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Masters of the Universe: Action Figures, Customization and Masculinity

Sobel, Eric
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542401719051928

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, Popular Culture.
This thesis places action figures, as masculinely gendered playthings and rich intertexts, into a larger context that accounts for increased nostalgia and hyperacceleration. Employing an ethnographic approach, I turn my attention to the under-discussed adults who comprise the fandom. I examine ways that individuals interact with action figures creatively, divorced from children's play, to produce subjective experiences, negotiate the inherently consumeristic nature of their fandom, and process the gender codes and social stigma associated with classic toylines. Toy customizers, for example, act as folk artists who value authenticity, but for many, mimicking mass-produced objects is a sign of one's skill, as seen by those working in a style inspired by Masters of the Universe figures. However, while creativity is found in delicately manipulating familiar forms, the inherent toxic masculinity of the original action figures is explored to a degree that far exceeds that of the mass-produced toys of the 1980s. Collectors similarly complicate the use of action figures, as playfully created displays act as frames where fetishization is permissible. I argue that the fetishization of action figures is a stabilizing response to ever-changing trends, yet simultaneously operates within the complex web of intertexts of which action figures are invariably tied. To highlight the action figure's evolving role in corporate hands, I examine retro-style Reaction figures as metacultural objects that evoke Star Wars figures of the late 1970s but, unlike Star Wars toys, discourage creativity, communicating through the familiar signs of pop culture to push the figure into a mental realm where official stories are narrowly interpreted. I conclude by suggesting that in response to media oversaturation and the rise of nerd culture, action figures, as objects rooted in the physical world that communicate with popular codes and speak to deeply-held emotions, represent unique sites of meaning, both personal and cultural.
Montana Miller, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Esther Clinton, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Jeremy Wallach, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
99 p.
American Studies; Folklore; Gender; Mass Media
action figures; festishism; masculinity; nostalgia; folklore; authenticity; he-man; masters of the universe; star wars; collecting; toys; reaction figures; funko; super7; metaculture; intertexuality; play; fandom; retro; nerd culture; greg urban; nerdom

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sobel, E. (2018). Masters of the Universe: Action Figures, Customization and Masculinity [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542401719051928

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sobel, Eric . Masters of the Universe: Action Figures, Customization and Masculinity . 2018. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542401719051928.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sobel, Eric . "Masters of the Universe: Action Figures, Customization and Masculinity ." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542401719051928

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1542401719051928
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This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.