Crazed Dolls

There’s an air of negativity on AGblr right now that to me, feels driven by a desire to one up each other’s criticisms and find the worst thing about this release.

Do I have criticisms? Yes. But I’m seeing a trend towards not just criticism but taking frustrations at AG and extrapolating them into exaggerated versions of fandom caricatures of AG’s behavior as a brand, like a game of fandom telephone.

These dolls will make a lot of kids very happy. They’re unique. They incorporate new storylines, add diversity (and I’m seeing a lot of collectors interpret diversity as physical attributes when it’s really not), and bring back classic traits that AG hasn’t used in a while. They’re from an interfaith household. They have a loving relationship with each other. They have awesome bedroom accessories and adorable illustrations. They’re Jewish girls whose story does not fixate on that as a core tenet of their identity, whose story integrates their faith into the broader tapestry of American culture, and I wish AG had included that in their segment on why they’re important.

I think i answered this before, but that was like a year ago so im going to say my thoughts again but in more depth because i've been thinking more about it since then. Buckle your seatbelts folks because this is a long, wild, bumpy ride.

We all know the "real" answer is that Mattel wanted to bring more money and free advertizing in just like they did with Julie's barbie (barbie is made by mattel as well if you didn't know)

BUT

The in-universe explantion is much more thought provoking and fun to theorize.

Ok so, my theory on this is that in the AG universe, the dolls do exist (which is now obvious and confirmed) and are exactly the same as in our universe BUT one difference: the stories are based on real people rather than being fictional

So like in the AG universe, the girls descendants (or they themselves, if they were/are still alive) sell their story and appearance to pleasent rowland/mattel.

This has evidence in 3 places:

1: The mini dolls, were originally released as "dolls for your dolls: As in, Historical dolls for your American girl of today. This was changed later, but it still has always stuck in my mind

2: Z Yang's old youtube videos that AG released in preparation for Nanea's release. I can't find the specific videos now, but i remember in 2017 there was a few stop motion videos where Z Yang is seen playing with mini dolls (which are meant to be her own AG dolls) and she also talks about Nanea's upcoming release.

She makes an offhand comment about wishing she could have nanea on her show. Now, if she meant interviewing her own little Nanea doll, or an actual full sized nanea doll being in the room with her (Like how people on here just put all their historical dolls they own together in thier own "Universe" because why not) i would give it a pass but, Z talks about Nanea as if she were a real person who is unavailable for interview. Which would make sense if in Z's universe, Nanea was a real 84 year old woman who sold her life story and would probably be unwilling to fly to seattle for an interview and/or didn't know how to work a computer for an online call.

3: Courtney's molly doll. This is the most damning evidence of all, and one that sent alot of people into a frenzy, and what you orignally asked me. Before this was released, alot of people were content to believe that the historical girls all lived in one long timeline in the same universe, so we could have fun theories like Marie Grace and Grandmary, but courtney's books shattered that illusion.

She has her own Molly doll, and her books go into heavy detail about pleasent company in the 80s. This now meant that

A: Courtney took place in a seperate timeline than the other girls

or

B: they all took place in thier own universes with no crossovers allowed unless dr strange gets into here somehow.

Alot of people thought this because they assume that either AG dolls didn't exist in the AG-verse OR that it did exist, and its exactly the same as it works in our universe

But it doesn't have to be that way! We can still have all the girls on one timeline, with a bit of editing.

So lets say that in 1986, just like in our universe, Pleasent Rowland still gets the bright idea to make educational dolls to teach children the history of the USA, but instead of having authors make fictional characters, she seeks out real people.

This is where the timeline splits between our universe and thier universe (well it split a while before that when the girls were born but whatever) Anyway, She seeks out the story of 3 girls to start with. She finds the desendants of Kirsten and Samantha (Or possibly samantha herself if she was still alive in the 80s) and went straight to Molly.

so you think taking photos of your american girl dolls where they look like confused boomers is funny?

i do... and i’m tired of pretending that it’s not.

This is my first ever post on tumblr… I don’t really understand how to use it quite yet, but I’d love to share my love for AG dolls on another platform! ✨

Here are a few things about me!

1. I’ve been collecting dolls since Christmas of 2012, and my first two dolls were Sammy (a Caroline doll who wears pink glasses) and Marie-Grace. 💕

2. I have an ever-growing collection of dolls, and as of January 21, 2023, I have 142 AG dolls total! ⭐️

3. One of my favorite things to do with my dolls is make stop motion movies for my YouTube channel: AGBob DollPants. I love bringing their characters to life and giving each one their own personality! 🤍

4. I’m also very into doll photography! Below are some of my favorite photos of my dolls I’ve ever taken: