Rainbow High Made a Dia de los Muertos Doll, Kind Of
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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2022
- My thoughts about Maria Garcia, the latest Rainbow High collector doll who is meant to be themed around the day of the dead and is instead a bit of a mess design wise.
*For adult doll collectors
Instagram posts mentioned:
/ chn4magdn4o (post on impact)
/ chpg-wqosur (Maria Garcia redesign) - Розваги
I get the body image issues possible with a skeleton doll but the thing is that in traditional decorations for Dia De Los Muertos it's very common to see skeleton statues and figures depicted in all different kinds of ways. So in that respect that doll pretty culturally accurate. So I feel like it's a little culturally insensitive for non-Mexicans to say that a skelaton doll is problematic. I say this as a white American but with the input from my wife who is Mexican American. I also have to say I agree with pretty much everything you said in this video.
Yeah I didn't personally see the issue with Skelita, but I figured I should mention that it was a thing. To me it tied in with MONSTER High as well as the cultural inspiration. I just knew if I didn't mention it someone would be in the comments like "Skelita was bad..." 😅
@@FaeryTaleDolls I was never really in the Monster High community so I didn't know that that was how some people precieved her. I think you did a good job addressing it.
I think the annoying thing about both Maria and Lily Cheng is that they're clearly just one-off characters and will never be introduced in the webisodes. I think the reasons why Monster High's Skelita Calavares succeeds where Maria fails is A, Skelita was the price of any other Monster High doll, B, was created by a Mexican designer (Natalie Villegas) and C, Is deeply rooted in Monster High canon, and even appears in the movies and Webisodes. Also, I completely forgot about the controversy surrounding the fact that Skelita was a skeleton, mostly because those complaints were coming from Karens and people who didn't even like dolls to begin with.
I've always said I thought Lily Cheng was overhyped, but seeing this doll come out as her successor, I'm inclined to take that back.
I think the thing that really strikes me about this is it shows that the general "vibe" of RH trumps cultural elements design wise. Like there are multiple elements in this doll that clearly seem more focused on looking high fashion and on-trend than really representing Dia de Muertos.
That's a great way to put it! It's very clearly a RH doll dressed in clothing for the holiday, not a doll meant to embody it
As a Mexican this doll doesn’t spark joy or give me a sense of pride.
I don’t hate her like others do but I have to wonder no one at MGA spoke up about this doll. Surely it had to pass several groups of people to get the OK.
This doll kind of comes off as a cosplayer like someone taking both mariachi classes and flamenco classes on the same day…
It’s not even folklorico.
That’s a Jalisco dance which DOES incorporate the sombrero, but this red dress is not it.
I guess the name Maria Garcia is “safe” because it is so common?
At least I hope that’s their rationale behind the name.
Yeah I agree, I'm very much in shock that this got through to the end? I'm curious as to whether no one said anything, or whether they did and the big bosses shut it down.
but Flamenco isn't even a Latin thing it's a Spanish thing so that doesn't even relate to it
La Caterina!!
The fact that this is the THIRD rainbow high doll that is culturally inaccurate in some sort of way, makes me wonder how many poc/non-Americans are at mga...........
Right? I know they have poc designers who work on the LOL related lines, I would hope the same is true for the RH team but I do get a feeling that either the team is less diverse on the whole or whoever is the lead for developement has a very narrow lense.
You have valid points that I agree with it all. I think the face paint on Maria makes her look more like a luchador (a Mexican wrestler). I think the Barbie line does a better job of capturing the holiday. There also was a doll series called Living Dead Dolls that had dolls of a particular theme. They released a series of Dios De Los Muertos dolls and they look way better than MGA’s doll.
You're the second person to point out that she kind of looks like a luchador and now I can't see anything else 😭 And I didn't know Living Dead did Dia de los Muertos dolls that's so cool!
I just want to say I love the name Maria Garcia because I wanted this doll to be a relatable Mexican girl celebrating her holiday in a traditional way. As for other aspects of the design, I see the problems and it is disappointing.
