Japanese Barbie Account Criticizes Insensitive Barbenheimer Tweet

The phenomenon of Barbenheimer may well have taken most of the world by storm in the last couple of weeks, but it seems that the unprecedented box office showing of Barbie and Oppenheimer’s dual release scheduling is not enough to stop Japan’s official Barbie account from facing off with its U.S. counterpart. In a statement condemning the American Barbie account’s frequent use of emojis to celebrate this year’s “summer to remember” while seemingly forgetting that behind the strange way the movies have become intertwined, there is a very serious historical event behind one of the movies, the Japanese site didn’t hold back in show that not everyone is keen to go party right now.

The story of Oppenheimer clearly has particular significance to the people of Japan, telling the story of the creation of one of the most deadly weapons ever used, and one that caused unimaginable destruction and death in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For that reason, the movie itself was always going to be a movie that walked a fine line, but the joking way in which it has been melded with Barbie was too much for the Japanese Barbie account to remain silent about. The statement, translated from its original Japanese, reads:

“Currently, the movie “Barbie” (Distributor: Warner Bros.) and the movie “Oppenheimer” (Distributor: Universal Pictures) were both released in the United States on July 21. #Barbenheimer is happening, but this movement and activity is not official. On the other hand, we believe that the inconsiderate action of the official account of the US headquarters of the movie “Barbie” to the social media posts by fans caused by this movement is extremely regrettable, and we take this situation seriously. We are asking the US headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologize to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions.”

Related: Barbenheimer: Why Barbie Beat Oppenheimer, Explained

Barbie and Oppenheimer Have Broken Records Together.

Universal Pictures
Warner Bros.

The phenomenon that has become Barbenheimer is something that has pushed both movies to be something more than they would ever have been had they released on separate weekends. However, once people stopped seeing the movies as competition for each other, and instead as strange bedfellows that could elevate each other at the box office, the internet immediately filled with fan art posters, videos and more combining the two very different movies together.

Although this has been taken in the sense of good mannered fun it was intended by many, it rapidly lost sight of how such joviality would be perceived outside the U.S. and territories that had no direct investment in the events depicted in Oppenheimer, and the atrocities they led to.

However, even despite this condemning of the movement, it is clear that marketing around the movie, and what it has led to, is what ensured that Barbie became a behemoth of 2023, but also that many more people learned the story of Oppenheimer than originally planned to. Despite that, it looks like there has been a considerable rift created between the two nations that will not quickly be forgotten.

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