“Barbenheimer”: Summer of Blockbusters
September 20, 2023
Written by: Katherine Rogers
On July 21st, 2023, two new films were released to theaters, Barbie and Oppenheimer. Greta Gerwig’s pink, comedic, story compared to Christopher Nolan’s dark, historical drama are two films that couldn’t be more diametrically opposed. The simultaneous theatrical release of these two jarringly juxtaposed films created the portmanteau, “Barbenheimer” and a variety of reactions from audiences. Film goers have eagerly awaited and now celebrated these two pieces of media, and now the two films battle within the box office. How do these two films compare and how have they been received by audience members around the world?
Barbie has reached audiences world wide of many spectrums of ages. Specifically this article will explore local reactions here in Highlands Ranch at Thunderridge High School Below is a measurement of what percentage of TRHS students went to see which film, how many of them saw the double feature, a true “Barbenheimer” and which movie was preferred.
The Barbie Movie
Director Greta Gerwig and her all female crew produced the Barbie Movie which follows Barbie played by Margot Robbie and Ken played by Ryan Gosling and their journeys of self discovery. Barbie and Ken and fellow Mattel dolls reside in the fantastical world of Barbieland, a matriarchal society in which the Barbies have prestigious careers such as lawyers and doctors while the Kens have their profession of “beach”. In Barbie land, women are celebrated since Barbies represent how real little girls can be anything that they choose. Barbie begins having abnormal experiences such as thoughts of mortality and overall imperfection in the perfect world of Barbie Land. Thus the journey begins where Barbie and Ken travel to the real world during which the unequal patriarchy and mistreatment of women is seen.
The movie explores ideas of feminism and the emotions and identity of men in a humorous and introspective fashion. The film induced a nostalgia in audience members since many of them grew up with Barbie dolls. Despite this, critics and audiences alike debate if this film would qualify as a children's movie. Highlands Ranch parent believes that, “a lot of kids and families see it because it’s Barbie, you know? It’s a kids toy so of course kids will be interested. But the movie explores deeper ideas about what it means to be a woman in the patriarchy. No kid can really understand that until they are older.”
Many female audience members resonated with this film. TRHS student Margui Sciaroni (10) states, “Barbie reinforced my relationship with my mom. The movie made a lot of people come together and relate to each other despite any disagreements that have happened before.” Audiences also feel that Barbie’s release came at a very important and relevant time in history. One TRHS student, Danielle Broker (11), makes a connection between the Barbie movie and the current debate of women’s rights in the United States explaining, “I think Barbie is very important right now. Given the situation of Roe vs. Wade and all that... women are facing a lot of problems.” Since the film portrays such joy associated with femininity many women have celebrated it. Audiences for Barbie have begun to arrive at the theater clad in their brightest pink clothing.
Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan who directed other major films such as Interstellar and the Dark Knight explored an alternate genre: a historical biopic. The film portrays J. Robert Oppenheimer played by Sillian Murphy and his journey that eventually led to the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II. It begins with Oppenheimer receiving his education and begins his research of quantum physics. He is recruited for the Manhattan Project which was a group of scientists with the motivation to develop nuclear weapons before Nazi efforts during the second World War After the inevitable creation of the atomic weapon, there is a political fall out and conflict that follows as Oppenheimer begins having major social influence over the nation. The bomb is dropped onto civilian towns in Japan and the movie portrays the guilt Oppenheimer feels for creating such a destructive weapon.
This dramatic biopic portrays an incredibly important and disastrous part of history and uses cinematography and dynamic storytelling to display history to new audiences. The star-studded cast featuring Florence Pugh, Robert Downy JrEmily Blunt has drawn in many audience members and also has caused anticipation for academy awards: “The academy tends to favor dramas, so I imagine that Oppenheimer is going to receive a lot of awards” says TRHS student Tessa Todd (12). For younger audiences, Oppenheimer was described as “a story about politics and ethics. It was a much more complicated story involving history. It’s the kind of movie you really need to pay attention to to understand the story direction.” says TRHS student Tessa Todd (12)
The two films were expected to break the box office and have made a tremendous impact. Barbie has made a grossing of $1.38 billion dollars and is 15th highest in the world on the global box office. Oppenheimer has grossed a total of $860 million dollars. Both films have been widely successful and have proven to be staples of cinema in the year 2023. From the entire globe to just Highlands Ranch and TRHS every person who saw these two films were affected in a different way.
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