Barbie and the Bible

Playing with Pop Culture, Gender, and Theology

Christopher B. Hays (Anthology Editor) , Meghan R. Henning (Anthology Editor)

Barbie and the Bible

Playing with Pop Culture, Gender, and Theology

Christopher B. Hays (Anthology Editor) , Meghan R. Henning (Anthology Editor)

Ebook (Epub & Mobi) ₹9533.00 Ebook (PDF) ₹9533.00

₹9533.00

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Description

This edited collection invites fresh readings of play and storytelling in the Barbie movie (2023) through the lens of the Bible and theology.
For Christopher B. Hays, Meghan R. Henning, and their contributors, the Barbie movie is more than pink and mojo dojo casa houses; they argue that the film offers a nuanced reflection of Biblical and theological ideas. The chapters herein analyze the cultural impact of Barbie on its own terms, critically engaging its explicit attempts to offer social critiques of capitalism, patriarchy, ableism, and racism. From exploring Ruth Handler as God, Barbie as both Jesus and a jezebel, and historical Judean “doll-like” figurines, this volume's interdisciplinary interlocutors identify how Barbie depicts the stories we tell about ourselves, society, and God.

Foreword, Candida R. Moss
Introduction, Christopher B. Hays and Meghan Henning
Part I. Barbie, the Hebrew Bible, and the Ancient Near East
1: The Creator and Her Creation: The Representation of Ruth Handler as God in the Barbie Movie,
Hanne Løland Levinson
2: Innerbiblical Barbie: Teraphim and Image of God in Genesis, Collin Cornell
3: Come Play With Me!: Barbie, Judean Pillar Figurines, and the Economics of Reuse, Kristine Garroway
4: Why is Barbie Called a Jezebel?, Tammi J. Schneider
5: “That Power Looks So Good on You”: Esther/Ishtar in Pink, Esther Brownsmith
6: 'What Was I Made For?' 'For Such a Time as This': Diaspora, Identity, and Purpose in Barbie and Esther, Alexiana Fry
Part II: Barbie, the New Testament, and the Classical World
7: “Do You Ever Think About Dying?”: Death and Transformation in Barbie, Breaking Bad, and the Bible, Christopher B. Hays
8: Barbie's Otherworldly Journey: From Plastic Possibilities to Toxic Positivity and Back, Meghan Henning
Part III: The Barbie Movie in Contemporary Culture
9: It's Hard to be Fragile When You're Made of Plastic: How Dolls with No Genitalia Expose the Absent Center of Greta Gerwig's Barbie, Kutter Callaway
10: “Am-Bar-Be-Veil-Lents”, Neomi De Anda

Product details

Published	11 Jun 2026
Format	Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition	1st
Pages	208
ISBN	9781978766716
Imprint	T&T Clark
Illustrations	13 bw illus
Series	Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Anthology Editor

Christopher B. Hays

Christopher B. Hays is D. Wilson Moore Professor o…

Anthology Editor

Meghan R. Henning

Meghan R. Henning is Professor of Christian Origin…

Greta Gerwig's Barbie is a goldmine for theological and religious reflection, and the essays edited by Hays and Henning illustrate the wondrous depths of this cinematic resource. These essays embrace “serious play” by constructing a diverse range of fruitful and mutually illuminating dialogues between Barbie and the Bible. These interdisciplinary conversations help us rethink and reinterpret Barbie and biblical texts. This volume is a treasure for those interested in the interplay of Bible and Film, Gender, Material Culture, and Pop Culture. This book is more than Kenough!

Matthew S. Rindge, Gonzaga University
With intellectual gusto and interdisciplinary verve, this book investigates how Barbie-both like and with the Bible-functions as a cultural, philosophical, and theological site of human contemplation. In doing so, it not only illuminates the Barbie and Bible subjects at hand, but also invites readers to think metacritically about how and why we relate to our objects of study. For anyone interested in the productivity of toying with new questions through playful possibility, this book is a must-read.

Sarah Emanuel, Loyola Marymount University