...$130?? No thanks 😷😷 Also, I don't understand people being upset that Skelita is a literal skeleton. I got her when I was a kid and I never thought "omg skinny queen" I just thought she was cool because she's a skeleton lmao. There's actually been research done about the impact of fashion dolls on children's body image, and surprise surprise it turns out that supermodels and photoshopped influencers are more detrimental and fashion dolls have basically zero negative impact, especially now that there's more diversity in the fashion doll world. People always try to shove controversy onto fashion dolls when they're rarely ever a problem. Sorry for the rant that has basically nothing to do with the video lol, I'm constantly so heated about this topic that I wrote a whole speech about it for one of my college courses.
Yeah to me a literal skeleton is very different from a skinny person but what do I know 😂 Not AT ALL surprised to hear magazines and now social media influence kids way more with body image...I'm a full adult and Instagram messes with me, so I can only imagine how harmful it would be for kids to see only photoshopped "perfection"
I am not Mexican but I am from a place that suffered from colonization (Brazil) and I think it's yikes to say you are representing a culture and mix it with the colonizers culture, like this is the first thing I thought when looking at the doll.
Silencio🤫🤫🤫
I honestly hadn't even thought of that aspect but you make a good point
@@FaeryTaleDolls Well I don't know how the people from Mexico feel about this, but I noticed that a lot of people seem to not understand that not all Hispanic people have the same culture.
@@GabrielFerreira-fc2jd por que, colega?
Brazil was colonized by Portugal, not Spain. We are not the same
Hi! Fellow mexican here, I'm writting to give my opinions about this doll 'cause there's things that I like and things that I don't, I'm here to comment, not to represent every Mexican doll enthusiast, so feel free to give me your opinions!
When I heard we were gonna get a collector doll based on Día de los Muertos after we got Lily Cheng (Which I have and adore) I was really exited 'cause Lily despite the controversy, she had a cool design and really good quality, so I thought that Maria would have a similar trate but OH BOY
1.- The Name despite being "generic" (María is the most common female name in México and García is one of the most common lasts names too btw) I don't mind it that much, but I get that people don't like it a lot.
2.- The dress, even tho it's not faithful to national Mexican dresses I'm not that mad that it's a flamenco dress (feel free to disagree in this point, I don't speak for everyone, just saying my opinion), when Mexican people dress up to this holiday not everyone can afford or has the intention to do a 100% accurate dress up (people even use bride dresses haha), what makes a good dress or outfit appropriate for the celebration comes to the color pallete and the execution, wich in my opinion, this doll lacks.
3.- The hair color, it's not the best option, I guess they didn't wanted to make another collector doll with black hair (which I thinks was the best option imo) so they use purple, but I think that black or even dark brown would have been better options and the hair style is way to simple, just looks like a hair style that any regular RH doll can wear, with the amount of ribbons that RH likes to use I'm surprised the didn't use any, wich is a really cool thing Mexicans use in their hair to dress up, for tradition, aesthetics or just general enjoyment and not having them in the doll makes is a missed opportunity, although it's not a 100% requirement.
4.- The roses, yes, marygolds are THE flower of Dia de los Muertos, despite this there's people that also use roses for their dress up, I would even say that is more common to use roses for dress up than marygolds (just search "Catrina" in google and almost all of the pictures show roses in the outfit, thing I also noticed irl) , marygolds are use for the more traditional part of the celebration, the decorations, the altars and even foods, so I'm not that mad about the roses but I understand people's frustration and the marygold with the ribbon on the box makes the marygold feel like an afterthought and disconnected from the doll over all, if MGA actually made their research the could even have used the "Mano de León" flower (or Velvet flower in English) wich is also a flower that is used along side marygolds to make a contrast of color (Although it's not used in all México).
5.- The face paint looks nice as a design but the execution is DREADFUL, the facepaint SHOULD cover the eyebrows and the entire face (people experiment with painting their whole faces or just partially but I think that they should have gone the safe way and just painted the whole face) but not covering the eyebrows is a big NO NO.
6.- I HATE THE BODY SUIT, it looks like a cheap skeleton costume, okay, it looks like good quality but my point is that it clashes a lot with the rest of the look, people often paint bones in their bodies to accentuate the skeleton motive and having Jewel Richie as a proof that MGA can make dolls that have body paint, there's no excuse to not go this rute, since Jewel is a playline doll and Maria is collector.
