The PopCulteer
August 22, 2025

We have a little more urgency than usual with today’s photo essay.  I’m still playing catch-up from an insanely busy summer, but today I’m going to tell you about an exhibit at The Cinncinnati Museum Center (located in the iconic Cinncinnati Union Terminal) that closes on Sept 1. So you’ll have to hurry if you want to see it.

Barbie™: A Cultural Icon takes visitors on a journey through the six-decade evolution and the making of a global phenomenon.  Mrs. PopCulteer and I saw it earlier this month on my pre-birthday fun trip to Cinncinnati.

This is a pretty epic history of Barbie that presents all the major moments and turning points as the first Fashion Doll made her way through the turbulent 1960s to today, with hair and hemlines changing, the culture diversifying and careers opening up from the classroom to the moon and beyond.

To be honest, we hadn’t even really planned to visit this exhibit. I just wanted to see the incredible Art Deco masterpiece that is The Cinncinnati Union Terminal. I wasn’t even sure if the exhibit would still be going on when we wedged our visit in between two other museum stops on the same day. It was a spur of the moment decision, but we are really glad we decided to go.

Let me quote from the exhibit’s official description:

More than a doll. A cultural icon.

Today, Barbie is the most diverse doll line in the world, inspiring girls to imagine everything they can become. A role model, a muse, a best friend – Barbie means something to everyone. Step back into your childhood and join us on this exhibition of a six-decade evolution, and the making of a global icon.

Barbie™: A Cultural Icon takes you from 1959 to present day, examining how pop culture and fashion trends have shaped this global phenomenon. The exhibition celebrates Barbie as a reflection of culture, featuring a priceless collection of over 300 artifacts from the 66-year history of Barbie, including the very first 1959 doll, an original Barbie™ Dreamhouse, behind the scenes prototypes, as well as some of the most infamous Barbie dolls throughout history. You’ll also find numerous photo ops throughout the exhibition for shareable moments.

Curated and toured by Illusion Projects Inc., curated by Karan Feder, in partnership with Mattel Inc.

This is a really amazing show that pretty much uses Barbie to cover the last seven decades of pop culture. We had a blast, and we were so impressed by The Cinncinnati Museum Center that we are planning a return trip…or three.

The photos here just scratch the surface of this expansive exhibit…

Why not start at the beginning? It’s the first Barbie!

And her loyal sidekick, Ken.

You know I’m going to gravitate toward the astronauts.

Okay, so this is the interior of the first Barbie Dreamhouse, a cool Mid-century cardboard creations.

And this is the life-sized recreation of part of it.

And here we see the original Dreamhouse in the foreground, and the life-sized version about twenty feet behind it.

Here we have the first Black member of the Barbie family.

Throughout the exhibit, life-sized working TVs, made to look like Barbie accessories, played classic commercials.

There was tons of space between the exhibits so they could accomodate the huge weekend crowds.

Part of the exhibit showed the process of creating a Barbie doll and her outfits. This is a test run with the parts made in different colors to expose any flaws in the molds.

The fashions made famous by Barbie were also on display throughout the exhibit.

Barbie’s extensive motor pool was well-represented, too.

They had to include the toys from the 2023 Barbie Movie. We also saw a few new Barbies that hadn’t been released yet when this exhibit opened in the spring.

We leave you with my lovely wife and her travelling companions, Squidward and Plankton, as we drive off into the sunset.

That is this week’s PopCulteer. Next week you can expect a bit of bonus content as this block marks twenty years of doing whatever the hell it is that I do here.

Check back for fresh content every day, all our regular features, and in the next week some retrospective posts, plus fresh radio on The AIR, Lucky Cats, Alien Invaders, Neon signs, fine art masquerading as comic book covers and more of the prolonged weirdness that is PopCult.