Barbenheimer is coming! Fans go wild with Barbie and Oppenheimer memes
A tale of two blockbusters! Witty social media users flood the internet with hilarious ‘Barbenheimer’ memes as Margot Robbie’s Barbie and thriller Oppenheimer get set to premiere on the same day
- Fans are making hilarious memes about blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer
- ‘Barbenheimer’ has been penned to create unity and support for both films
- The Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan films make their premieres on July 21
The Barbenheimer (a hybrid of Barbie and Oppenheimer) phenomenon continues to only grow stronger as both films approach their July 21 premiere.
As the date draws closer, fans are making memes at a rapid-fire rate.
The internet first went wild when it was announced that Greta Gerwig’s film Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer would make their debut on the same date.
Not only do the films have the industry’s most-notable directors attached to them, but they both also have whopping $100 million budgets.
However, they couldn’t be more different to each other stylistically.
The Barbie film stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken
Oppenheimer follows the real-life story of J. Robert Oppenheimer
On one hand, the Barbie movie is brightly colored, and embraces everything fun and campy about the iconic Mattel toy line.
Meanwhile Oppenheimer is characterized as a war drama. There is a much darker tone and as a film about the invention of atomic bombs, it couldn’t be any further from the happy-go-lucky Gerwig film.
While fans worried they’d have to choose a side in the Barbie v Oppenheimer battle, they realized both could co-exist and have created the joint term ‘Barbenheimer’ to celebrate their excitement for both.
The term has blown up so much on social media that it has its own Wikipedia page.
The entry describes Barbenheimer as ‘an Internet phenomenon that began circulating ahead of the theatrical release of two films diametrically opposed in genre, Barbie and Oppenheimer, on July 21, 2023.’
It also digs further into the roots of the intrigue behind Barbenheimer, citing the extreme ‘contrast’ between the two movies.
The page reads: ‘The contrast between Barbie, a fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig about the fashion doll Barbie, and Oppenheimer, a biographical thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan about theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, provoked a comedic response from Internet users.’
Naturally, when the internet is presented with a combination of cultural phenomenon and comedy, memes ensue.
And with the movies’ premiere date less than two weeks out, there is an abundance of memes marrying the two films together, while pointing out the stark stylistic and genre contrasts between the pair.
Fans have made an abundance memes marrying the two films together while pointing out the stark stylistic and genre contrasts between them
One fan used the lyrics of the Avril Lavigne song, Sk8er Boi, in the creation of their meme, while also recruiting Claire and Phil Dunphy from Modern Family which read: ‘He was a [Barbie] boy, she was a [Oppenheimer] girl.’
Another drew from Barbie’s ‘This Barbie…’ marketing campaign and used it to create one for Oppenheimer, even putting the poster in a Barbie doll box.
The accompanying tweet read: ‘This Barbie left behind a complex legacy vis-a-vis scientific development & nuclear warfare.’
A third used the renowned It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ‘Pepe Silvia’ meme and jokingly tried to find the thread connecting the two movies.
They wrote: ‘Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent ROBERTS. Oppenheimer’s full name is Julius ROBERT Oppenheimer. There’s something they’re not telling us.’
Fans have even made parody posters combining the films.
Fans have even made parody posters combining the films
Some featured the films’ two stars, Barbie’s Margot Robbie and Oppenheim’s Cillian Murphy, with each wearing their cowboy-inspired outfits.
Others have transplanted Barbie in her signature pink into the world of Oppenheimer, filled with explosions and mass destruction.
Fans have also created memes of explosions and smoke colored in Barbie pink.
One user posted a picture of a pink explosion and quipped it was the ‘Barbie x Oppenheimer movie marketing campaign.’
Another joked about walking into their ‘local cinema’ and just seeing a cloud of pink smoke.
A third fan joked about the Oppenheimer explosion sound effects going off, loud enough to be heard during a Barbie screening.
Explosions have become another vocal point for Barbenheimer memes
Others made memes out of contradicting fashion choices to visually demonstrate the contrast between the girly and campy Barbie film versus the dark and moody Oppenheimer film.
One uploaded a picture of soccer player Lionel Messi wearing a black sweatshirt and Neymar wearing a pink sweatshirt.
Above the picture of Messi, the user wrote ‘one ticket for oppenheimer,’ while the text above Neymar read: ‘And one ticket for barbie pls.’
Another person posted memes of figures wearing half masculine and half feminine looks including Panic! At The Disco’s Brendon Urie and Dean Pelton from the show Community.
Others made memes out of contradicting fashion choices to visually demonstrate the contrast between the girly and campy Barbie film versus the dark and moody Oppenheimer film
The contrast between these two films has drawn comparisons to other pop cultural references.
For instance, one user compared the differences between the films to the dichotomous relationship between Wednesday characters Wednesday Addams and Enid Sinclair.
Another claimed ‘the original Barbenheimer’ was Daria and Brittany from the show Daria.
A third referenced the two neighboring houses in Santa Monica that have become famous for how different they are from each other.
One is pink and purple while another is strictly black.
The contrast between these two films has drawn comparisons to other pop cultural references
Even Barnes and Noble has gotten in on the fun with its own Barbenheimer section.
The display features books like The Making Of The Atomic Bomb and Trinity, alongside the reads like Dressing Barbie and a collection of Barbie dolls.
The films’ stars have also gotten involved with the Barbie and Oppenheimer fiasco.
Thankfully, they have remained civil and are even supportive of each others’ films.
Robbie signed a Barbenheimer shirt during the Barbie press tour.
Oppenheimer star Murphy also recently broke his silence on the discourse.
The films’ stars have also gotten involved with the Barbie and Oppenheimer fiasco. Thankfully, they have remained civil and are even supportive of each others’ films
‘I adore Margot Robbie, I love Ryan Gosling, I want to see them now!’ he told Spanish publication La Vanguardia.
‘My advice would be for people to go see both on the same day. If they are good movies, that’s what wins in the cinema,’ he added.
Robbie and Gerwig took it a step further and showed their support by posting a picture of themselves with tickets to see Oppenheim.
Recently, Murphy returned the favor and posted a snap of him and Nolan with tickets to the Barbie movie.
Barbie starts out with a glimpse into Barbie and Ken’s dream-like life in Barbie Land
Oppenheimer has a much gritter vibe. The film documents J. Robert Oppenheimer’s journey as he invents the atomic bomb and the ever-lasting changes it has on the world
Outside of Barbenheimer, the hype around Barbie has had social media buzzing, from its engaging marketing tactics to Robbie’s Barbie-inspired outfits that she’s been sporting throughout the press tour and its star-studded cast which includes Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, Dua Lipa, Kate McKinnon and more.
The film starts out with a glimpse into Barbie and Ken’s dream-like life in Barbie Land.
However, when they’re forced to live among humans, they realize the real world isn’t as blissful.
Meanwhile, Oppenheimer has a much gritter vibe. The film documents J. Robert Oppenheimer’s journey as he invents the atomic bomb and the ever-lasting changes it has on war as the world once knew it.
With Nolan as its director, many have extremely high expectations for the film which is why there is as much hype for it as there is for the Barbie movie.
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