7.- The sombrero is a cool addition, my favorite aspect about this doll actually, wich I think is supposed to represent Mariachi and now I hope that MGA could had based a second outfit on it, making it fit more with the first outfit, or even a doll based in Mariachi style with iconography of Dia de los Muertos, wich could had set apart this doll from the Barbie collector dolls and would have looked amazing (Look up "Mariachi Femenil" and tell me that an elevation of that doesn't sound cool haha).
8.- The box lighting up is a cool novelty but we all now that's not an excuse to make the doll price sky rocket, it even reminds me of the Barbie crystal fantasy collection and how overpriced it was thanks to the additional decoration that doll had.
And just as a little pet pive that I have is that people complain that this doll isn't as colorful as the actual celebration is, but in a personal level, I don't mind dress ups for Día de Muertos that have more monochromatic or simple designs (Some people even dress in full black outfits) but it all comes to how well you know the silhouettes, the iconography, the meanings behind the traditions, the elements that make other national dress styles in México that can be used or translated into an outfit (Like ribbons on the hair) and how well you balance some things to make it look more distinct, traditional or experimental but still on theme that's what makes a GOOD design for Día de Muertos or even an inspired look for that matter.
I like your content a lot and I'm glad you touched on this subject and other MGA topics that had emerged from some time till this date, your points a really spot on, keep up with the good work! Love from México
Thank you so much! This is all really insightful and interesting to learn more ♥
It just bugs me that her name rhymes lol. Like not that I've never met someone named Maria Garcia, it does just feel really low effort from a line where names usually feel like some thought went into them. Personally I would've loved to see like a Mayan inspired named like Ixchel/Itzel or a variation on Maria like Marisol. It's low on the list of things that could be considered off about the doll, but I think serves as another example of level of effort put into developing the character and design.
Great video!
I agree with what you said and can’t wait for the capitalism video.
Some of these prices are insane.
Glad you enjoyed, thank you!
I really like this video 👍🏽! I like your view points on the doll, and the research you put into in this video
Hey thank you I appreciate it!
Definitely agree with all your points! I really want to know what they were thinking with Maria Garcia. And I definitely want to see your next video on MGA’s over-capitalism.
Yes even the RH JrH dolls at $25 each doesn’t make sense to me considering there’s no 2nd outfit or stand like the backpacks they come with aren’t that impressive and I haven’t been wowed by the fashion either. I also feel like this new trio of RH dolls people are finding at Walmart I guess they’re not register locked but not supposed to be sold until 10/2 Minnie, Tessa and I think the other 1 is Tiara 🤔🤷🏻♀️ I didn’t understand why they’re $40 each but Walmart seems to still be charging $50 for neon shadow & divas whereas Amazon & Target is $10 cheaper each 🤦🏻♀️
It's going to be a doozy but hopefully a goodie!
@@FaeryTaleDolls Can’t wait!!
I completely agree with everything u said honestly, periodtttt 👏🏻💖
I couldn't agree more with all of your points 👏🏼👏🏼As someone who is Mexican and celebrates Día de Muertos, this doll is not accurate at all. That dress is literally from Spain for starters and why did they use so many roses when marigolds are more significant. But the addition of the sombrero... wtf, i'm genuinely confused. I think a solution would've been a mariachi outfit if they wanted to keep the stupid sombrero. Not to mention the insane price point, and I thought Lily was expensive but at least she came with a second outfit. Thank you for being able to recognize this as someone who is non-Mexican.
I definitely agree with the opinions of Angel Loza and Princess Rosa on this doll as someone who shares the culture but I'm glad there was such backlash because I was able to get her so cheap today!
(I commented this before but I can't find the comment, maybe it was auto deleted?)
you should watch Angel Loza's video on this doll. He is Mexican, and reviewed her. He said he always sees girls wearing roses for that holiday, and he thinks the name and colors etc. are fine choices. He and his family were blown away by her. I feel like people on the internet are bashing this doll, but probably know very little about what actually takes place in that culture. Just googling something isn't enough to really know what the average person in a culture experiences. I mean people say MGA got it wrong with the flower, but maybe others have, and the rose is more commonly worn by average people. Nothing against you or anything, I'm just questioning things too. ❤😁
It's one thing for people of the actual culture to experiment with their own expression and celebration of the holiday and its traditions, because that's a very personal and intimate experience. It's another thing entirely for a company _outside_ the culture, mass producing and distributing a toy for profit, to say they want to represent and celebrate that culture, but end up with a product that's a jumbled array of not only Mexican iconography, but iconography from Spain. I always see people say the only people complaining must not be Mexican or familiar with the culture, but I've seen _plenty_ of self-named Mexicans express disappointment and frustration with this doll, and then promptly get ignored as "being haters." Of course, Mexicans aren't a monolith, so some, like Angel, like it, but plenty of other Mexicans have said they don't.
