Journal 6 - Julia Hecht

                Assemblages seem to be everywhere—I keep noticing them in my day to day life, and one in particular has caught my attention. In recent years, the toy company that makes Barbie dolls has started trying to branch out and make their dolls more ethnically inclusive by adding diverse new faces, hairstyles, and body types. They are even gradually including more culturally inclusive outfits, though that is a slower process. The company is trying to create an assemblage from the original Barbie, and the atmosphere of growing diversity around the world, to give average girls a more positive outlook on their appearance. Obviously, they have a way to go, but the company is moving slowly in an effort to remain respectful of the cultures they are representing.

When I think of a potentially harmful ethical assemblage, I think immediately of the recent Vogue photoshoot featuring model Karlie Kloss as a geisha, despite being a white woman. The purpose of the photoshoot was to preach diversity, and yet they chose not to use a real Japanese model. What kind of message does that convey? Certainly not one of diversity and equality like they supposedly intended. The photoshoot instantly started circulating on social media, creating controversy among fans of the magazine. Kloss was blatantly accused of being racist and insensitive, despite that being the opposite of her intentions, and she was forced to apologize for her actions. The audience was able to transform the ethical status of the project, and make it unacceptable. Had the article shown images of a real geisha, or at least an ethnically accurate model, the response from fans would have been different. Geishas represent a beautiful side of the traditional Japanese culture, and appropriating them like Vogue did only creates an atmosphere of insensitivity and superiority.

In both cases, Fair Use could do nothing to stop either of these cases. It does not stifle freedom of speech, even when it includes racism, and since neither of these contain a substantial amount of a preexisting composition, they are safe from Fair Use. Although the Barbie dolls are still dolls, they are created by the same company and therefore protected under their copyright.