Dolls modded / named after people?

I think people can do whatever they want with their dolls. If they're a big fan of someone, I don't care if they have a doll that looks like a celebrity. It's perfectly legal to make them in limited batches, something that's been debated for a while, ever since celebrity Minimees went into production. I find them interesting. I have a celebrity Minimee head myself, but will probably mod it to be a little less realistic so it will blend in with the rest of my dolls.

 

How do you guys feel about this?
I couldn't care less really. I wouldn't mind having a Minimee of Anderson Cooper. But I know that there are people out there that would go 'why him?' (and others who are like 'who is he?).

Do you feel that it's ethical to keep these kind of dolls?
Why wouldn't it be? I mean it is a doll. It's not like you stole something of that person. You just use their personality and/or looks on a doll. There's nothing unethical about it unless it interfeers with that person's believes. For example; there are native Americans out there that don't want their picture taken. I think that a doll modded after them would go along the same lines.

Is it ethical to sell these types of dolls?
See above. Unless the person as specifically stated that they don't want it modded after them, than it's okay in my opinion.

Do you feel it's pushing the line of acceptable and creepy?
Sometimes maybe. If you think "this is {insert name here}! The real {name} that I shrunk down to a doll". Yeah... that'd be creppy O.o

 

How do you guys feel about this?
I feel that it's perfectly fine to make a 'tribute' doll or even a doll made to actually be a celebrity. After all isn't imitation the sincerist form of flattery? And of course since it's your doll as long as you like it then its fine.

Do you feel that it's ethical to keep these kind of dolls?
Minus the legal ramifications if it becomes a mass produced doll, its entirely ethical to purchase and keep them.

Is it ethical to sell these types of dolls?
Why would it be un-ethical? That's like saying it's unethical to sell action figures.

Do you feel it's pushing the line of acceptable and creepy?
Absolutely not. There are so many people here on the boards and not that love to make dolls of famous people! Just look at how well the MNM business is going.
As for 'creepy', I think I'm the wrong person to ask since I have 5 MNM's of the same person...

 

How do you guys feel about this?

I think when a person puts their face out in public in a big way, they lose a big chunk of their so called privacy. Consequently if someone makes a doll that looks like a celebrity the celb needs to accept it as a by product of the fame they've achieved. I't's like taking a photo, I wouldn't approve of taking one of them during sex, but just walking down the street? Deal with it..

Do you feel that it's ethical to keep these kind of dolls?

It's a doll, I fail to see where ethics get involved.

Is it ethical to sell these types of dolls?

Again I fail to see where ethics get involved. It no more unethical than REselling the doll to begin with.

To quote Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Do you feel it's pushing the line of acceptable and creepy?

Nope, Real Dolls are creepy, BJDs are toys

 

I think it's about on the same level as painting a portrait of a celebrity... does it have the potential to be creepy? Sure, but it's not always creepy, nor do I think it's particularly unethical if it's not a mass produced run sold for profit. I'm sure this has all been hashed out in the Minimee debates though.

 

LOL I can think of a few Celebrities I wouldn't mind a doll of LOL >>'

 

How do you guys feel about this?

I really don't care what other people do with their dolls.

Do you feel that it's ethical to keep these kind of dolls?

How would it be unethical? People have been dressing their dolls up to look like celebrities (royalty, stage stars, movie stars, etc.) for many many decades - perhaps even for centuries. It's not an unusual way to play.

Is it ethical to sell these types of dolls?

I know we've had discussions before about Minimee sculpts and whether those are ethical because a company is profiting off some famous person's likeness without paying them, but it sounds like what you're talking about here is someone who buys a doll and then dresses it, mods it, does a faceup etc. to look like their favorite celebrity. In other words, somebody buys a regular old doll and makes an OOAK celebrity doll, then sells it. I'm even less sure how this would be "unethical" because the person doing the selling is likely not in business to make a big profit off OOAK celeb dolls and on top of that, the doll is just as likely to be bought by someone who simply wants a doll of that sculpt to customize themself, as it is to be bought by someone who intends to keep all the OOAK celeb faceup, wig, etc.

Do you feel it's pushing the line of acceptable and creepy?

I feel more like it's becoming a trend to ask everybody if they think some regular practice of doll people is acceptable or creepy.

Having said that, I don't have a problem with celeb dolls, be they customized from plain ol' dolls, or specially sculpted Minimees. I don't find them creepy and don't care how people play with them - i.e. I don't get creeped out if someone makes the doll do something that the celeb wouldn't do in real life, like for instance cross dress, because it's play, it's a fantasy, it has nothing to do with the real celebrity person. And I certainly don't care if someone wants to name their doll Gackt or Mana or Justin Timberlake or whoever and play with it just like it was those people. Who cares? It's not bothering anybody.

