Have you seen “Comrade Barbie” around campus lately? 

Designed and produced by Sheridan Ameo ’22, these printed posters of communist Barbie dolls have been appearing in various Hill classrooms, halls, and even dorm rooms. For the past few weeks, Ameo has been inspired to produce these satirical digital art prints depicting communist Barbies who all advocate for a series of unorthodox beliefs. 

“Feeling sad and depressed?” One poster inquires, with “Comrade Barbie” dressed in nurse scrubs. “You might be suffering from CAPITALISM.”

When asked about the origins of her “Comrade Barbie” posters, Ameo laughed. 

“I was like, ‘What if I made a poster of Barbie standing in front of a pink communist flag?’” Ameo said. “It was the funniest thing to me.”

Ever since that day, Ameo has been working incessantly to produce and distribute more than 30 “Comrade Barbie” art prints. Recently, she has even created a spin-off series of “Capitalist Kens” — Ken dolls with immaculate cheekbones and coiffed hairdos, attempting to explain supply and demand in consumerism.

“I hand them out; they’re taped on my dorm door,” Ameo said. “I’m just trying to get the message out there. Barbie is a communist.” 

For Ameo, however, the “Comrade Barbies” serve to illustrate a more profound point as well. 

“The reason they’re funny is because they’re so serious,” Ameo said. “It’s really funny to turn a corporation’s capitalist icon into a countercultural protest symbol. And even the “Capitalist Ken” posters point out people who criticize communism from a place of status.”

As for the production aspect of her prints, Ameo said that she is learning as she continues to create. 

“It took a while of experimentation to get Barbie’s style down,” she said. “One takes about five to ten minutes, depending on how complex it is.”

In the future, Ameo will continue producing her art prints, which will hopefully enable her to live out her wildest dreams. 

“I plan to sell them and get so rich I can drop out of Hill and become a sheep farmer in the Swiss mountainside,” she said. 

When asked about a possible Plan B, Ameo reluctantly admitted that starting a communist utopia would be acceptable, too.