Professor Popinjay's Compendium of Perspicacity

A Non-review by Professor Popinjay

(2004)

A girlfriend I had a long time ago wanted to see this so naturally I watched it also. I watched it again with my first wife so now I get all kinds of attention for being this sensitive male who knows all about darling little films based on really expensive dolls. Kill me.

It’s not so much that I’ve seen it more than once that gets me the attention. It’s the fact that I often speak highly of the film and in so doing tend to mention that it gives me the feels every time.

The story is decently written and orchestrated perfectly to turn me, a rough tough burly man beast, into a blubbering crybaby.

It feels kind of like a Hallmark movie but certainly not one of those absurd formulaic Christmas romances. This film, set in 1904, deals with Samantha’s coping with the loss of parents and the gaining of a new aunt who seemingly threatens her happy relationship with her guardian uncle. She also has some less fortunate friends who end up in an orphanage and factory which inspires Samantha to advocate on their behalf due to the adverse conditions they’re forced to endure.

I think the word that would best describe this is “Ideal”. Not in the sense that it’s the perfect story but that it’s an idealized representation of life in those times. Yes, orphanages and factories are depicted as awful places, but with so much tragedy from start to finish, an absurd number of implausible things must happen for this to have a happy ending at all. Probably the most implausible occurrence is Samantha, a female child in 1904, ever being listened to or taken seriously by any adult.

But it’s a sweet story nevertheless and written and acted in a believable way regardless of its romanticized vision. I’d gladly watch it again with someone who was interested to see it.

Box art!

Optional tangent 1:

So, I’m not a doll collector. I care nothing for these exquisite, high quality, extremely expensive dolls with charming backstories. I just liked the Samantha movie is all.

My oldest daughter expressed an interest in having one of these dolls at a surprisingly late age. I know we certainly didn’t buy one considering the price. My parents may have bought her a close knock-off. I don’t remember. I do remember thinking how interesting it was that she would want one at the age she was. And she’s not an especially prissy young lady.

I think she was just realizing she was growing up; actually FORCED to grow up a bit prematurely due to some difficult life trials. I recall her being conflicted about what she wanted for Christmas. Did she want toys or did she want grown up things? Ultimately I really don’t think she was so much interested in the doll as she was mourning the obvious passing of her childhood and struggling to hold onto it just a little longer.

I think it’s something we’ve all experienced at some time in our lives. I can remember being conflicted as to when I should refrain from trick-or-treating. In my own adulthood I do cherish a variety of material possessions much of which constitutes as toys. I don’t care who knows it. It’s my version of golf, or football, or shooting clay pigeons.

I think adulthood, or maturity more accurately, is defined by having one’s priorities in order and taking care of one’s responsibilities. Beyond that, it doesn’t matter what you’re into if it makes you happy and doesn’t inflict on the well-being of others. I think my oldest daughter understands this concept very well now, but I’m glad her hobbies never truly revolved around these dolls because they take up a lot of space and are ridiculously expensive. I love that she’s a minimalist.

Optional Tangent 2:

The Pleasant Company, founded by Pleasant Rowland, who produced these dolls has been repeatedly under fire from various minority groups and even some majority groups because of one supposed discrepancy or another. I’d like to stress the point that these concerned parties may or may not have necessarily consisted of appropriate or appointed spokespeople for the groups they claimed to represent in all cases. At the same time, I do not wish to discredit anyone’s validity as representative of their associated group, nor do I wish to refute the validity of their complaints. However, assessing the company’s response to these complaints and the fruit produced by this company even after it was bought out by Mattel, my take away is this:

The Pleasant Company’s goals have clearly been to accurately educate, include, and uplift especially in regard to empowering girls. While well-meaning intentions may not have been always appropriately achieved and in some cases may have generated some unforeseen consequences which offended one group or another, the company has always responded with respect and accountability with a promise to learn from mistakes as they move forward. Being universally inclusive and non-biasedly educational is a difficult slope to trek and the Pleasant Company’s ambition to continue to please all of the people all of the time is commendable.

A grand illustration of their devotion to this ambition is exemplified, I observe, in their efforts to create a doll representing the Nez Perce. They interacted with actual Nez Perce tribespeople to achieve all manner of accuracy and positive representation, even going as far as remodeling their standard doll’s head to fully close the mouth as it is considered impolite among the Nez Perce to bare one’s teeth. That kind of attention to detail for a doll clearly indicates their purpose to do right by people.

The company has also been criticized for the high price of these dolls which can make purchase prohibitive for some members of the minorities the dolls represent. While these may be considered a luxury item which is their prerogative to create, the producers of these dolls have been historically generous, not merely supplying dolls to less fortunate families during Christmas time and in accordance with the Make A Wish foundation, their contributions to organizations that help with homeless families have been sizable.

I can’t claim to know all facets of the company’s doings and I don’t know the full chronology of all events surrounding the original company nor conduct of Mattel after the buy-out. If I am overlooking some glaring misstep I’ll be the first to admit my ignorance and backpedal like a dyslexic on a moped. This is just my takeaway from where I sit.