But also, someone doesn't have to be specifically Mexican to justify feeling bothered by the inaccurate cultural representation in the doll. Like I might not be Mexican, but I'm still Latina. It's frustrating to see any Latino culture overgeneralized or lumped in with a different culture, whether it's a lot of Americans thinking all Latinos = Mexican, or this doll thinking Mexico = Spain. No, cultures don't end at border lines; there's a lot of gradients even within the same country, and there's a lot of influence back and forth. But it's different when it's someone's personal experience of _their own culture_ vs a huge outsider corporation using the aesthetics of that culture to make money, without actually respecting the culture they're using. And tbh I think that's something a lot of people overlook.
I do think it's a very complicated issue! Obviously some people like it, other people are very upset by her release. There's no way to make a generalization of "all Mexican people feel this way," that would be wrong. I'm glad that some people can find joy in her and feel she is appropriately representative of their culture. I think for me a lot of the issue is that I don't trust MGA enough to think that they made their design choices in good faith, if that makes sense? But I may just be too cynical. Thank you for the input!
@@ainevy You make some very good and well articulated points! Someone from Mexico wearing a different flower might have a very different intention than an American company choosing to use a different flower.
i wanted to cry when i heard your voice is this video. i'm so happy for you 💕💕💕✨✨
Stop omg thank you!! ♥It's so cool to hear the difference 🥰
honestly, mga is just releasing so many dolls from so many different doll lines that they're just rushing out collector dolls. lily is absolutely stunning, but that one mermaze mermaidz "collector" doll that came out this year? not it. maria comes off to me as a rushed job, there wasn't as much care or attention paid to her as there was for lily. its really sad, because rainbow high in particular is known for their tiny details, and the fact that this doll is so.....plain, it's upsetting and disappointing.
Yeah, I do wish some artistry could remain and they would focus just a little less on pumping out as much as possible. Focus on doing fewer releases with amazing quality and details. But I guess that's not as profitable 🤷🏻♂
@@FaeryTaleDolls sigh, exactly. at the end of the day companies just care about money, and the technical target audience being kids. kids get bored quickly, therefore mga pumps out like 5000 different doll brands at once, and retails each of them $35 or more a piece. though tbh i know rainbow high is really popular with children, it's almost equally as popular with adults, and i'm sure mga is aware of that, so i think its even more bogus to release a doll as poorly executed as maria (apart from the fact she's literally a collector doll which in itself makes her more for adults). i think the whole thing is messy, and a lot of collectors are getting stressed & burned out due to the overload of dolls coming from mga. guess us collectors will hope for the best come christmas 🤞🏻🤞🏻
Girlfriend loves the marcia Garcia doll even though she isn't Mexican decent she is Australian but loves the tradition of what the doll is a bout great advice
I just got this doll and for only 35.00. I don't pretend to understand it culturally but I do feel it's fabulous- at 35.00.
