Posted on 02/02/2005 12:10:30 PM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John
Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Chicago) Tuesday invited the president of the company that makes American Girl dolls to visit Pilsen after the firm angered some Hispanics by describing the neighborhood in a storybook as "dangerous.''
Meanwhile, Ald. Daniel Solis (25th) said he had set up a meeting for next week with a representative from Mattel, American Girl's parent company, to discuss what he said was "probably an unintended mistake.''
The Wisconsin-based American Girl rankled some when it set the back story of a new doll in Chicago. The storybook describes how a Mexican-American girl named Marisol Luna moves to suburban Des Plaines after her parents fear for her safety.
In the book, which accompanies the $84 doll, Marisol's parents tell her "It's time we get out of this neighborhood.'' Pilsen is not specifically named but the family is described as living across the street from Harrison Park at 18th and Damen.
Says Marisol in the book: "[My mother] explained it was no place for me to grow up. It was dangerous, and there was no place for me to play.''
3 murders near doll's park
Juana Guzman, vice president of the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, called the book "insulting to the neighborhood'' and complained that the story line carries the message that one has to "move to the suburbs to be safe.'' Police Cmdr. Ronald Sodini added that he was "offended'' and that the community has worked hard to cut crime.
An American Girl spokeswoman said the danger reference is to street traffic. In a statement issued Tuesday, the company added that "it's risky to base an entire book on one sentence out of 136 pages.'' The book's main message is "it doesn't matter where you live -- it's your desire to stay true to yourself and your family that counts,'' the company said.
In his invitation to American Girl President Ellen S. Brothers, Gutierrez said "Pilsen is flush with parks, with top notch playgrounds and athletic fields and other amenities.... Your assertion that there are no places for children to play is simply not correct.''
The congressman said the story line "demeans the character of thousands of families and their daughters growing up in Pilsen.''
American Girl spokeswoman Stephanie Spanos said Brothers "plans to speak with Congressman Gutierrez directly'' but that no decision to meet in Pilsen has been made.
Solis said there are street gangs in Pilsen but "there are problems across the country with gangs.'' According to police, the Monroe District saw a 15 percent decline in violent crimes between December 2003 and December 2004, the second best drop percentage-wise in the city. Crime in the beat around Harrison Park included three murders and 41 aggravated batteries in 2004.
Solis said property values are on the rise -- "people don't want to leave'' -- and "you don't have to move to the suburbs to raise your family.''
84 bucks for a doll?
It's not meant for the girls who still live in Pilsen. :-)
Hey, it's getting dangerous out there!
I guess like any place else it depends where in Des Plaines. Most neighborhoods have the "bad part of town".
I love AGD's.
My plans were that when I had a daughter I was going to get her ALL the dolls.
I know they are pricey, but they look more like a real girl (unlike Barbie, who looks like Boom Boom La Zot ;) )
It's a doll for Grammy's with more money than they can spend in their remaining days to buy for their spoiled grandkids.
The Mattel folks should just explain that the danger came from right wing Republicans trying to suppress the hispanic vote. Then they'd realize it was a politically correct story after all. (Eyes roll)
$84 just for the doll. Each one (and there must be at least 10 of different eras from different ethnic backgrounds) also has a complete set of clothes, furniture, pets and various other accoutrements. It can set you back hundreds. A visit to the original store in Chicago is mind boggling, complete with a little theater and tea room.
As for myself, my two years there were in the city (Hyde Park, Wicker Park, Uptown). Never had any problems, even at night.
But, barbie dolls burn better.
These are probably the same people who blasted Dan Quayle for dissing Murphy Brown! SHEESH!
$84 for the doll, and that doesn't include the clothes, the bed, the desk, the dog, the snowsuit, the nightgown, the hair curlers, the traveling case, matching clothes for your daughter,.....
In defense, I will say that matching period piece clothes for our real live girls was impressive to me. we had great fun with some of these clothes. Beats the hell out of the slutty stuff the girls can find at Macy's.
The American Doll series is very educational for girls. But the dolls (made in China) sure are pricey!
LOL, the little plastic radio-flyer wagon cost more than a real one.
Juana Guzman, vice president of the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, called the book "insulting to the neighborhood'' and complained that the story line carries the message that one has to "move to the suburbs to be safe.''
Clean up your neighborhood and stop complaining.
An American Girl spokeswoman said the danger reference is to street traffic.
Seriously, that is the biggest line of bullsh*t Ive ever read, and Im on their side!
Yes, the American Girl Doll collection is extremely expensive. But wonderfully wholesome. A sharp contrast to the seemy stuff that is marketed to our kids.
I just knew that the American Girl dolls were going to get lousier as they began to incorporate the worst aspects of "inclusivity" and political correctness to make more money. It happens to everything that becomes a marketing machine, like night follows day. I did think, though, that they would have stuck with a good thing by trying to make their "hispanic" entry more of a historical type, like, maybe, "Maria, the little Mexican girl from Chihuahua, with her father, Jose, who is a Juarista revolutionary fighting with Zapata", or something like that.
Yeah, I agree with Juana! She should leave the suburbs and go back where she came from!
Oh, wait a minute.... Oops
I don't like the Bratz dolls. They remind me of skanky little streetwalker juniors.
Does she come with barbed wire scars from sneaking under the fence?
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