 

I am kind of biased on this too.
When I found out about BJDs I really wanted a doll that would be modeled after hide. But later on I realized few things. First, I have great respect fot anything hide related, so the doll would be just sitting on my shelf looking pretty, but I wouldn´t dare to play with him. But most importantly, after I found out how the dolls are treated by the owners (giving them personality, story...) and adopted this approach I started to feel that doll shaped after existing person doesn´t "have a soul" . In other words, it is supposed to look/have personality like existing person, so the doll stays what it was in a first place- an expensive toy. But I feel that when the doll is given it´s own personality, it gets soul, the personality evolves, it´s much more fun.
I would never want a doll more then inspired by a look of someone. But I understand there are people who like such a dolls and I honestly do not care, I even like to look at those dolls, but I wouldn´t want one myself.
And about it being creepy. It may seem a bit strange, but we are strange to non-dolly people anyway. But I wonder, what would the celebrity thought, seeing a BJD modeled after them...

 

Well, some of dolls look more like celebrities than minimees do, Chrom=Gackt, for example. I think if a doll is really well made and looks like the person the owner intended it to look like, it's OK. but I find it a bit strange when a doll cosplays Zorro most of the time, for example, but sometimes wears stockings

 

This has made me think about my Kaoru (Deg) doll haha. He does just kinda sit on the shelf without much of a persona about him. Maybe I should play with his identity a bit and change a few things, I brought the head as I am a fan of the band and the doll was pretty, but..maybe I should interfere to evolve him a little more. I suppose in a way its like buying a figureine that supposedly looks like someone, like, a Hannibal Lecter model.

I have some story thinking to do xD

 

My guess is they're used to it because like I said, it's not a new idea. For example, Lenci sold Marlene Dietrich dolls when she was a popular film star. In Lana Turner's daughter's book, she writes that a fan sent her a doll that was all made up and dressed to look like her mother Lana Turner in a certain movie. And of course there are all the licensed dolls of popular actors and actresses. It's true that a BJD might look more realistic than the average "celebrity doll" but a lot of the commercial dolls look enough like the celeb that you can see the likeness.

In the past I've had dolls of various TV and movie stars including Brooke Shields, Fonzie (Henry Winkler) from Happy Days, and the original Charlie's Angels. I still have my little Fonzie doll and he's one of my favorites of all time because he really does look just like Fonzie.

Having dolls made to look like you just seems to be something that goes along with being a celebrity.

 

bunnydots: That´s definitely true. But as you said BJDs are more real looking than any other dolls and also you don´t really see people carying collectible figures around XD So I think it might still be a little strange for the person, but maybe, they would love the doll...who knows

RubberDuckyPinwheels: I am glad, because guess I may be little too sentimental when it comes to dolls XD
Kinda OT but I love Dir en grey too, my favorite band together with X Japan

 

True! There are an AWFUL lot of "Is it "wrong" to..." threads around here.

I have basically the same answers to all of them: "What does it matter what someone else does with their doll that they bought?" and "Why do you care what other people think of what you do with YOUR doll?"

I'm not touching the ethical and legal issues of Minimees, those are covered in depth several places.

As for having a doll of a certain character that belongs to someone else? I have no problem with it if that's what the owner wants to do. I don't really have plans to do so myself, as I think I would much more easily get bored with a doll like that. Even if I did have a doll of someone else's character, it would end up my own nowhere-near-canon mutation of the character, I'm sure. I find developing my own characters much more interesting. But in no way do I think there's anything wrong with having character dolls, any more than there's anything wrong with buying the licensed dolls or action figures of a character.

 

Do you feel that it's okay to keep these kind of dolls?
of course, why would it not be? The say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, if yu love a celeb and make a doll likeness that is flattering. inimees I am not so sure on but as has been said there are other threads to deal with that. I know people who have these types of dolls and here is what I will tell you from my experience, they fit into two types, those who make the pretty pretty to look like the person and that is as far as it goes, it is not a character, just a pretty doll, and those who create their own idealised (in their view) version of that person, such as those who slash celebrities or popular characters, or who leave out drug abuse, add a partner who does not exist in reality, anything like that, it is NOT their person, but their character based on that person.


Is it alright to sell these dolls; using a celebrity's face, look, and reputation just to earn some quick bucks? Um...customising a doll is sure as hell not making QUICK bucks, and the profit from selling most customised dolls is rather negligable, unless you have a huge rep to back it up. Selling them on the MP I have no issue with, but once again the minimee issue I will stay way clear of.

Would you be able to really 'bond' with a doll who isn't your own creation, but an existing person?personally? no, my dolls are all my own creations, but some are closely inspired from people, such as Able is inspired by Xander Kane, or XXX as portrayed by Vin Deisel

Do you feel it's pushing the line of acceptable and creepy?

Nope, I have no issue with it and if someone mods a doll to effectively look the part more power to them say I

 

If it's a fictional character, I have no problem with it (ex: someone makes a doll after sailor moon and keeps her name/traits, etc...). With real people however, to me it seems really obsessed, creepy, and stalker-ish.

 

AGREED!



I think it's okay to make and have/buy a celeb/minimee so long as you don't do things like take pix of the doll 'suiciding' or something equally disturbing. I plan on having at least one minime in the future, but I don't plan on showing it doing anything weird in case the person ever saw it and found it objectionable. Or I would just write the person and ask permission.

 

I'll let you know if I ever get a response....