上去美丽。芭比的生活态度将女性要达到“完美”而必须经历的种种艰苦给理想化了。
What can Barbie tell us aboutAmerican culture?
Inscribed on Barbie are the traditional notions aswell as the changing values of a culture in the process ofdramatic social, cultural, and political transformation.As an artifact of postwar American cultural ambiguity,Barbie characterized not only conservatism andconformity but also contradiction, conflict, andcontestation.
Doll makers came to realize the enormous culturalforce embodied in Barbie. However, Barbie was notjust a personality in the age of mass marketing. Shestill persists today as a cultural icon. Barbie's identityis ambiguous, or maybe rather open-ended. She isa "fictive icon". She is also a "fantastic icon". Alongwith Superman, Barbie has the capacity to free people'simaginations. Her very essence is magical, romantic,and enchanting.
As an icon, Barbie has transcended identification asmerely an American woman or a female consumer-- shedefies national, ethnic, and regional boundaries. She isable to defy all boundaries because every person in theworld has access to her. Unlike human icons who eludeownership, Barbie is meant to be owned by everyone.
芭比娃娃可以让我们了解什么样的美国文化?
芭比娃娃身上带有传统观点的烙印，同时也显示了在激烈的社会、文化和政治变革中一种随之变化的文化价值观。作为一个战后美国文化模糊期的产物，芭比娃娃不仅代表了保守主义和顺从，同时也代表了矛盾、冲突和争议。
娃娃制造商们逐渐意识到芭比娃娃身上所蕴含的巨大文化力量。然而，芭比不仅仅是大众市场时代的一个“名人”，她作为一个文化偶像的地位至今仍然没有动摇。芭比的身份是模糊的，或者更确切地说是开放式的，她是一个“虚构的偶像”。芭比也是一个“非凡的偶像”，她和超人一样，有着解放人们想象力的能力。她从最本质上是神奇的、浪漫的和富有魅力的。
作为一个偶像，芭比娃娃已经不仅仅是一位美国女性或女性消费者的化身——她超越了民族、种族和区域的界限。芭比可以超越所有的界限，因为世界上的每个人都可以拥有她。和拒绝被占有的人类偶像不同，芭比就是要让每个人都能拥有她。
The Origin of Barbie
Believe it or not, Barbie originally was a real person. Her name was Barbara (Burble) Handler and her mother and fatherwere Ruth and Elliot. In the early 1950's, Barbie's motherwatched her and her girlfriends play with adult female dollsmore than they did with the baby dollso She lolew it was just asimportant for young girls to imagine what it would be like tobe grown up. Barbie's mother decided to make a female adultdoll--one that was life-like enough to serve as an inspirationfor little girl's dreams of the future. She had gone on a trip toEurope and returned with a Lillie doll, modeled after a characterin a German comic strip. She then spent lots of time designinga doll (Barbie) to resemble Lillie and even hired a clothingdesigner to make realistic clothes. The result was the Barbied011. Mattel agreed to back her efforts and Barbie debuted atthe American Toy Fair in New York City in 1959. Girls wentwild over her and set a new salesrecord for Mat-tel the very first yearat 351,000 sold at $3.00 each.
Since then the Barbie doll'spopularity has rarely waivered andtoday, with over one billion of herlook-alikes sold, the product line isone of the most successful in thehistory of the toy industry.
芭比娃娃的诞生
信不信由你，芭比娃娃原型确有其人。她的名字叫芭芭拉(昵称芭比)-汉德勒，她的母亲名叫露丝，父亲名叫艾略特。在20世纪50年代初，芭比的妈妈观察到芭比和她的女玩伴们玩得更多的是女性形象的娃娃而不是像她们小时那样玩婴儿样子的娃娃，她意识到对小女孩来说让她们想象长大成人之后会是什么样的也是很重要的。芭比的妈妈决心自己做一个女性形象的娃娃——一个形象逼真、能激发小女孩对未来幻想的娃娃。之前她去了趟欧洲，带回来一个“莉莉”娃娃，这是根据德国某连环漫画中的人物为原型制作的一个娃娃。她花了大量时间来设计一个与“莉莉”相仿的娃娃(即芭比)，甚至还请了一位服装设计师来制作逼真的服饰，芭比娃娃就这样诞生了。美泰公司决定支持她所做的事，于是芭比娃娃于1959年在纽约市举办的美国玩具展上首次公开亮相了。女孩子们全都为之疯狂，这个单价3美元的娃娃第一年就为美泰公司创下了销售量为35.1万的新纪录。
此后，芭比娃娃一直魅力不减，如今已有超过1O亿个各种各样的芭比娃娃售出，这一产品系列也是玩具工业史上最为成功的系列之一。
Grow up with Barbie
In nearly 50 years, Barbie has had more than 70careers, a thousand outfits, a host of friends, 20-oddvehicles, a commemorative U.S. stamp, and oneboyfriend. Introduced in 1959, Barbie changed the waylittle girls looked at dolls forever.
