If you have been on Twitter recently, the most recent film news involves Cannes, but the real beast that has been plaguing the internet for a while is the Barbie vs Oppenheimer feud. It is the most curious thing, because both of these films are already expected to receive a lot of critical acclaim, given the crew and the subject matter. Barbie is a Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach project starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Hellen Mirren, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Alexandra Shipp, Kate McKinnon, Dua Lipa, Scott Evans, Nicola Coughlan and Ritu Arya, alongside other cast members.
On the other hand, Oppenheimer is a Christopher Nolan project starring Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Gustaf Skarsgård, David Dastmalchian, Gary Oldman, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek, Casey Affleck, Scott Grimes, Alex Wolff, James D’Arcy, Josh Peck, Dane DeHaan, David Krumholtz and Jack Quaid, alongside other cast members. Even just in the collection of cast members, we are able to see the distinction in the way we think about the films. For the former, cast members like Robbie and Gosling are incredibly popular cultural figures because of the films they have been in.
Meanwhile, the latter boasts a collection of cast members who are considered to be seasoned members of the industry, staying away from the popular discourse and being a part of projects that are generally considered to be critically acclaimed. Additionally, there is a charm Greta Gerwig brings to all of her films. The ability to turn any film into a cultural phenomenon. Little Women was just the beginning of her career, and with her advancement to such a popular IP, it seems that she invited the challenge and wanted to take up something fresh.
At the same time, Christopher Nolan brings such a dark, gritty take to most of his films. They are all expected to be big think pieces with something to take home with us. A question, a statement or an image we cannot get out of our heads. It might be similar to Barbie in that sense because everyone is expecting a certain version of what the film might entail. Still, everyone is convinced that there is definitely something deeper hidden in this film, and the moment we all watch it, the whole plot will just click.
In extreme contrast, we are going in knowing exactly what to watch, and we will be coming back more confused and with more questions than we went in with when it comes to Oppenheimer. Furthermore, the glittery, shiny pink land for Barbie and the incredibly monochrome and desolate colour scheming for Oppenheimer is just the contrast everyone needed to jump on to make it the social media rivalry of 2023. Additionally, the deeply ingrained binary of the hyper-masculinity and hyper-femininity of these movies also make great comparisons when it comes to relationship dynamics.
Watch the Barbie and Oppenheimer Trailers
The internet has been jumping on this rivalry mostly because their end results are going to be so similar, but the way we’re going to be experiencing them is so different. Viewers are also in stitches thinking about the fact that Barbie and Oppenheimer might both be in the same Academy Award category kicking up this rivalry too far up a notch. The easter eggs in the former, with the dolls and our cultural obsession with them, is a direct reflection and a contrast of the subject matter in the former, which is also in a different form of cultural obsession, war and violence.
It is hilarious to see the internet take such a firm stand and pit these two movies against each other, and somehow, we all collectively understand the zeitgeist enough to get behind it. In the age of social media and cultural commentary, films are less of an experience confined to the theatres and more of what the social psyche thinks of it even before it releases. While both of these films are set in a time of cultural revolution, Gerwig’s project is self-aware of its clout, while Nolan once again stands to be far from the social commentary, choosing to let this film take its own turn.
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Barbie vs Oppenheimer Twitter Reactions
Barbie and Oppenheimer both release in theatres on July 21, 2023. What do you think of this internet banter between the two films? Let us know in the comments below.