A documentary about "reborn" baby dolls and the people around them has been broadcast by Britain's Channel Four. My Fake Baby can be watched on YouTube (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). It addresses both the love some people feel for these dolls, as well as the creepiness others express in their presence. There isn't much on the craft, nor on cultural resonances.
It's a spooky, sad, cruel show, following several people through their acquisition ("birthing") of new or first dolls ("reborns," "babies"). Ultimately it feels like a portrait of obsession, or part-time delusion, on the part of the owners ("parents"). Each case touches on psychological stress, from one woman obsessed with cleaning each pram's multiple sets of wheels, to the grandmother cheerily confronting her grandson with his infantile doppelganger.
Gendering is sharp and melancholy, with women the sole both producers and consumers, while men are either quietly polite or openly horrified (says one: "[the doll] looks like something on a mortuary slab").
There's a strong class dimension to the film as well. We see one couple spending lavishly on props for their new and old dolls, and households well above working class. The artisans, in contrast, are at far removed socio-economic levels.
I don't mean for My Fake Baby to sound unfunny, because it's very funny. Flagged from the title, signalled by musical choices, satire oozes from some scenes, notably the bizarre one where one "mother" waits in a hotel room for (literally and discursively) delivery. And the final YouTube slice has a great bit with one artisan's children goofing with doll body parts. At one side the thing feels like American daytime tv, in its voyeurism and spectacular cruelty.
But it does offer a long trip through the uncanny valley. There are chills throughout, from tables of doll bits to the uncanny accuracy of the dolls, baby components popped in a microwave to people recoiling in horror from a thing in the pram.
And yet the film's women express such joy and delight in the craft. Their joy shines through satire and sarcasm. One wonders about the intersections of gender or neurology and the uncanny valley.
The MetaFilter post from whence I learned about this video, has a long comments thread that covers a wide range of views.
We've discussed the reborn movement before, and I'd be delighted to hear commentators' reactions to this movie. Those interested in dolls and the uncanny should follow that link to more discussion of other cases.
This is one of the creepier things I've ever heard... the doll's picture does look like a baby corpse. Somehow I see a link between this and the German corpse story, but I'm not sure what it is.
Posted by: Jen | January 10, 2008 at 22:07
Corpses can have that uncanny valley aspect, Jen. The flicker of life removed, they're objects, yet we nudge our perceptions of them backs towards housing life once more.
Posted by: Bryan Alexander | January 12, 2008 at 17:11
It's not creepy at all. Not only are the reborn babies fun to collect but they can be very theraputic, especially for women. Studies have shown that holding and cuddling a baby, whether a real baby or a realistic baby, releases hormones in the body that promotes emotional well being.
Posted by: reborn dolls | April 27, 2009 at 14:40
Why should there be so much fuss about so- called "reborn dolls"? If people want to collect lifelike dolls, why not? If you want a realistic portrait painted of a real person, is that creepy too? A doll is a facsimile of a baby - why shouldn't that doll look as realistic as possible? Personally, I think it's OK for people to collect reborn dolls, have their portrait painted or have any other hobby they want, as long as they are not harming anyone else.
Posted by: reborner | July 14, 2009 at 10:26
Personally, what makes ME shudder is watching grown men spint 'n polish their thousand dollar remote control car collections. How's that for creepy?
Posted by: GeenaMae | December 10, 2009 at 22:28
I don't see a point why people depend their happiness with this reborn dolls. They were just merely a craft, an art or whatever you want to call them but having a feeling like they were your own child, parents should consult their psychiatrists really soon.
Posted by: Reborn Doll Sale | February 09, 2010 at 04:28
It doesn't seem all that crazy or creepy. After all, there are MUCH worse hobbies out there which people could be participating in, so who cares if they collect dolls.
Posted by: reborn dolls | March 03, 2013 at 14:05