Nampa, Idaho - August 10, 2026 - As I began reading Barbie Land: The Unauthorized History (2025) by Tarpley Hitt, it didn’t take long for me to lament, “Oh no! Barbie is a product of the evil empire? Say it isn’t so!” The founders of Mattel, Inc., Harold Matson and husband-and-wife duo Elliot and Ruth Handler, preferred a romanticized origin story for Barbie, claiming the iconic doll—named after the Handlers’ daughter—was simply dreamed up in a garage in El Segundo, California, out of a pure love for toy making. Much of that is true; however, from the doll’s early development to its debut in 1959 to the present moment, the multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company continues to be ruthlessly competitive, secretive, and prolifically litigious. In other words, the real origin story will shock you as it did me.
Barbie Land reads more like a book on how to build a successful empire by doing whatever it takes—ethical or not—to become the shrewdest, meanest shark in the shark tank. More than once, I had to remind myself I was reading about a company that makes plastic dolls for little girls and not weapon systems for the Pentagon! As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one who thought Mattel’s take-no-prisoners business model was a blueprint for crushing competition and establishing market dominance. Not only did other toy manufacturers reorganize to emulate Mattel’s callous business practices but also companies from vastly different industries, many of which are still in operation today. The maker of Barbie was more than a maverick innovator of toys; it was a trailblazer in its use of television advertising, focus groups, behavioral economics, intellectual property protections, and horizontal acquisitions.
I appreciate the effort Tarpley Hitt put into Barbie Land, but it left me unsettled and somewhat depressed. It merely confirmed my view that today’s top American businesses are driven solely by profit, obsessed with growth, and completely unrestrained by morality. Now I can’t look at a Barbie doll without imagining it with a set of razor-sharp shark teeth.-Chuck Trunks
“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”
Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.
To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com. Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).
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