The literal spoils of a growing class war. It doesn't get much more Freudian than this. The children of those who "have" play with hundred dollar homeless dolls representing those who have nothing. How much more alienated can you get to the plight of the homeless? Andrea Peyser with the NYPost reports:
Meet Gwen Thompson, the newest addition to the American Girl canon of dolls -- the wildly successful, extremely expensive brand of faux children that are sold out of a four-story town house in the heart of Fifth Avenue.
Little children as young as 4 are addicted to these pricey little monsters. It's like middle-American crack. You have an African-American doll, an American Indian doll. A Jewish one. A doll who "lived" during the Great Depression, and one from the Roaring '20s. And while you were snoozing, the creators of American Girl, which is sold by Mattel, got bold. They engaged in all-out political indoctrination.
Snuck into the collection is a doll that comes with a biography that is weird and potentially offensive enough to keep Mom running to the Maalox. Gwen, you see, is harboring a terrible secret.
She is homeless. A homeless doll.
In the history books that come with every American Girl doll -- bringing to life these little monsters until impressionable little ones believe they are actual people -- you learn that Gwen's father walked out on the family. Her mother lost her job. As the little kiddies learn to read about this doll as if she's a human being, one learns that, as fall turned into winter, Gwen's mom lost her grip.
Mother and daughter started bedding down in a car. For $95 -- more than your average homeless person would dream of spending on a rather mediocre baby substitute -- Gwen Thompson can be yours. A mixed message if ever there was one....you can have your doll's hair done for $20!
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