Sheila! You crack me up! [img]biggrin.gif[/img] [img]biggrin.gif[/img]
I do like Jess, by the way. She just doesn't really appeal to me enough to keep her. [img]redface.gif[/img] Okay...I lied. I really don't care for her all that much.
I'm sorry...Please don't arrest me again. I promise to be good. [img]wink.gif[/img] If I can. [img]wink.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">[img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img] Maybe you shouldn't read it then.Originally posted by prasnlrd:
<font size="6">GASP!</font> [img]graemlins/cry_smile.gif[/img] ... [img]mad.gif[/img] .... [img]graemlins/handcuffs.gif[/img] to this whole thread!
[img]graemlins/cry_smile.gif[/img]
I find it a pretty interesting thread myself.
<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ March 27, 2006 12:46 AM: Message edited by: Melissa*Olivia ]</font>
I don't really dislike her but i'm not in love with Molly. After reading some of her books she just seemed so silly to me. I don't get that interest in movie stars at all and they would be the last thing on my mind if my dad was away at war. But i did get the doll as soon as she was released. I'm not really nuts about Jess or some of the new GOTs either. I don't like the thin hair on the girls with side parts and my Jess has a bumpy, thin wig.
I also think this thread is interesting, and appreciate how none of us are getting insulted or upset. My two favorite dolls (Molly and Kirsten) are most people's least favorites! [img]wink.gif[/img]
I'm surprised, though, that members find Molly's stories unrealistic. I started reading her books when I was about 11 or 12, and connected to her character immediately since many of the things that happened in her books also were similar to my life. There are other girls in the AG series who I feel have more unrealistic stories and occurances in their books (such as running away with a hobo or finding a secret island or getting free money from a backwoodsman). But then, that's what makes AGs so special--they mix reality with pretend. [img]smile.gif[/img]
wiccacat
Senior Hostboard Member
Member Rated:
posted March 27, 2006 01:20 PM
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"I don't really dislike her but i'm not in love with Molly. After reading some of her books she just seemed so silly to me. I don't get that interest in movie stars at all and they would be the last thing on my mind if my dad was away at war"
Kit had the same sort of fascination with Amelia Earhart, but her family was struggling through the Depression. She found a way to escape the constant dreariness and worry by following the career of Amelia Earhart. Ruthie even had a favorite actress and was always talking about movies.
I see no difference in Molly's interest in movie stars. Just because her father was away at war, doesn't mean that she needed to sit around and do nothing but worry about her dad's safety. For those in that situation, we can't make ourselves crazy by doing nothing all day but wondering what our loved one is doing. We have to find things to occupy or minds. Books, movies, arts and crafts, sports. I don't think any military member expects their family to stop living day to day life just because the servicemember is in a combat zone. I am very glad that AG did not portray Molly's books and her life as one of nothing but day in and day out worry and stress.
Also during the 1940's, movies were a big deal. It was an industry essential to morale as well as being used for war information. People saw news regarding the war in clips before the movies would roll. Some of the most famous movies and actors and actresses were on screen in the 1940's. Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Stewart. Walt Disney's company began to skyrocket during this era as well. Movies were a mainstay and I think any 9 yr old girl at that time would have been extremely sheltered to not get caught up in the buzz.
My feelings about Molly are, of course, my own personal feelings and i don't expect anyone else to feel the same way. If my dad was away at war i know that i would do nothing but worry about him. I'm not saying this is healthy, or a good thing, but it is the way i would feel. When i was about 10 i would panic if my dad was even a few minutes late coming home from work or if i came home from school and couldn't find my mom. She worked nights and i would wake up each night around midnight to make sure she came home. I'm just as neurotic and fearful as a adult. And i don't care much for movie stars either.
That's just the way i feel. I'm not putting down anyone who loves Molly, loves movie stars or can manage a more healthy attitude toward parent's in the military. I just can't relate to Molly's character and i'm just trying to answer the question honestly.
Molly would have been the same age as my mom. She was born during the depression to parents who had already seen the damage done in Europe during the first world war. Things were so bad that they actually considered selling their new baby. My grandparents were terrified, not knowing how they would support a third child. My grandfather gardened and hunted just to keep food on the table. He was a hard worker and a very strong man, but he cried in fear of dropping bombs. This was very traumatic for a little girl to see. My mom had no toys and was overyjoyed to receive a few bottles of Coke for Christmas. Still, a few pennies were found every week for her to go to the movies.
It was an all day event with newsreels, cartoons, and two movies. She met all of her friends there evey Saturday and they dreamed. They didn't have AG dolls to play with, so they cut "dolls" out of catalogs and of course they pretended to be their favorite star. Movies were very important back then, especially to the children.
I know that my own dolls have given me a chance to get away from the pain and disabilities Lupus gives me. They also help me remember my mom who I lost last year. Does liking the dolls mean that I don't worry about my health or grieve the loss of a loved one? I don't think so and I don't think we need to think less of Molly becasue the movies gave her pleasure and a way to imagine a better world.
That's okay--I knew Molly was one of the least favorite AGs by many. [img]smile.gif[/img] I think it's great that we all have different interests and favorites--it shows why there need to be so many dolls and characters! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
Children don't have the ability for abstract thinking until age 12, though. They can't fully understand the danger that parents are in under certain circumstances. My mom had cancer a few times before I reached the age of 12, and I never understood what that meant, even when she told me the first time that she was dying. I didn't know what that meant. While I worried about my mom, life after a while pretty much went on as normal because there were other things going on in my life, like friendships, cartoons, and school. Ironically, the thing that bothered me most was that she forgot to pack me any underwear when she sent me to live with family friends. I decided that meant she didn't love me anymore. The thought of her dying didn't bother me because my mind was not developed enough to take in abstract thought--all I wanted was some underwear! [img]wink.gif[/img]
Kids don't have the ability to think about parents not returning home or coming back. This is one reason Molly's playing bomb shelter rings so true to me. I always expected my mom to make it and come back from the hospital, and the reality of the situation didn't sink in until I was much older.
Jill is a good example of a person who has developed abstract thinking ability and keeps advising her little siblings to grow up and be realistic.
<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ March 27, 2006 02:47 PM: Message edited by: Melissa ]</font>
My mom just turned 80. She remembers going to the movies hungry because they had only enough food for 1 meal that day. But her mom always scraped up the five cents for the movie because it was an escape from the harsh realities of life during the depression. But my mom hated those trips to the movies. For her they were not an escape at all and i can understand that. She always said the films seemed silly and i guess i've got the same attitude.
I've never been able to find any escape in a movie either. I'd much rather get lost in a book. Maybe that why Molly isn't my favorite doll. She's so different from my mom.
I'm a girly girl, so I really love the brunette waves in Samantha's hair, the way she wears a bow in her hair, and all her "foofiness". I LOVE Jess, because, well, she's gorgeous, and Addy because she is my friend Carstan in doll form. I had to buy at least 1 blue-eyed doll, so AG-23 is it, and I think I'll get Kit too. That being said, I'm really only fond of AG-21 and maybe Felicity (collection and personality set aside). I do not hate, but am indifferent to the rest of the AG's (wouldn't return them if I received them) with the exception of Kaya. I would return Kaya if I got her because who in their right mind would want a doll that looks so serious? That can't be fun to play with. Anyway, that's my opinion, and not to offend those who love Kaya. I just could not ever connect to her.
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