With Barbie and Oppenheimer released on the same day, a new pop culture phenomenon, ‘Barbenheimer,’ was born. Written by renowned movie directors Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan respectively, Barbenheimer caught the public’s attention with a ferocity not seen since the dual opening of ‘Mamma Mia!’ and ‘The Dark Knight’ in 2008.
At face value, Barbie is a surface-level movie, revolving around stereotypical Barbie’s life. On the other hand, Oppenheimer is unreserved in exploring the depth of human nature. The movies seem to contrast each other starkly. However, after watching both movies, they are similar in more ways than one, with both being social commentaries.
“The Barbie movie represented women’s empowerment, but I didn’t like how the movie depicted Ken relying on Barbie,” Mrs. Everhart said.
The Barbie movie presented itself in a funny and enjoyable manner. Moreover, the set design was impressive with iconic costumes. Though it focused on themes of patriarchy, it stayed lighthearted for a large portion of the movie, and many scenes kept the audience laughing in theatres. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s performances were excellent for their roles, and the actors made the movie come alive. Barbie aimed to showcase that the patriarchy hurts all people involved, including men as it forces traditional gender roles onto both men and women. However, it has remained controversial because the Kens were placed in the same role as the Barbies before the patriarchy reached Barbieland; it was not criticized until Barbieland became patriarchal under the Kens rather than matriarchal under the Barbies. Thus, portions of the movie fell rather flat, such as America Ferreira’s speech on feminism. Overall, it was an enjoyable but rather unimpactful movie compared to expectations.
Rating: 7/10
“I really thought Oppenheimer was great because it kept me on my toes, and I thought it was a very fun but educational movie,” Sophomore Nat Lanier said.
Though Oppenheimer was comparatively long compared to the Barbie movie (around two hours longer), it kept the audience engaged throughout its three-hour runtime. It is an extremely dense movie that follows J. Robert Oppenheimer and his journey to create the Atomic Bomb. Oppenheimer explored themes of human genius and flaws, and it showcased the grayness of ethics in Oppenheimer’s life. The performance of Cillian Murphy was awe-inspiring as he captured the emotions of Oppenheimer and left the audience reeling from emotional whiplash. Moreover, the cinematic choices were made with careful thought, and they emphasized the sullen nature of the film. Oppenheimer captured the horrifying nature of nuclear warfare, and it is a film like no other in its presentation of the human psyche.
Review: 10/10
See students dressed up for Barbie and Oppenheimer Day during Spirit Week here.