The Subtle Erosion of the Spirit of Play
There’s an article about toys and the toy industry in the December, 1981 issue of Texas Monthly that really gives us a look at what was happening way back in the early eighties. “Let’s Get Serious About Toys,” written by Stephan Harrigan, is one of those expected “Hey, Christmas is coming!” articles about toys and reading through it makes me wonder if all adults at the time were as cynical as Harrigan makes them sound.
Of Kenner’s Strawberry Shortcake line he writes:
“The day–not long in coming– when I give in to my daughter’s wheedling and buy her a Strawberry Shortcake doll, a treacly fantasy character with a nauseating fruity odor, I will have committed myself to a long-range purchasing plan that includes Blueberry Muffin, Lemon Meringue, Raspberry Tart, the Purple Pieman (“Strawberry Shortcake’s friendly foe . . . scented like apple cinnamon pie”), and assorted snail carts and berry habitats.”
And that may be one of the nicer things said about toys in the entire article, which goes on to discuss Kenner’s Star Wars toys and even gives us a great look at the Fisher-Price Adventure People Alpha Probe. Some of the language is very tongue-in-cheek and I’m left wondering just how serious some of the more abusive language was really meant to be. Was Harrigan truly against many of these toys, or was he writing to a specific audience?
Of Star Wars toys he wrote:
“Crass commercialism at its best.”
See the rest of the article on Google’s magazine search.
Reminds me of a book I checked out, “Buy Me! Buy Me!” The Bank Street Guide to Choosing Toys for Children” by Joanne Oppenheim. She didn’t take a very positive view on collecting and collections – specifically boys action figure lines.
“Whereas old collections were by-products – the lid of an ice cream cup, a stamp from a latter, a souveneir menu – the new collectibles are designed to be buy-products . Even at a discount, the cost of a full stable of My Little Ponies ain’t hay. And you need a lot of spending power to assemble the full cast of Masters of the Universe”
@prfkttear – Thanks for the book tip! I’ll be grabbing this one.
It’s an older book, but maybe you can glean a few interesting passages about it. The author seemed to extol the virtues of plain ‘ol toys like blocks and balls, but franchised toys that promoted violence and materialism she seemed to have an overall negative approach to.
@prfkttear – I managed to find one at a very low price. Just waiting for it to arrive.