In 2011, Greenpeace Barbie went on a costumed-tiger murder rampage across the globe. Clad in a flowing pink gown, with blue eyeshadow that will make you glad the aughts are long gone, she camped outside toy stores, brutally massacring her feline nemeses in front of unsuspecting children.
Truthfully, it was a Greenpeace stunt, designed to “raise awareness”—which everyone was always doing back in 2011—about Barbie manufacturer Mattel’s “rainforest wrecking.” As the organization claimed, the toy brand used products from Asia Pulp and Paper, which was responsible for deforestation and the endangerment of Sumatran tigers. Marketing materials for the publicity stunt, which even included a “video interview” with Barbie’s boyfriend Ken, reads:
Breaking up in public isn’t easy. But Ken and Barbie, who split last week over Barbie’s rainforest wrecking, have done so in a very, very public way. [...] It it looks like the toy cupboard’s most famous on-off relationship will remain off for a little while longer – Barbie and Ken are still spending time apart, as Mattel hasn’t yet made a clear commitment to removing forest destruction completely from its supply chains.
It all sounds... extremely 2011. Anyway, I stumbled across the accompanying photos while looking for pictures that might complement my recent blog about Cate Blanchett’s chainsaw accident. I wish there were a better explanation for how I found them, but sometimes, it’s not about the journey. It’s about the pictures of Barbie wielding a bloodied chainsaw outside a Parisian toy store waiting for you at the finish line.
