Anyone else feel this way about new historical dolls?

[JuliaAM]

I too really like the "friends" dolls. I think it's a great idea. We've discussed on the board how we don't like to mix our historical collections. But to me that seems the dolls can't mix either. So they're lonely. By getting two dolls from the same era, the dolls can share clothes, history and a story.

We have just one daughter. After I bought her Samantha, I saw how dd didn't have anyone to play with so the doll just sat. A couple months later I bought her Kirsten and then dd played with the dolls a lot because the dolls could do things and talk together.

It would have been fabulous if Nellie was made back then. Then Samantha's stories would really come alive because the two dolls would share the same story. And they could share clothes also which would have been good for super tight budgets like mine.

Julia

[dianasmama]

Molly is from 1944 and was one of the first introduced in 1986, 42 years later. So to those grandmas and mothers then, 1944 might have been prevalent in their minds too.

If they wanted to do 1964, according to the above time span, they could do it now. 1974 could be released in another 11 years. I think it doesn't have anything to do with if it's current in the mom's or grandma's eyes, but because of the turbulent nature of those eras. Probably more so than some of the other time periods. Remembering WWII was considered an honorable war, and obviously much less so with the Vietnam War, which would have to be covered in either a 60's or 70's doll. I'd still like to see it though.

But, I'd really like the next historical doll to be Asian in some way, probably the most interesting would be the Chinese immigrants and the railroad stories.

I think because of the movie industry and that we know Felicity's is next, then Kit's, that's who we'll see for at least these next two years. Then I hope they take a break from the friend's dolls stories and make a new historical. I'm not even sure I want them to make friends for all the dolls, except maybe for Molly, but she has her 2 best friends plus Emily.

Laurie

[Grapedy1982]

I like the friends dolls, but I do miss the excitement surrounding a new full-fledged historical.

WHat about the Louisiana Purchase? I could see a story on the mixing of cultures in the Delta, mixing French, Spanish, Native cultures and suddenly becoming Americans.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Pardon me for getting excited as a girl from Louisiana, but YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is one of the most overlooked and most important periods of American history. There was SO MUCH going on down here in those years. And all of it has affected how our country was formed, and the French and Spanish colonial way of government is STILL how Louisiana is run. Louisiana has a Napoleonic French system of government. In some ways we're more French than France and more Spanish than Spain.

Louisiana has a fascinating colonial history. You had the French coming in and carving out the territory, then the Spanish came in and put their mark on everything, then you have the Caribbean influences from the first generation of slaves, then the Native American, THEN all 4 of those intermarrying with each other to create the unique and distinctive Creole culture. (Which is VERY different from Cajun) Then the Americans come in and mix things up even more. Just absolutely fascinating how the cultures intermingled and melted together to form Louisana's very unique historical and cultural identity.

Then you had the religious conflicts between the predominantly Catholic French and Spanish, and the Episcopalian Americans moving in in vast numbers. That's why Louisiana has parishes instead of counties. We're divided up along Catholic church parish lines. That's why parishes here are such funny shapes instead of being square like counties in Texas or Arkansas. We're divided along waterways, which was the easiest way to travel prior to 1845.

I say to American Girl: Give me a Creole girl!!! Make her French and Spanish and give them American neighbors to interact with where she must learn English and a whole new way of everything. Show some of the turmoil of the Creoles as they realize that they everything they know and everything they have built is changing. It's FASCINATING!!!!

I also want another immigrant, a Russian immigrant from the 1880's to be specific, and make her Jewish. Her family fled Russia to escape Alexandrer III's pogroms. (mass extermination of Jews)

[Felicity Merriman]

A TON of Asians immigrated to San Fransisco in the 1890's. I learned this from playing the Nancy Drew PC game called something like "Secret of the Haunted Mansion". The 1890's would be the *perfect* setting for an Asian American Girl's story.

[Aunt Cornelia]

I think these are all great ideas.

I like Ann's idea the best about alternating releasing friends and new historical dolls every year.

I don't really like the limited edition doll idea very much. It seems to just be spawning this huge secondary market and "forcing" us to consider purchasing each LE quickly. I don't like to be rushed. LOL! [img]wink.gif[/img]

I would love a 50's girl and a 1910's or 1920's girl. I would really have no interest in a 60's or 70's doll. I lived through those periods and really have no desire to relive (or see those clothes! [img]redface.gif[/img] ) again.

[rebecca191]

Anyone remember the Girlhood Journeys books/dolls? The Irish immigrant one, Shannon, lived in San Francisco in the 1880s I think. Her best friend was a Chinese immigrant girl.

[Peachysweetdream]

I actually really like the friends dolls too... but I DEFINITELY miss the excitement of a brand new historical doll with a brand new era in history to get into!! I remember when the slowly started releasing clues on the AG site about Kaya- it was so interesting and much fun.

I also like that idea of alternating the release of a new historical and a friend doll- that would certainly keep us on our toes. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[amandajg]

Laurie - I agree with you (maybe I didn't explain myself clearly enough). I agree that it does have more to do with the turbulent nature of the eras of the 1950's, 1970's. 1940's may have been a familiar time to some mothers and especially grandmothers when the AGs were introduced, but I think the general consensus in the U.S. at that time (and now) was that WWII was fought for a good reason, the U.S. was triumphant, and it was a time when our country came together and worked hard to get through that rough time, as is depicted in Molly's books. There was a general consensus in America at that time that made it easier to write AG stories about that era. The 1950's-1970's were full of extremely divisive issues: Vietnam, Civil Rights, socialism, Cold War, etc. It would be very difficult to write non-controversial stories about this era of societal fragmentation, and it would be difficult to create one girl to adequately represent that era. With that said, I think if AG could figure out how to do it "right," then those would be great time periods to have dolls.

Also, Grapedy, you have some good ideas. America is notoriously a melting pot, and to explore the backgrounds of different groups of people who were either forced from their homeland to come to the U.S. (as in your idea for a Russian Jew) or perhaps those who were simply incorporated into "America" (such as the idea of a Creole girl) are all great ideas. It's only been in recent years that AG has explored more cultural backgrounds and reasons for girls being "American" with Addy and Josefina - with the exception of Kirsten - (I'm not really counting Kaya because she was not yet incorporated into "American" "society"). AG sort of experimented with the idea of branching out to other parts of the world with the idea of the GOML dolls, but they don't need to go to other parts of the world to explore fascinating stories of different cultural, ethnic, etc. backgrounds - the U.S. is built upon so many different groups that there are virtually endless possibilities for the creation of characters who represent a variety of backgrounds and American experiences.

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ March 05, 2005 06:43 PM: Message edited by: * amanda ]</font>

[amandajg]

oh... and I don't mean to say I hate the friends dolls. Nellie is adorable. But it would be great if they made more historicals instead. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[southern_belle]

I personally don't have Nellie (or her collection...just Lydia and Jip because when I was 8 that's all I wanted AG to come up w/) but I think she is a great idea. We have my little journal from 3rd and 4th grade and on several days it mentions "I wish that PC would make a Nellie doll so Samantha could have a friend". So from a little girls' mind (which is really what the dolls were created to enhance) Nellie is very special.