BarbieQ in Terms of the Stock Market
Note: I want to take a second to make a different turn on my interpretation of Barbie-Q. In my original interpretation, I thought of the story as a critique on the female image using the barbie doll as an example. However, in order to relate it to current events, I wanted to try mirroring it with the current state of America's economy.
In the story, the two sisters play with their barbies under certain financial conditions. They can only afford a small amount of accessories and refuse to buy a "stupid-looking boy doll" as they would rather buy more accessories. Instead, in their play-scenes, they imagine the Ken doll, as it is required for their subliminal plot. As a result, they seem satisfied with their made-up scene as it lets their plot or story continue without disruption. Later on, they discover that a nearby toy factory has burned down and its products (barbie dolls) are on sale at an extremely low price. Despite the flaws that come with them (the smoke smell, melted body parts), the narrator merely says that it can all be hidden with outfits and imagination.
Recently, COVID-19 has cause mass chaos in the stock market. On March 15, the DOW average dropped 3000 points, a drop not seen since 1987. It's been affecting businesses of all sorts as you could imagine: airlines, hotel and resort chains, travel/tourism companies, and even mortgage trusts. Among the reasons for the initial drop is the massive unemployment, but more recently the average had jumped despite the deprecating report. Most likely, the weird sudden turns in the market activity cannot often be attributed to federal government intervention. There are weird times in the economy much like the awkward social interactions that the sisters have with their barbies.
In terms of the American economy, the ideal bear (going up in investment terms) market could be described as a perfect walk-through of a play-scene including a real physical Ken Doll. The loss of the Ken-Doll in this case represents the barren unemployment that has struck America. One might expect the stock market (play-scene) to take even more hits, but during that week the SPY (national average) actually rose. (Send prayers to my friend Nick who lost 1000$ worth of puts on SPY because of that.) Why, you ask? The federal government injected 2 trillion dollars into the American economy as part of the CARES stimulus package.
As a result, many tech stocks benefited causing the illusion of "temporary enlightenment". In this case, the girls are the government, who through their imagination (2 trillion dollar care package) managed to hide the physical existence of the Ken Doll or the deformities of other dolls (unemployment in terms of stock market). In the end, their happiness is what equates to the movement of the national average. Rising short-term, and bearish (going down) in the long term.
In the story, the two sisters play with their barbies under certain financial conditions. They can only afford a small amount of accessories and refuse to buy a "stupid-looking boy doll" as they would rather buy more accessories. Instead, in their play-scenes, they imagine the Ken doll, as it is required for their subliminal plot. As a result, they seem satisfied with their made-up scene as it lets their plot or story continue without disruption. Later on, they discover that a nearby toy factory has burned down and its products (barbie dolls) are on sale at an extremely low price. Despite the flaws that come with them (the smoke smell, melted body parts), the narrator merely says that it can all be hidden with outfits and imagination.
Recently, COVID-19 has cause mass chaos in the stock market. On March 15, the DOW average dropped 3000 points, a drop not seen since 1987. It's been affecting businesses of all sorts as you could imagine: airlines, hotel and resort chains, travel/tourism companies, and even mortgage trusts. Among the reasons for the initial drop is the massive unemployment, but more recently the average had jumped despite the deprecating report. Most likely, the weird sudden turns in the market activity cannot often be attributed to federal government intervention. There are weird times in the economy much like the awkward social interactions that the sisters have with their barbies.
In terms of the American economy, the ideal bear (going up in investment terms) market could be described as a perfect walk-through of a play-scene including a real physical Ken Doll. The loss of the Ken-Doll in this case represents the barren unemployment that has struck America. One might expect the stock market (play-scene) to take even more hits, but during that week the SPY (national average) actually rose. (Send prayers to my friend Nick who lost 1000$ worth of puts on SPY because of that.) Why, you ask? The federal government injected 2 trillion dollars into the American economy as part of the CARES stimulus package.
As a result, many tech stocks benefited causing the illusion of "temporary enlightenment". In this case, the girls are the government, who through their imagination (2 trillion dollar care package) managed to hide the physical existence of the Ken Doll or the deformities of other dolls (unemployment in terms of stock market). In the end, their happiness is what equates to the movement of the national average. Rising short-term, and bearish (going down) in the long term.
It's quite an interesting comparison you're making; I never thought of it like that. However, the connections you draw are consistent and make sense. I wonder what the economic counterpart of the two girls are. Perhaps it's the national average (as you mention that the girls' happiness equates to the movement of the national average). The girls "invest" in buying dolls, so perhaps their counterpart could be investors/the general population.
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