Halloween is a tricky holiday for Christians. I get it. Some families will take their costumed tykes into the neighborhood to ring strangers’ doorbells and ask for free candy. Others will keep the porch lights off and wait for the church’s Harvest Festival.
But of all the holidays on the yearly docket, I’m not sure that one reflects pop culture quite so brazenly.
Just look out on your streets tonight, and you’ll see not just a bunch of kids with bags of sugar: You’ll see what’s been big in pop culture this year.
According to Google’s Frightgeist (which monitors which costumes are most Googled), Barbie is the United States’ most-popular costume this year. Fitting, given that Barbie was also the year’s most popular movie. Spirit Halloween, the ubiquitous seasonal store that shows up in otherwise-empty retail spaces every fall, says that two different Barbie outfits are outselling everything else: one featuring Barbie in a box, and another of Barbie in a bell-bottomed Western outfit. Go figure.
The ever-popular “princess” lands at No. 2, just beating out another 2023 pop-culture star, Spider-Man. The web-slinger’s popularity was likely buoyed by two factors: one, a wildly anticipated video game (Marvel’s Spider-Man 2); and two, the year’s third-biggest film (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse).
So, wait: If the country’s No. 1 costume is tied to its No. 1 movie, and its No. 3 costume is tied to the No. 3 movie, where’s the love for the year’s No. 2 film—The Super Mario Bros. Movie? Well, apparently dressing up as a rotund, mustachioed plumber isn’t high on a lot of kids’ Halloween wish list. But for couples? Mario and Luigi were second on the list, according to USA Today—right behind, you guessed it, Barbie and Ken. (Princess Peach did land at No. 13 on Google’s overall list, while Bowser managed to make his way to No. 42, right in between Beetlejuice and Catwoman.)
Wednesday Addams, the protagonist of one of Netflix’s most successful shows, proved to be popular, too, finishing No. 6. (The Addams Family itself was the most popular group costume theme, by the way, finishing just ahead of Toy Story characters.) Bluey earned a No. 28 finish—right ahead of a blanket search for Star Wars. And Chucky—star of a film franchise and TV show we just reviewed—landed with a cackle in 30th place. (The diabolical doll’s influence goes beyond adults and kids’ costumes, too. It’s the third-most searched-for outfit for babies, and the top search for pet costumes.)
Looking for Taylor Swift? Well, it’d be hard to dress up as the pop star, given that she herself ran through an estimated 40 outfits during the North American leg of her Eras Tour. No matter: The “Shake It Off” singer still managed to be the 22nd-most-popular outfit to search for, according to Google.
Think entertainment isn’t influential? Think pop culture isn’t important? Take a look outside your door tonight. The kids, adults and pets you see will tell you otherwise.
2 Responses
As a Bible believing Christian, I believe in celebrating life, light and goodness and thus see no reason to celebrate or partake in a holiday dedicated to death, evil and darkness.
Sometimes it’s how you look at it though. We use it as an opportunity to be outside and get to know our neighbors – celebrating their lives and showing light and goodness.