Marvel on the Shelf: The Art and Play of Action Figure Display

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Marvel on the Shelf: The Art and Play of Action Figure Display

There are many ways that adults enact the practice of action figure collecting: they might be driven by completionism or nostalgia; motivated by a hunt for rarities; alter the design through customization; maintain purchase value by keeping packaging intact; participate in a toy community economy through swapping, reselling, and second-had purchasing; and/or engage in a sense of play and expression through various forms of display. It is the latter of these expressions – the art and play of display – that I want to discuss here, which draws upon my own experience as an action figure collector.

This post is part of a themed series on toys that asked contributors to think about a toy/toys/toy company and explore how various cultures, groups, audiences, or companies find and make meaning (or money) through such play.

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WrestleMania XL: The Greatest Story Ever Told (Part Three)

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WrestleMania XL: The Greatest Story Ever Told (Part Three)

This is the third of three parts on the recent WrestleMania XL and the current revival of WWE. It reviews the interconnected and multistrand storytelling that unfolded over two years leading into the recent event and highlights opportunities for further appraisal. This part explores the blurring of reality and fiction that drives pro wrestling storytelling and the role it played in the lead up to WrestleMania XL. Readers who might be interested in this piece include those new to pro wrestling within the context of popular culture and entertainment studies and those curious about WWE’s revival.

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WrestleMania XL: The Greatest Story Ever Told (Part Two)

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WrestleMania XL: The Greatest Story Ever Told (Part Two)

This is the second of three parts on the recent WrestleMania XL and the current revival of WWE. It reviews the interconnected and multistrand storytelling that unfolded over two years leading into the recent event and highlights opportunities for further appraisal. This part introduces the story of Cody Rhodes and reflects on long form serialized storytelling in WWE leading into WrestleMania XL. Readers who might be interested in this piece include those new to pro wrestling within the context of popular culture and entertainment studies and those curious about WWE’s revival.

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WrestleMania XL: The Greatest Story Ever Told (Part One)

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WrestleMania XL: The Greatest Story Ever Told (Part One)

This is the first of three parts on the recent WrestleMania XL and the current revival of WWE. It reviews the interconnected and multistrand storytelling that unfolded over two years leading into the recent event and highlights opportunities for further appraisal. This part establishes the important role of audience and character in pro wrestling, and overviews key moments for Roman Reigns leading into WrestleMania XL. Readers who might be interested in this piece include those new to pro wrestling within the context of popular culture and entertainment studies and those curious about WWE’s revival.

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OSCAR WATCH 2024 — “Based on ‘Barbie’ by Mattel”: Adaptation, Franchising, and 'Barbie' (2023)

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OSCAR WATCH 2024 — “Based on ‘Barbie’ by Mattel”: Adaptation, Franchising, and 'Barbie' (2023)

This piece is part of a series of critical responses to the films nominated for Best Picture at the 96th Academy Awards. Barbie is nominated in eight categories in the 2024 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. This critical response has been provoked by the discourse surrounding its eligibility in the Adapted Screenplay category, rather than Original Screenplay, and explores questions of adaptation and franchising in Barbie. The Barbie doll’s perceived lack of story or character suggests that Barbie is an original screenplay, but it is still based on a pre-existing intellectual property and an opening title card recognizes that Barbie is “Based on ‘Barbie’ by Mattel”. As an adaptation and a franchise Barbie draws from a material, industrial and historical story that works in concert with the polysemic, ambiguous and open nature of Barbie as a toy. Barbie is therefore shaped by the creative interpretation of Barbie as a culturally iconic toy and ‘Barbie’ as a franchise property owned by Mattel.

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