So I think anyone who follows Cave Club realizes that certain aspects of the signature dolls have been changed. Any decorative bone and tooth elements have been taken away. Most of the changes are fairly minor, as with Bashley and Slate. Tella has no changes. Emberly's were a little bigger, but I don't think they took anything away from her. Roaralai though, they pretty much ruined. I hate that her awesome fangy makeup is now...cat whiskers. Talk about dumbing something down. It makes her look so childish. And they took away the bone cage hair decoration. I'm not sure what Mattel is thinking. Cultures all around the world use bones and teeth as ornamentation and have for millennia. It's universal, so it can't be cultural appropriation. So Cave Club is more dull and "safe" now because they've had their fangs pulled.
Fernessa though, I think she got the better end of this one.
She was the only redesign I was interested in, because I absolutely love the leaf/vine and flower choker they gave her.
The old version is on the left. The new on the right.
Her leg pieces got a complete redesign. I'm not sure why exactly, as there was nothing potentially offensive about them. I think the new ones look a little cooler.
Her eye makeup is the same, but the original had much darker, berry-colored lips. The new one has ones that match her hair.
The headpiece remains the same.
The choker is just so elegant. It elevates her.
The dress has also changed. It's got a ruffle around the shoulders now, which I love, but they took away the jagged hem, which I hate. The new dress is a little too clean to look like a prehistoric design. They should have left the hem alone.
This is post-salon time. The new Fernessa does have slightly better hair. It doesn't feel as dry and cheap as my original's does. I'm not sure if she got a hair upgrade or if this is just a random difference between each doll and I got lucky with decent hair this time.
Here is her hair from the back. You can see it looks nicer, smoother, less dry.
Overall, I like most of the changes for her. The only one I don't like is the hem, but it's not the worst thing ever.
PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.
I was wondering why they changed these dolls. I didn't notice the changes on the rest right away, but Fernessa was really stark.
ReplyDeleteBones and stuff are prehistoric chic, not cultural. I mean, look at the Flinstones.
This kind of kills the point of the whole line, honestly. I didn't really love the aesthetic before, but I respected the effort. Now it's just a half-hearted gimmick.
Bones/teeth as ornamentation is definitely something that's cultural. Writing it off as simply a fashion statement used in a cartoon and a doll line is too dismissive of actual historic, protohistoric and prehistoric cultures for me not to reply to. (I'm a historian, an art historian, a Classicist, an Egyptologist, a museum person, and I've dabbled in paleontology, so let's just say I love old things.) But it's not something that can be pinpointed to one specific culture. They were used all over the world, which is why it's silly anyone would try to claim ownership of the practice and be all offended at appropriation or whatever. There's no offense here.
DeleteThe reason I'm annoyed they changed the designs is because those nods to the usage of bones and teeth were the only things realistic about this line. They helped balance out the more fantastical elements, a lot of which are what I don't like about the line.
I still prefer this new Fernessa. I don't think the leaf shoulder pads were doing her any favors. I mostly miss the jagged hem.
I think instead of completely removing something like this, include facts about cultures that used bone/teeth in their art and clothing so kids can learn about prehistorical cultures. Like this necklace is based on this or inspired by this. We can turn it into a celebration of cultures and a learning experience rather then removing it to be PC.
ReplyDeleteThat would be ideal! I really wish more doll lines would have educational aspects, not only an emphasis on fashion.
DeleteI had no idea this was why they changed these and that Roaralai and Fernessa weren't the only ones updated. I ordered Roaralai online and got the kitty ears version. I had forgotten what the original one looked like and when I discovered the photos of her with the ribs hair accessory and teeth marks on her face, I tracked down one of the original ones at Walmart. I like her so much better! The new one with kitty ears and whiskers makes her look like a kid dressing up as a cat for Halloween, not a cave girl.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious how common complaints were on the bones and teeth. All the complaints I saw online were about quality and size not cultural appropriation. People are pretty vocal about those things so I feel like if the feeling was widespread, I would have heard of it. I don't find them offensive and feel like the designs are bland without the bones and teeth.
It's pure speculation on my part, but I can't think of any other reason that makes any sense. Not that that reason makes sense either. Sigh. And it had to be a fairly recent decision, because even Bashley got changed. Mine has a bone in her hair ornament and the new one has crystals, but she only just came out in November.
DeleteSounds like it. My Bashley has the bone too fortunately and my Slate still has the white teeth on his necklace. Unless Lumina had a version with bones/teeth I havent seen, I have all the original designs.
DeleteLumina only has the one version that I know of.
DeleteMaybe they decided bone accessories aren't appropriate for the age category these are aimed at? It's just silly either way. And Emberly lost her bone choker, which is replaced by a purple flame necklace according to Google image search. I like the updates to Fernessa though, they're lovely! I need to track an updated one down now...
ReplyDeleteOh, and Emberly had a bone in her bandana that is gone too. And I managed to get a Roaralai that has the new whicker face-paint and the original bone hairpiece. I wonder if she's unique or if that was an actual decision by Mattel...?
DeleteHi, where did you ordered it? I bought one on Amazon, that they posted the new pictures, but was the first Fernessa, not the new one.
ReplyDeleteI bought her in Target so I saw her in person. I'm not sure anywhere online is safe to order because they may be working through old stock first.
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