Paper Pleasures in the Technological Age – Paper Arts and Crafts

In the midst of the greatest technological boom the world has ever witnessed, it is interesting to discover that there are still among us those who participate in the seemingly outdated hobbies of our ancestors. Before Secondlife and The Sims, before Gigapets, Tamagotchis, and even Barbie, there were paper dolls.

Paper dolls have never been a typical type of toy. They embody simplicity: familiar fashions and faces printed on a flat, barely two-dimensional object. While many historians place the origins of paper dolls among the ancient civilizations of China, Japan, and Western Europe, modern paper doll manufacturing began in the late 18th century, accompanying popular children’s literature in Europe and America.

The era of click and print

What is the appeal of the paper doll? While it’s classified as a toy, it’s certainly not fun limited to teenagers, or even girls. Activities known as “dress up games,” now including the printable paper doll, are a popular Internet pastime in contemporary America, possibly cultivated by our ongoing cultural obsession with fashion and virtual reality. “Dress up games are an ultra-simplified version of the virtual reality phenomenon, satisfying our escapist desires, but also offering a measure of control that’s impossible to maintain in real life.

The fascination with paper dolls has never completely disappeared from youth culture in the United States, but the annual release of PC games and video game consoles, lavishly equipped cell phones, and virtual reality simulations has produced stiff competition in a developing entertainment industry that thrives on desire. for unlimited options.

Fortunately for fans of paper dolls, this delightful diversion hasn’t been completely abandoned by the technological age, but has instead been absorbed by the wealth of information that the Internet is now taking over. Once the rare possession of wealthy families, this paper delight has reached the pinnacle of accessibility in the form of a printable paper doll.

The images have changed from prima ballerinas and Victorian nobility to Disney princesses and media stars, but the sentiment remains the same. In fact, paper doll culture has expanded to accommodate America’s multisocial world, responding to the vast and myriad combinations that make up our individual interests. There are paper doll figures of Audrey Hepburn and Rita Hayworth for Grandma, along with cut-out figures of Naruto and Paris Hilton for little Tommy and Jessica.

The use of paper dolls has been optimized, targeting even more specialized groups: the sci-fi and fantasy audience, goths, historians, wiccans, fetishists, anime, biblical and many others. Websites like Gail’s Paper Dolls, Marilee’s Paper Dolls, and Spacestation42 compile a list of printable paper dolls that are sure to appeal to everyone: mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, eccentric Uncle Leonard, and the kids.

Rather than disappear into the abyss of lost amusements, paper doll fans have revived the paper doll and solidified its place in entertainment culture by also becoming participants in the production process, making the paper doll printable. just one click away from other Internet users.