On the one hand, the collision of two American blockbusters which caused sparks and receipts in the hundreds of millions of dollars; on the other, the still vivid memory of one of the most dramatic events in the history of humanity. The whole thing, passed through the not really subtle milling of social networks, resulting in discomfort in Japan. The phenomenon known as “Barbenheimer”, a contraction between the comedy inspired by Mattel’s doll and the feature film Oppenheimer on the designer of the atomic bomb, two films released on the same day in many countries at the end of July, has spread over the social networks, encouraging the public to see the two works in a row.
This “hashtag” was quickly accompanied by the appearance on the internet of “memes”, graphic montages of sometimes dubious taste, showing for example the heroes of the film Barbie in front of an atomic mushroom. In Japan, the only country that was struck by the atomic weapon, protests from Internet users have multiplied in recent days when the two films are not yet in theaters. Just days before the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed more than 210,000 people on August 6 and 9, 1945, the hashtag
The controversy escalated further after the official American Barbie movie social media account appeared to encourage the Barbenheimer phenomenon by responding to one of the memes with the words, “It’s going to be a summer to remember.” The message, which appears to have since been deleted, even prompted a dismayed comment from the Japanese division of Warner Bros., the producer of the Barbie film, on Monday.
“We find the inconsiderate reaction extremely regrettable” from the official Barbie account, can we read in this statement posted on the Japanese account of the film, adding: “We take this situation very seriously and demand an appropriate response from of the American headquarters” of the studios. “How dare you (…) make fun of this unacceptable meme?”, had replied in English under this message a Japanese Internet user, adding: “You should visit the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima and learn what s happened there. It is one of the most serious crimes against humanity”.
“We Japanese will never forget that summer,” reacted another internet user, attaching the photograph of burnt children’s clothes found in the rubble of the atomic bomb. The Barbie movie will be released in Japan on August 11. On the other hand, Oppenheimer does not yet have a release date in the archipelago, where Western films often arrive several months after their release.
