Black Barbie: A Documentary

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Black Barbie: A Documentary
Film poster
Directed byLagueria Davis
Written byLagueria Davis
Produced byLagueria Davis
Aaliyah Williams
StarringLagueria Davis
CinematographyRita Baghdadi
Sara Garth
Edited byHeidi Zimmerman
Music byDara Taylor
Production
companies
Just A Rebel
Lady & Bird Films
LinLay Productions
Shondaland
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • September 2023 (2023-09) (SXSW)[1]
  • June 19, 2024 (2024-06-19)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Black Barbie: A Documentary is a 2023 American documentary film about the creation of the first black Barbie doll in 1980.[2][3] The film is directed, written, and produced by Lagueria Davis. The film premiered at the 2023 South by Southwest film festival[4] and was released on Netflix on June 19, 2024.[1]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 27 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "It took 20 years for a Black Barbie doll to appear next to white ones on shelves; this inspiring and insightful documentary spotlights the women who persisted to make this possible."[5]

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "Davis deftly weaves together archival footage with informative graphics, clever use of Barbie dolls to illustrate certain points in anthropomorphic fashion, and interviews with historians, public figures and three Black women who were instrumental figures at Mattel and who are the heart and soul of this story."[6]

See also

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  • Kitty Black Perkins, designer of the first black Barbie doll, featured in the documentary
  • Bill Greening, designer of the 40th and 45 anniversary black Barbie dolls, featured in the documentary

References

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  1. ^ a b "All the New Netflix Movies You Can Watch This Summer". Netflix Tudum (Press release). Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  2. ^ León, Concepción de (2024-06-19). "'Black Barbie: A Documentary' Review: Becoming the Main Character". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2024-06-19. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  3. ^ Smith-Richardson, Susan (19 June 2024). "'Someone who looked like me': the women who created Black Barbie". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  4. ^ "'Black Barbie' Documentary Acquired by Netflix and Shondaland". Variety. 2023-10-10. Archived from the original on 2024-08-14. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  5. ^ "Black Barbie". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2025-08-17. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  6. ^ Roeper, Richard (2024-06-18). "'Black Barbie': Netflix doc collects insights about the importance of relatable dolls". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
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