I don't understand....

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Jan 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kiama	23 Jan 2002
I've seen recenly that alot of people say the Robin Wood is: - 'The revenge of Ken and Barbie' (Although I did find this very funy!) - Too cutesy - Childish - Doesn't accept the negative aspects of life aswell as the positive. Now, I'm not here to bash anyone's opinion, cuz you're all entitled to it, and we all have different tastes, but as a user and lover of the Robin Wod, I would like to know why it is childish, 'Ken and Barbie's Revenge' etc...? Is it the artwork? Cuz I think maybe that could be it, but I find the art very attractive and easy on the eye. Please someone back these things up so I can understand! Thankyou! Kiama

arizonagirl	23 Jan 2002
Thanks, Kiama, for giving me an opportunity to vent my frustration when people say that all the people in the Robin Wood Tarot are Caucasion. So are the people in the Rider Waite cards!!!! The Court Cards of the Pentacles in the Robin Wood Tarot show people with darker skin.

Lilliana	23 Jan 2002
Well, I don't find the images on the Robin Wood too childish or "cutesy", in fact as far as the actual scenes depicted are concerned, I don't mind them at all. But the style of the artwork really puts me off. I suppose I'm just not attracted to the comic book artwork. Plus the people seem to have hairstyles from the 80's even though they are dressed in olde worlde type clothes. Actually the illustrations look very 80's in general. I know it's petty, but I just can't bring myself to get past the way the artwork looks. Lilli

Jewel	23 Jan 2002
Hi Kiama, Like you I am a Robin Wood fan. I would not let those comments bother me if I were you. We all have different tastes and opinions and that is that. The figures in the deck are primarily attractive (except scurdge on the 4 of pentacles) ... thus the ken and barbie thing. They are painted with pencil colors thus the colors are not as bold as in other decks. In addition the colors are softly blended. I think these things contribute to the whole sugary comment. The images are all aesthetically pleasing thus the comment that they veer away from the negative. I can see where people who do not like the deck are coming from, but honestly I like it, it works for me, so I really do not care what anyone else has to say about it. I respect everyone's opinion but I do not have to heed it ;) Love & Light,

catlin	24 Jan 2002
Guess I told you that I ordered the Robin Wood deck for myself as last Xmas gift. I also love it - although I am a sworn lover of the Legend and the Sacred Circle - and the Robin Wood deck ranges place 4 or 5 on my fav list. I do not think the "Ken-and-Barbie-blame justified. If you ever want to connect a tarot deck with Ken and Barbie then pl reserve this for the Myer Art Nouveau deck which was a real disappointment for me. Some ppl may blame the Robin Wood deck for only being interesting for you when you belong to the white ppl but I think there are a lot of other decks with multicultural background to satisfy this need. En somme, I like using my Robin Wood deck and if there were a pocket edition of it available I would replace my still-in-use-for-public-readings Rider-Waite for it.

Lilliana	24 Jan 2002
Quote: Jewel (24 Jan, 2002 06:48): The images are all aesthetically pleasing thus the comment that they veer away from the negative. Hmmm...... aesthetics just refers to composition, colour, contrast, unity, etc. (the balance between the principles and the elements of design) In the words, aesthetics concerns the design of the image, not the subject matter. So you can have an image which is aesthetically pleasing even though it has negative connotations or imagery. Actually, about the Robin Wood deck being too positive, I personally don't see it. From the images I've seen, it looks neutral, neither positive or negative. Lilli

StormCloud	24 Jan 2002
I don't think it's all that positive. I don't know about you, but the Robin Wood 2 of swords scares the cr*p out of me! More so than any other deck I have!

sif	24 Jan 2002
I love the Robin Wood deck. My tastes run into "darker" decks like Vertigo and Fantastical, but I've found Robin Wood's amazingly insightful nonetheless. The images are evocative, clear and to the point. I'm using them right now for meditation and study for those very reasons. On the Ken and Barbie issue, it seems to me that one person made that remark, and everyone else found it so funny that they had to use it too, whether they thought it was true or not. I'm also not white, but I don't find the mostly-white characters offensive. (Am I going to be offended at every movie I go see for that same reason?) Especially since tarot's roots are basically in Europe! Yay to this discussion! Go Robin Wood!

Kiama	24 Jan 2002
I never actually noticed that there aren't any non-Caucasian people in this deck! But to be truthful, if I was to do a deck, all the people in my deck would be white aswell. This isn't cuz I'm racist, or closed minded. Its just that where I am in the world, there isn't much of a coloured representation, so I don't really come into contact with non-Caucasians. When I look at people in Tarot decks, I usaully look at their attractiveness or mystique, not the colour of their skin. I'm also not bothered by a deck which has no Caucasin people in it. Kiama

divinerguy	24 Jan 2002
Dear Kiama, As the author of the "Revenge of Ken and Barbie" quote, I apologize for my insensitivity. I was trying to be funny, and I hope I didn't offend. Sometimes my humor is not always perceived as funny by all involved. As an former owner of a Robin Wood deck (I traded it to Metaz) I found deck to be overrepresented by blond haired women with pert noses and and even perkier boobs. Hence the Ken and Barbie dig. As a man whose seen his hair migrate from his scalp to his back, and was once able to see his toes while standing up, it would be nice to see more realistic representations of people on Tarot cards. Some decks are more representative of the general population, despite how scary that may be. As an example, the Cosmic Tribe has its share of "abundant" people. I think people, and in particular older women, are full of life. I'd like to see them in more decks. Gary

Kiama	25 Jan 2002
Divinerguy: Don't worry, I certainly saw the humour in the Ken and Barbie thing, but it was another criticism which was very similar to others I have seen written about the Robin Wood. I have the Cosmic Tribe deck too, and I love it! Kiama

Frankie	25 Jan 2002
I have a tally of around 24 decks,and I confess to not getting on with the majority (22 say!) but I do like them for what they are and would never part with any at all........sorry to babble here!!!!...But the Robin Wood was a deck I bought with great enthusiam...and as I looked through each card in detail I saw something in at least 4cards that completely put me off from taking the deck seriously.. like The Chariot card strikes me as if he's YAWNING more than singing and then the guy in the temperance card at a quick glance seems to be smoking a pipe more than juggling some orbs (my fault I know - I must have an overactive imagination hehehehehe!!!) The other 2 cards are The Hanged Man - who looks a little bit squashed within his tree and The Sun card resembles that strange "golden masked boy" character in the film Excaliber! All in gest may I say,lets face it the damn pack has been No 1 for 2 years running now!!!! xxxxxxxx

The I don't understand.... thread was originally posted on 23 Jan 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.