‘Barbenheimer’ memes are big on social media, and Japan isn’t happy about it

This month marks 78 years since nuclear bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
So memes combining mushrooms clouds and actors from the “Barbie” movie aren’t going down so well in the East Asian nation

Japan

Bloomberg

Published: 11:05am, 1 Aug 2023

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The double dose of American movie hits known as “Barbenheimer” is fuelling a social-media backlash in Japan, the only country to have experienced nuclear-weapon attacks.

The memes combining Oppenheimer, a biography of the inventor of the atomic bomb, and Barbie, a comedy about the fashion doll, have been trending on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Japanese users, who were already embracing the “#NoBarbenheimer” hashtag, were provoked further when the United States account for the Barbie film chimed in with a post saying: “It’s going to be a summer to remember.”

A screengrab of the official “Barbie” Twitter account’s response to a “Barbenheimer” poster shared by @DiscussingFilm. The tweet by @barbiethemovie has since been deleted. Photo: Twitter/@DiscussingFilm

August 6 and August 9 will mark 78 years since the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The island nation marks the anniversary with solemn ceremonies and calls to eliminate nuclear weapons. Although Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer hasn’t been banned in Japan, it doesn’t have a release date yet even though it debuted in US theatres last month.

Posts in Japanese described the “Barbenheimer” meme as “terrible” and criticised images combining mushroom clouds and actors from the Barbie movie.

The uproar forced the Japan office of Warner Bros, the distributor of Barbie, to respond.

If Warner Bros’ American office takes this issue seriously and apologises, it will probably cause most of this backlash to die down

Jeffrey J. Hall, history lecturer

It’s “highly regrettable” that the US-based account for the film engaged with the “Barbenheimer” movement in an inappropriate manner, Warner Bros. Japan LLC said in a statement posted on the official Japanese account for Barbie. The company said it’s not connected with the meme or the movement, and that it is seeking “an appropriate response” from its US parent.

“Hollywood takes into consideration themes and expressions that are sensitive to certain countries,” said Takashi Uchiyama, cultural and creative studies professor at Aoyama Gakuin University. “I think there was a desire to shift the timing of the release.”

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Barbie and Oppenheimer opened on the same weekend in the US, leading to a phenomenon where audiences watch the two films in one cinema visit. It’s common for Hollywood films to be released later in Japan after the US premiere. Barbie will debut in Japan on August 11.

An official from Toho-Towa Co., which usually distributes films from Universal Pictures, said Oppenheimer’s release in Japan is yet to be determined. The decision will be made by Universal Pictures, the official added.

“If Warner Bros’ American office takes this issue seriously and apologises, it will probably cause most of this backlash to die down,” said Jeffrey J. Hall, a history lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies.

“Oppenheimer is likely to receive awards and when that happens we can expect a wide release at theatres in Japan,” Hall said. “It is very common for Japanese film distributors to delay film releases up to six months or a year, and it rarely is politically motivated.”