You know you’re a big deal when you get your own action figure.
By that measure, Mark Zuckerberg has finally made it. Forget the fact that he invented Facebook. Forget that he could now buy much of Central Europe and still have money to purchase a Caribbean island or two. Now that M.I.C. Gadget has crafted an action figure based on the twentysomething social media mogul, Zuckerberg will have something to brag about at his high school reunion.
Or maybe not. Actually, it seems that M.I.C. has had some difficulties getting licensing rights to the Zuck, so they’ve titled their figurine the “Poking Inventor Action Figure,” accessorizing him with little “like” and “poke” signs, along with Zuckerberg’s trademark sandals. ‘Course, budget-minded buyers will need to “like” the doll quite a bit to plunk down the $70 (plus tax) required to bring him home.
The fact that this action figure even exists—and the fact that I kinda want one—may illustrate, I think, how even fortysomething guys like me are fairly loathe to grow up. My desk at work looks something like an elementary school romper room, loaded with Hot Wheels cars and wind-up toys and (prepare to be envious) a plastic gun that shoots ninjas (useful when my editor nags me for stories). Which makes me a big ol’ hypocrite: I sometimes write about how sad it is that maturity’s so undervalued these days … how everyone seems to want to forever look and act 17. Turns out, I don’t want to be 17. I apparently want to be 12.
Not that most 12-year-olds I know are clamoring for a Poking Inventor Action Figure. They’d much rather get a video game, if it’s all the same to us. No, these “action figures” are the province of adults. We may not be saving enough for retirement, but at least we’ll have lots of toys to play with in our rent-controlled apartments.
Still, I kinda wish that action-figure makers would design some based on real careers. Like—and I’m just picking a career at random, here—one depicting a Christian movie reviewer. It would come with a pad of paper and a light-up pen. And, maybe, for a little bit extra, you could buy one that would bleep curse words for you.
Recent Comments