Kitsch role models
There was an uproar on the private TV stations over advertisements for «Satanic necrophilic» dolls in coffins, although no one was shocked by the ad for a Rapunzel doll locked in her tower waiting for her prince, nor the dolls with glitter in their hair, a thick layer of eye shadow, and who swing their hips flirtatiously. No one was bothered by the karate master doll that knocked everyone out or the loud ghetto blaster, simply because these toys are considered natural. Fathers in the average Greek middle-class family are proud of their cars and their stereo systems, mothers feel they have fulfilled their duty to bourgeois society by dressing like a Barbie doll. These are today’s role models. Is this really the world in a microcosm? Men in the trenches, commandoes who set themselves on fire, women locked in a tower or else cheeky Lolitas, cheap versions of pop stars in bikinis? Particularly at this time of year, toys become symbols, an indication of hidden desires. That is why adults play Monopoly, dreaming of buying and selling although their pockets are empty. How can our desires be unlimited when our unconscious is directed toward the consumption of objects? Let’s not forget it’s Christmas, and glitter is the basic component of the festive atmosphere. These dolls straight out of trash TV programs are our mass Christmas wish. Psychologists say children have a kitsch aesthetic sense, but it seems that all ages are oriented toward kitsch.
