As a child, my media consumption was very selective and sheltered by adults in my life. I had favorite books, like Harry Potter, a favorite movie, High School Musical, and favorite toys, all of which belonged to my neighbor, Marley. I remember whenever I went to Marley’s house, we would play with Polly Pockets, American Girl Dolls, or Barbies for hours at a time. To me, it wasn’t the looks of the toys that I desired, it was what the toys themselves possessed. They had fancy stretch limos, elaborate closets, cute boyfriends, and so many dogs. As a six of seven year old child, that’s all that I wanted my life to be, superficial. These dolls never taught me the values that I try encompass today, and very few of those values actually stemmed from
