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Katie Kapurch, Associate Professor of English, Texas State University

Why 'Barbie' and 'The Little Mermaid' made 2023 the dead girl summer

Barbie Ariel Laura Palmer Dale Cooper
In one sense, Barbie is already dead, cheerfully doomed to repeat the same pink day, devoid of food, conflict and sex. Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Ariel and Barbie have quite a bit in common: They’re both frozen in time, and they both yearn to live as humans do.

The fantastic seascapes and perfect dollhouses of “The Little Mermaid” and “Barbie” might appear whimsical. But I see these settings – and the characters who inhabit them – as figurations of death.

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