I’ll definitely have to ask my sister in law what she thinks of this doll her parents came here from Mexico. I also have an uncle who is from Mexico so I am curious what he thinks and my cousins 🤔🤔🤔. I honestly didn’t like the sugar skull makeup on this doll so that plus the price and just overall design I wasn’t feeling. Like too much red, black and purple she just wasn’t colorful enough for me. Oh my father in law too would be good to ask his mother was from Mexico as well. So I definitely have a lot of family to see what their thoughts are👍👍👍. I’m sure the hat & dress are detailed but I def don’t understand the price. And imo lights are just a gimmick that I’d rather not pay for. But keeping that in mind lol omg collector dolls with only 1 very detailed outfit with stands that I think usually light up or play music etc are $54.99 max when they release I know jukebox and nye queen were so mass produced that it was def possible to score both on sale as well. It’s a shame Lily Cheng is only online and is still $80. I’m not sure on Maria if it’ll also only be online but def $130 is just outrageous. I’m happy I own the 2022 Barbie I actually bought her recently on Target at $70 and used a $10 off Barbie coupon at the time. 🤗🤗🤗❤️❤️❤️
Dang yeah you have tons of people you can get opinions from! Be very interested to know what they have to say
@@FaeryTaleDolls I’m def going to ask 🤗
Interesting
I’m Mexican so I’ll preface by saying I like the doll, it’s fine. For sure Barbie’s does it better. La Catrina which is an icon for the celebration of DDLM Catrina is a symbol of how we all end up as bones. The flamenco dress yes from Spain but also our colonizers which la catrina did in ways symbolize. Our colonizers were white and blonde and still ended in bones like all of us. Roses are used to decorate costumes roses also have a significance which is to honor our patron Virgen de Guadalupe. Which by the way her name was Maria Jesus’ mother. Which I also see in this doll was represented by name and the crowning on the box. No it’s not the most wonderful DDLM doll but it’s cute enough. The only point I agree with on this video is the cost. So now that it’s in the $60 range on Amazon I’ll finally get her.
One last thing while I enjoy your videos if your going to link a person with the same opinions as yours because they are Mexican then I’d also suggest you give comments about others who are Mexican and bought and reviewed this doll on UA-cam and liked it.
I asked my Salvadoran grandma what she thought of the doll, and even SHE could point out a lot of the inconsistencies with her outfit. Even if you're not Mexican this is just such an obviously blatantly lazy design with little to no research put into it. She's honestly extremely comparable to a racist costume you'd see at Party City...
This doll has given me so much unnecessary grief, it's actually a relief to see even people with only passing familiarity with the culture can see that something is off xD I was so excited when I heard RH was doing a doll for Dia de Muertos, because I'm not Mexican, but I've been waiting for more Latino rep! And like you said, a lot of the core imagery seems pretty accessible and hard to mess up. But uh... Guess after the fiasco with Lila it was too optimistic to hope the designers might learn a lesson and do more research OTL I've said it elsewhere, but the doll's basically just a Halloween doll with Hispanic flavor~. Like people are allowed to like her aesthetically (though I'm with you on thinking even visually she's kinda a hot mess 😅), because as a doll in general, sure, she's fine. She has cool details, I like the dress, hat, and purse individually, etc. But the amount of (mostly white) people I've seen just completely disregard _any_ complaints about her cultural inaccuracy is just...oof. It's ok to not be familiar with the culture, but to willfully ignore when people try to explain what's wrong, and take it as a personal attack instead of a learning moment... Just feels really disheartening tbh 😞 Really appreciate your humility in acknowledging your lack of familiarity while still hearing out people's frustrations on that front.
You're on the money with her name being very bland lol. Maria Garcia is a fine and common name for real people, but Rainbow High names always have some kind of reference to color or theming. So when the doll's name is _just_ "Maria Garcia" it's very obvious they didn't try. Off the top of my head, they could've named her Alma (means "soul"), Corazon (heart), Luz (light), to match with the celebration. Or if they wanted more blatant wordplay, Bonilla (sounds like bone) or Candela (candle). Making her last name Diaz or Buendia would've seemed really obvious (it's _RIGHT THERE!!_ ) but still been valid for the theming. Flores (flowers) seems on the nose for a last name too, but again, that or any other Flor-derived name would be valid for the theming. Or if they wanted to...continue invoking the Virgin Mary because her doll has some religious imagery, Consuelo or Guadalupe are both common names connected to Mary 🤷🏽♀ I've kinda exhausted most all my other complaints about her, but sheesh, giving her a fitting name is the literal _least_ they could've done lmao.
All of your name suggestions are so pretty omg, and yeah they tie in very well. I don't want to say Maria Garcia is a bad name because it's not inherently, and I'm sure a lot of people have that name. I think for me it's not knowing the intention behind naming her that? Like was it, these are common names that a lot of people can resonate with? Or was it, what sounds Mexican?
