How and Why Barbenhiemer Changed Everything
By Desmond Watkins (10-22-23) (Opinion)
July 21, 2023. In the midst of New York's summer heat ravaging the city, two huge blockbuster movies dropped into theaters. The famous children’s doll turned character to occupy adults and children alike, and the dark story of the man who was charged with the creation of the nuclear bomb. Barbie and Oppenheimer, hence Barbenhiemer. In just days, viewers flocked to theaters, begrudgingly paying the high prices for tickets for a relief from their stressful and busy lives. Some showed repping pink or black, and… was that BOTH? Yes. Barbenhiemer hit theaters and country’s hard, making huge impacts on Hollywood markets and film-goers' lives alike. It even made a dent on the economy with how much money people were dropping to see these movies. Over 200,000 bought tickets to see these in theaters. So what caused this sudden and extreme craze, and why is everyone flocking to see these incredibly popular films?
On July 21, two long awaited movies, Barbie and Openhiemer, were released into theaters. After a few days of these movies showing in theaters, social media started exploding with posts splicing these two movies into one word: Barbenhiemer. The Barbenhiemer concept was born specifically from viral social media posts, and quickly the phenomenon became a thing everyone was talking about, especially the many moviegoers.
Now to hit on one of the biggest debates surrounding the whole phenomenon: Was the competition real or was it just a meme? So, after these movies were released, no one would have ever made the connection between Barbie and Openhiemer, two completely opposite movies targeted towards completely different target audiences. Barbie, a lighthearted, candy colored movie about a children’s doll, and Openhiemer, a dark film about the man who oversaw the creation of the nuclear bomb. Social media started this as a meme, due to the opposite polarity of the two movies' moods and focuses. But eventually, this turned into a regular thing that people talked about and Warner Bros and Barbie’s pages also commented multiple times validating this and everything surrounding it. So, the answer is, a meme created by social media became an actual thing that most people who haven’t been living under a rock knew what it was.
So, in conclusion, two very opposite and important blockbuster movies were combined by social media nerds to change everything in Hollywood, and even the economy as families and adults alike flocked to theaters to see these movies.
On July 21, two long awaited movies, Barbie and Openhiemer, were released into theaters. After a few days of these movies showing in theaters, social media started exploding with posts splicing these two movies into one word: Barbenhiemer. The Barbenhiemer concept was born specifically from viral social media posts, and quickly the phenomenon became a thing everyone was talking about, especially the many moviegoers.
Now to hit on one of the biggest debates surrounding the whole phenomenon: Was the competition real or was it just a meme? So, after these movies were released, no one would have ever made the connection between Barbie and Openhiemer, two completely opposite movies targeted towards completely different target audiences. Barbie, a lighthearted, candy colored movie about a children’s doll, and Openhiemer, a dark film about the man who oversaw the creation of the nuclear bomb. Social media started this as a meme, due to the opposite polarity of the two movies' moods and focuses. But eventually, this turned into a regular thing that people talked about and Warner Bros and Barbie’s pages also commented multiple times validating this and everything surrounding it. So, the answer is, a meme created by social media became an actual thing that most people who haven’t been living under a rock knew what it was.
So, in conclusion, two very opposite and important blockbuster movies were combined by social media nerds to change everything in Hollywood, and even the economy as families and adults alike flocked to theaters to see these movies.
