While the plot of Barbie Princess Charm School (2011) is often criticized on the seemingly ridiculous method of assigning the scholarship via lottery, this in actuality works as a larger allegory for the world of higher academia: Madame Privet states that only 27% of the “lottery girls” graduate, and Blair, who comes from a lower class background, suffers, in addition to social ostracization on account of her socio-economic background, a learning curve, as she struggles with concepts that the other girls, who were all raised to be princesses, take for granted. We can presume, then, that the other girls who graduated were very likely from socio-economic backgrounds that encouraged them to receive training ahead of time in, for example, etiquette, history, geography, etc., giving them a distinct advantage in the system while disadvantaging girls from lower class backgrounds. The only means for students such as Blair to gain social mobility is via a mentor based system, in which a teacher, such as Madame Privet, personally oversees their education. While the scholarship maintains the illusion of equality, therefore, there is no equity in the system. We might compare this to the modern American academic system, which overwhelmingly claims to be merit-based while also overwhelmingly privileging students who can, for example, pay for extensive testing or an expensive undergraduate or MA degree. Furthermore, the emphasis on letters of recommendation puts an overwhelming pressure on students to maintain a good relationship with their supervisors which can in fact hide abusive power dynamics. In this essay I will….
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