@@FaeryTaleDolls Hehe thanks! I'm partial to Alma Diaz; short and sweet so it'd be accessible to the brand's young, largely English-speaking target demo (and that last name seems like _such_ a gimme lol). Maria Garcia is a pretty common name across a lot of Hispanic regions, but the intention is what trips me up too 😅 That different context of an American company naming a fictional Mexican character vs a Hispanic person naming their kid irl, y'know? Tbh I think if the doll's design wasn't such an issue, people would probably be fine with the name in isolation. Like, it's also a pretty name! But on top of the cultural mishmashing, it's like...the cherry on top of minimal effort. Just another piece pulled together because, yeah, it looks or sounds Mexican. But especially obvious because of how out of place it is given the brand's previously established thematic naming pattern.
(...Unless her theme _is_ "Mexican" 😬)
Welp I'm Mexican American my big gripe is what someone else here in the comments said she's just a one off diversity check doll much like Lily Cheng ,who I also think is a cute doll, but that's just it they will never have big spots in the Rainbow High series so it's just meh.I don't know if this doll was even designed by a Latin designer like at least the Barbies were designed by a Mexican artist and the last two dolls had pretty accurate outfits. The flamenco dress is just a big miss for me because there are so many beautiful dress from all over Mexico even I can't name them all. Also many Mexicans I know loved Skelita and her design so to this day I still want to get more of her because she's got a great style design and was designed by a Latina
I live In Texas; I am not buying her is the price and someone at MGA knows very little about Dia de Los Muertos
Only kind of on topic, but I remember the controversy with Skelita, and I don't like to dismiss people's concerns or act like I have the authority to say definitively whether or not something is a problem so I'm not going to say those concerns were Wrong, but for me personally I didn't see the issue with her in particular. The fact that all the dolls are extremely skinny, I *do* see the issue with that, and I'm glad that since then fashion dolls have started to be a little more inclusive of a wider range of body types, even if it's still *far* from perfect. But imo Skelita was kinda the one doll that *was* completely justified for, because she's a literal skeleton, which makes sense as a character in a monster doll line and which kind of does make her thin by definition. I just feel like it's weird to hone in on Skelita specifically with that concern when it's a much broader one and one that I personally feel like *that one specific design* is actually kind of off the hook for. I'm open to being disagreed with, I could be wrong, but this is my stance on it.
I completely agree! I think as a monster, a skeleton fit the universe of Monster High. And a doll or even an image trying to pass off being very very small as the only weight that's normal is different than actual bones. I just mentioned the controversy there because I knew if I didn't I would have someone saying that Skelita is a bad example because xyz 😅
@@FaeryTaleDolls Fair fair, I wasn't saying you shouldn't have mentioned it, just sharing my own thoughts! I really enjoyed the video btw. ^^
It’s definitely a ‘This doll is dressed incorrectly, the face make up is weird and inaccurate, and is over £120, plus she has the wrong flower motif
BUT HER BOX LIGHTS UP SOOOOO’
It's like they think they can distract us with the shiny
@@FaeryTaleDolls I dunno, that light up box has to be worth at least £110 cos ain’t no way anyone would pay over £15 for Maria.
I have seen review of this doll and she looked so much better than in photographs. She looks awful in pictures. After the initial disappointment and after seeing the review, I thought she does not look that bad after all and that she is not that inaccurate either. I find the "hate" about the doll a bit exaggerated.
I have seen many pictures of the Day of the Dead festival and roses are used a lot. It is just a doll. I doubt MGA are trying to be 100% accurate or to make a museum historical piece.
I find the doll a bit tacky. I think RH have the tendency to flirt with the tacky side for some of the dolls anyway.
The price is an issue. It seems to be an issue with all RH products anyway (and all MGA products in general). They are generally overpriced especially in countries outside Europe. I will not mention the quality, I could rant for hours.
I don't buy dolls in that price range. It is a choice.
Something else I don't understand is why many people complain about MGA high prices and keep rushing buying the dolls as soon as they are released. It really puzzles me.
Sorry I meant countries outside the US.
I also meant I don't buy dolls in the $130 price range. I collect toys and playline not collector dolls in general.
I am a bit tired! Lol 😁
Your not alone! I think they shd of made a mask that cld b removed. I dont know why i dont like the face paint the way its painted, all i know is that i dont.
A removable mask would have been so cool! Or even just better facepaint 😅I agree that I can't put my finger on why it looks so bad to me but it just seems off
First!
Why is everyone missing that she’s dressed as La Caterina?!??
It’s a toy… lol 🤦♀️😂
Clown