As the first teenage doll, Barbie was truly a breath offresh air. Until she appeared on the scene, little girls hadonly paper dolls or baby dolls to play with. Named forRuth Handler's teenage daughter, Barbie was conceivedand born as a liberated adult, a sophisticated careergirl unencumbered by husband, children or parents--aradical idea in the 1950s!
Barbie and her sisters, cousins, friends and pets havesold more than a billion dollars since 1959. On average,172,800 Barbie dolls are sold worldwide daily.
Since her introduction in 1959, Barbie has livedan exciting life. She has survived nearly 50 years ofpolitical, social and cultural changes. She graduatedfrom college, purchased numerous pieces of real estate,ventured into several male-dominated careers, servedin the armed forces, traveled the world and surroundedherself with multi-ethnic friends. The fabulous world thatMattel created for Barbie is a pretty good place for littlegirls to spend their time. Barbie has served as a mirror of American fashionhistory. Many dolls have come after her, but none haveher claim to fame: Barbie, the Ultimate Fashion Doll!
与芭比共同成长
在近50年的时间里，芭比已经拥有了超过70种职业、上千套服装、一大群朋友、20多辆汽车、一枚美国纪念邮票以及一位男朋友。自从1959年与公众见面后，芭比永远地改变了小女孩们对玩具娃娃的看法。
作为首个少女形象的娃娃，芭比无疑是一阵清新的风。在她问世前，小女孩们只能玩纸娃娃或婴儿样子的娃娃。而以露丝十几岁的女儿命名的芭比则是作为一个获得解放的成年人孕育并诞生的，她是一个不受丈夫、儿女或父母束缚的成熟的职业女性——在20世纪50年代这是颇为激进的想法!
自1959年来，芭比和她的姐妹、表姐妹、朋友和宠物们已经售出了十几亿美元。在全世界，平均每天有17.28万个芭比娃娃被售出。
自1959年问世以来，芭比一直过着激动人心的生活。她经历了近50年的政治、社会和文化变革。她大学毕业，购买过无数房产，尝试了好几个为男性所统治的职业，在军中服过役，周游过世界，身边拥有肤色各异的朋友。美泰公司为芭比创造的奇幻世界是小女孩们度过美好时光的绝佳天地。
芭比是折射美国时尚业历史的一面镜子。虽有许多娃娃效仿她，但没有一个能取得像她那样的盛名：芭比，绝对的时尚娃娃!
《芭比与胡桃夹子的梦幻之旅》
America's favorite plastic sweetheart, Barbie, stars in her very first movie. Theplot is only loosely based on the classic Christmas tale The Nutcracker, so expect to besurprised even if you know the story well.
Barbie in the Nutcracker starts with Barbie and her little sister Kelly practisingsome of the ballet steps from The Nutcracker ballet. Kelly is feeling a bit depressedbecause she can't seem to master the steps, and Barbie decides to cheer her up by tellingher the story of Clara from the ballet.3 Clara is given a wooden nutcracker as a Christmaspresent, but it is soon broken by her high-spirited4 younger brother Tommy.
The plot structure is somewhat unusual in that it is really a story within a storywithin a story. The story of Barbie and Kelly jumps into the story of Clara but we thenenter the fantasy land of Clara's dream.
In Clara's dream, mice emerge from the wainscot at night whilst Clara is sleepingand start fighting over food.6 The broken wooden nutcracker becomes a princess andstarts fighting with the mice. Clara wakes up and comes to the Nutcracker's rescue, butthe Mouse King uses his magical powers to shrink Clara down to the same size as thenutcracker and the mice.
