2023 has been a fantastic year for movies. As the months passed, it became clear that the hype for certain releases only kept getting bigger and crazier. For months, we had been bombarded with Barbie's marketing (and social media posts captioning about their myriad marketing tactics... probably the reason why the promotions felt amplified) and while Oppenheimer had a much more humble strategy to get the word out (I mean, with a star cast and crew like theirs, did they need to?), it's obvious that the biggest (and smartest) tactic on both the filmmakers' ends was to release them on the same day. This resulted in the coining of the portmanteau: Barbenheimer.
I'll be honest, I've never watched much of these directors' acclaimed filmographies. Nolan's cult movies like Memento (2000), Interstellar (2014) and Dunkirk (2017) are still on my to-watch list. Gerwig's widely celebrated films, Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019) are yet to be watched by these four eyes. I know, how can I blog about Barbenheimer without prior knowledge of their signature styles?! I guess you can envy me for being awestruck by both their styles for the first time... I'm sure you remember that feeling when you were first introduced to their work.
First things first: I watched Oppenheimer first and then Barbie. Why? There are a number of reasons which are also popular explanations in social media debates, like the fact that Barbie is set in a post-WW2 era and Oppenheimer set the stage for it. Or maybe the fact (my favourite reason) that Barbie feels like dessert after a dark movie. While there may have been some recency bias, I hope you enjoy my honest thoughts on these fantastic movies.
Oppenheimer: The Movie We Need To Experience.
There's a reason why Nolan is regarded as a genius filmmaker. This movie was entirely shot in the IMAX format, making it a heart-thumping experience. The man behind the atom bomb, Robert J Oppenheimer (played by a perfectly cast Cillian Murphy), is one of the most impactful (and consequently controversial) personalities to have ever lived. Murphy captures the essence of his titular character in every movement and speech (yes, including those tense clenching of teeth). What enraptured me was the way the political and moral consequences of Oppie's (cute nickname, right?) project were cruelly portrayed. Despite everything, he knew he had the responsibility to urge governments to control the arms race to build more deadly nuclear weapons. Does this redeem himself as a "good person"? Nolan was clever to make the audience think such conflicting thoughts, extending the pain of Oppenheimer to us, too. You gotta respect the scientist he was and his contributions to quantum mechanics, though. That's no doubt.
I did read the Bhagavad Gita in preparation, and I thought it was an absolutely beautiful text, very inspiring. I think it was a consolation to him (Oppenheimer), he kind of needed it and it provided him [with] a lot of consolation, all his life... — Cillian Murphy on how he prepared for this demanding role.
Every character, from Kitty Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt) to Gen. Groves (Matt Damon) and Lewis Strauss (played by a riveting Robert Downey Jr.), was brought to life by actors who made sure to do their homework and know their characters inside out. Everyone had shades of grey; I don't mean to justify the atomic bomb, but an ominous saying loomed in my mind afterwards: War Is Peace. (Or rather, "Is War Peace?")
Every crackle of cosmic waves coursed through my body as I became transfixed by the man's mental thought process. It became clear that he was a man of ideas, not an experimentalist. Yet, his brilliant team of diverse scientists from all walks of ideological views made 'Project Manhattan' a success. I only wish there was a deeper insight into the physics, but I was genuinely surprised by the screenplay. I didn't expect a specific focus on the years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the political drama didn't disappoint for a second. You can't believe how glad I am to have witnessed this masterpiece.
Barbie: The Movie We Need.
Let me tackle this now. Barbie is not "too woke" or "anti-men." It's a movie with feminist themes and rightly so! While I've seen few commercial big-budget movies have feminist ideas, I'm so glad this movie was made the way it was. I'll be candid here: I didn't keep any expectations for this movie. In the sense, my main motivator to watch it was the Barbenheimer craze and, well, you know the good ol' saying: Expectations lead to disappointment.
Barbie has been one of the most cherished childhood memories for millions of children around the world since the '60s. Personally, I never had any Barbie dolls when I was younger but I was under the impression that Barbie was made to portray unrealistic expectations of women. Barbie's pop pink (which was terrifically used in the movie, kudos to the production designers) also influenced the populist belief that pink is for girls only. So how did Greta Gerwig achieve portraying Barbie as a feminist icon when many people already had the notion that she is anything but?
I want the movie to make people feel somewhat relieved of the tightrope. We ask ourselves — not just as women, [but] men too — that we walk this impossible tightrope of being perfect... Barbie has always been a symbol of this thing that you could never reach because she physically couldn't stand up if she were a human being. — Greta Gerwig in an interview.
Every scene was a joy to watch. As Barbie's existential crisis unfurls, we are left wondering if it will be a predictable "road to redemption" story (sounds a bit similar to Oppenheimer, no?) Margot Robbie breathed her character, and Ryan Gosling shone as Ken. For those who claim that men were belittled in this movie, please rewatch it because you totally missed the point. Sure, some dialogues might have been a bit lengthy and felt like an Instagram Reel audio, but I feel that's exactly the intended way to "smash the patriarchy" for a movie that many people thought of taking lightly. You need to be as explicit as you can and, with a dash of well-intended humour, people will finally see that 'being' feminist isn't something only niche movies do. For a character like Barbie who has been regarded as very superficial in the past, it was refreshing (and very much necessary) for her to discover her purpose. And, hey - it wasn't just Barbie. Ken was able to confront this never-ending feeling of being on the sidelines and got a great ending, too. Everyone did! And that's the magic of this movie.
I was very astonished by Mattel's accountability for its past problematic actions. It was very refreshing to see such a positive affirmation for a more diverse array of dolls. Perhaps die-hard fans of Mattel's creation expected more regarding the Easter eggs and other lighthearted themes, which is a totally valid opinion. But, I cannot comprehend calling feminism "woke" and hating on it. It just doesn't make sense. It's no coincidence that most of the people who are labelling it as "woke" are men whose egos are hurt.
...because when Barbie promised little girls that “women can be anything”, those words got twisted to mean “women should be everything”. — Clarisse Loughrey in a review for the Independent.
Being a feminist simply means recognizing the struggles and socio-economic inequalities between men and women. This is not an issue that spurred up recently, though. Movements of equity have been going on for decades, yet many people still have a disappointing hostile attitude. I do not intend to sound self-righteous or "better," but we definitely have a responsibility as humans (and consumers) to be appreciative of such movies.
You will laugh, cry, and smile throughout - and that, I found, was the true magic of Barbie.
Barbie vs. Oppenheimer: Who Wins?
You literally cannot compare the two movies. They are impactful and purposeful in their own ways. Mind you, this is no convenient way for me to save myself from any objection that one is better than the other. I personally see no point in comparing two polar opposite movies. Let's just agree to enjoy this film phenomenon that may not happen again for a while. All I can say is, it's not Barbie vs. Oppenheimer, it's Barbie and it's Oppenheimer. (See what I did there?)
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