Playmobil and Christmas Theme

[cachalote]

i don´t think playmobil should be "ordered" to have a more up-to-date-with-the-real-world production.
the way i see it, they are free to do whatever they feel like.

... but this doesn't mean i should approve everything they are doing.
... and sometimes i really hate it.
i don't like the lack of female figures, the names and facial designs that they sometimes use in clickies with darker skin colors, etc..

treating these subjects as a problem derived from a "childish" "rural" "german" way of seeing things doesn't work for me.
playmobil is sold all over the world and i don't think staying "childish" can be considered as a very smart way to deal with this market.
i sometimes tend to be over-agressive with these matters and i know that sometimes that is not fair - i don't know any playmobil designers or directors so i can't be sure on what is going on inside their heads.
but trying to see them as nothing-really-important is also wrong and unfair.

maybe a pure commercial approach is the best way to deal with this - if playmobil does sets that can appeal to a larger range of people, they can sell more.
smart-up playmobil, you are loosing millions.

[cachalote]

... i am sorry to impose upon you a double post but i suddenly remembered something that can add a few more things to think about.
recently klickywelt had a problem with world war ii customizations.
it was talked about in this forum - http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=2170.0 - and it seems that playmobil itself created a rule of some kind that prohibited this kind of sets to be shown in public.

maybe this destroys the theory that they are just like childs looking out their windows for inspiration on how to design their sets.
apparently they look around them and dislike some themes like this one dismissing any naive notions we can have about them.

the problem can be that only see what they want to see.
it is easy to see problems in others (what i am writing actually confirms that). it's not that easy to see our own problems.

even if you consider (i don't) that censorship is needed you have to agree with me (actually you don't) that it has to come with a rock-solid moral behaviour attached.
with so many "gaffes" in their production i can't see playmobil having reasons to be classified as a morality champion.

[Martin Milner]

i only see Playmobil represent one on the list of 9.

Good Lord, I only recognise five of those myself! I got Christianity, Judaeism, Hindu & Moslem, and middle right is Shinto.

Could you enlighten me as to what the others are Ras?

I think that Bogro has it right, that they are reproducing the world as seen by German children, and there just isn't a market for Shinto, Moslem and Jewish imagery in Germany.

How many other toy lines are doing anything vaguely religious?

The Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World, and I think that's why Lego have re-created it, not because of any religious ideals.

One of the other Modern Wonders is Rome's Colosseum, which Playmobil have done in their own style!

Full List (announced 17th Sept 2007): You'll notice they're mostly not really modern, but they do all still exist in today's world. I'd label these as Ancient Wonders of the Modern World, and do a new list of structures more recently created (Mount Rushmore, Eiffel Tower, that soft of deal).

Chichén Itzá, Mexico

Christ the Redeemer, Brazil

The Great Wall, China

Machu Picchu, Peru

Petra, Jordan

The Roman Colosseum, Italy

The Taj Mahal, India.

[Rasputin]

1 Christianity--------2.1 billion
2 Judaism------------15 million
3 Hinduism-----------851 mil
4 Islam----------------1.3 bil
5 Buddhism------------375 mil
6 Shintoist-------------2.8 mil
7 Sikhism--------------25 mil
8 Baha'ism-------------7.5 mil
9 Jainism--------------15 mil
* info from 2004

Sorry for bringing up a subject like this but i do find other peoples opinions very interesting . I also have purchased (as many as i could get) nativity scene do to a Target error and have the characters coming out of my ears . I am trying to find a way to balance my population of Klickies  Right now i am Christian heavy so to avoid sending them to the executioner i thought of bringing in other examples of spiritual beliefs which will also be used for educational purposes .

SO thank you for your insight and keeping it civilized 

[Timotheos]

1 Christianity--------2.1 billion
2 Judaism------------15 million
3 Hinduism-----------851 mil
4 Islam----------------1.3 bil
5 Buddhism------------375 mil
6 Shintoist-------------2.8 mil
7 Sikhism--------------25 mil
8 Baha'ism-------------7.5 mil
9 Jainism--------------15 mil
* info from 2004

Well, I guess it's less controversial than the Roman nazi thread...

Shintoism is a very indigenous set of Japanese traditional practices.  The term itself was not coined until the Meiji era when the imperial-reformers sought to underscore Japanese nativity.  "Shinto" practices and Buddhist practices are so entwined in Japan that it is not accurate to say Person A is a Shintoist and Person B is a Buddhist.

The number of true Buddhists in China is greatly under-represented in the figures above.  "Atheism" is the official religion of the Chinese Communist Party but Buddhist beliefs didn't suddenly vanish in the 60 years since 1948. 

As for Playmobil, I agree with Bogro's comment that Zirndorff is a German city, probably a lot like Saint Louis (where I live) in terms of being predominately "European" in culture.  For Playmobil to make a church isn't really making a statement. 

I mean, I'm an atheist, but I grew up around churches.  I know about Church weddings, Friar Tuck, et cetera.  Most Playmobil consumers are Americans and Europeans who identify with the familiar.  Japanese (and the increasing Chinese) consumer base likely are attracted to the exoticism of the very-European Playmobil. 

So everybody is probably happy. 

Yes, I would love a well-made Playmobil Buddhist temple.  But, I'd shy from calling the lack of one narrow-mindedness or political agenda.

Incidentally, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum to an Indian Sultan's wife (or mistress).  It isn't a religious center, but is treated like a museum.  So, Lego's inclusion of the Taj is an architectural gesture rather than a religious gesture.

Finally, a key thing we are overlooking: according to Richard, the Magic Castle Theme began as an Arabian Knights theme, and in keeping with that, PM has released a few Indian-like prince sets (3835, 3837, 4505) and the magic castle is similar in shape to what we think of as Mughal architecture.  For whatever reason, those sets didn't lead to full-fledged themes.  Maybe consumers were less interested in stuff they didn't recognize.

So, don't blame Playmobil!  Remember, it's a commerical toy, not a Social Studies course!

-Tim

PS.  On my trips to Japan, China, and Korea, I've looked hard for Asian Playmobil-equivalents.  Toys there, even the ones that are homegrown, tend to be sci-fi, fantasy, or modern military.  Chinese kids, for instance, don't seem to be as interested in playing with Three Kingdoms era toys as we are playing with King Arthur-era toys.  It seems Asian kids love the modern or space-fantasy and are less interested in historical toys or "culturally relevant" toys.