Apparently, only the princess can restore Clara back to her normal size, so Barbieand the Nutcracker enters through the mouse hole into a magical kingdom where theMouse King rules.
The ending features some nice animated9 ballet dancing that looks very realistic.
《芭比之天鹅湖》
Barbie shines in her another animated movie, an adaptation of the classicballet Swan Lake A young girl named Odette (played by Barbie) follows abeautiful unicorn into the enchanted forest and picks up a magic crystal thatproclaims her destiny as savior of the enchanted forest. Odette, hampered by anoverwhelming sense of insecurity, proclaims herself unfit for the job and sets outto leave the forest when the evil wizard Rothbart turns her into a swan. Bolsteredby the powers of the magic crystal, Odette vows to defeat Rothbart Meanwhile,love blossoms between Odette and the town's Prince Daniel. Eventually, Odettefinds a courage within herself that, combined with her intelligence and the true love between her and the Prince, proves powerful enough to defeat Rothbart.The computer-generated animation is vivid and lifelike, the London SymphonyOrchestra gives a wonderful performance of Tchaikovsky's original music.
《芭比之真假公主》
The story is about lbv6, responsibility, and freedom. Based on Mark Twain's ThePrince and the Paupbr, the 85minute computer-animated adventure is about twoalmost identical girls who though born into very different circumstances, areamazingly alike. Barbie features an exciting dual role as a princess and a poor villagegirl. A chance meeting betweeh the young women becomes significant when princessAnnaliese is later kidnapped and (pauper) Erika suddenly becomes a crucial componentin the search for the princess and her captor. Can Erika pretend to be the princessand foil her captor? And what of the handsome King Dominick, who falls in lovewith Erika, mistaking her for princess Anneliese? In this magical musical performance,two beautiful adventurous girls dare to follow their dreams and discover that destinyis written in a very special place your heart.
芭比趣事
1.Barbie doll has had more than 80 careers--everythingfrom a rock star to a paleontologist2 to a presidentialcandidate.
2.Barbie doll represented a candidate for Presidentin 1992 and ran3 again in 2000 with a platform ofopportunities for girls, educational excellence andanimal rights.
3.The Barbie doll is currently marketed in more than150 nations around the world.
4.Placed head to toe, Barbie dolls and family memberssold since 1959 would circle the earth more thanseven times.
5.Every second, two Barbie dolls are sold somewherein the world.
6.Barbie doll has represented 45 different nationalities.
7.Barbie doll has had over 43 pets including 21 dogs,12 horses, 3 ponies, 6 cats, a parrot, a chimpanzee,a panda, a lion cub, a giraffe and a zebra.
8.The best selling Barbie doll ever was Totally HairBarbie, with hair from the top of her head to hertoes.
9.The first celebrity to join the Barbiedoll family was fashion model Twiggyin 1967 and the M. C. Hammer doll,complete with a cassette of his songs,was added in 1991.
10.Consumers can now use theircomputers and the Internet tocustomize their friend of the Barbiedoll through My Design, launched in1998.
11.Barbie doll has had more thana billion pair of shoes and overone hundred new additions to herwardrobe annually.
12.The Barbie clothing line for realgirls includes knit tops, backpacks,sleepwear and accessories.
13.Barbie doll was introduced in 1959and first appeared in the now-famousblack and white striped swimsuit andsignature ponytail.
14.The first Barbie doll was sold for$3.00.
15.Barbie doll is currently a $1.5 billiondollar-per-year industry.
世界上最贵的芭比娃娃
Diamond Barbie co-designed by De Beers comes with agown sporting 160 diamonds as well as white gold miniaturejewelry to give the world's most expensive Barbie doll theworld's most expensive look.
The one-off 40th anniversary Barbie created in 1999comes with a full figured price tag of 50,000.00 or about$85,000.00.
由戴比尔斯钻石公司协助设计的“钻石芭比”身着镶嵌有160颗钻石的礼服，佩戴迷你白金首饰，这套行头使这个世界上最贵的芭比娃娃看上去华贵至极。
这个为纪念其诞生40周年的一次性定制的芭比娃娃于1999年推出，售价高达5万英镑(约合8万5千美元)的价格把整个价签都填满了。