As the title says; I watched both Oppenheimer and Barbie back to back with my friends today, so if you’re interested in what the experience was like or what happened in each movie or any questions really please ask away!
You can’t convince me that the meme surrounding these films wasn’t a corporate guerilla marketing tactic. It came out of nowhere and doesn’t seem at all funny enough to be as big of a meme as its become.
You’re probably right. Then again I find the memes fairly enjoyable and the fake posters (like the ones I shared) are pretty rad to me.
Honestly, I’m willing to somewhat believe that this was natural. It just feels… obvious when its forced.
For example with the new Saw and Paw Patrol movie they tried doing the same thing and it failed horrifically.
Also Barbie was purposefully given that release date in order to attempt to screw Nolan over, as Barbie was made by a studio that has bad blood with him, and they specifically waited for him to release a date for Oppenheimer. It doesn’t make much sense for that studio to then try and give Oppen free advertising.
Perhaps, but when a big part of the meme is to literally buy two tickets and watch both films that just seems way too consumerist to come around naturally. Like wow, the main theme of it just so happens to be getting you to act just how the studio executives would want you to, go figure. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but box office ticket sales since the pandemic are still recovering, so I would not at all be surprised if these sort of tactics were being used to drive sales. And its not entirely free advertising for Nolan’s film, since the whole point of the “Joke” is the absurdity of watching both films despite their vastly different subject matter. It just seems to me like the prefect opportunity to piggyback off each other’s popularity.
You’re not wrong about shameless marketing in the form of memes, but whether the intention was a distraction type op or just out of touch marketers trying to recreate the Morbius phenomenom, i dont think we can say. I can also agree that the memes aren’t funny at all just like Morbius memes.
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Why the hell is there so much attention diverted to Barbie and Oppenheimer? Were they pushed this heavily as some counter-intelligence operation?
Call me naive but I don’t really think this was some elaborate scheme. From what I can tell, the hype and whatnot came from the hilarious fact that both Barbie and Oppenheimer were released on the same day and both were anticipated to be the movies of the summer, naturally putting them in competition. Two very big films with vastly differing aesthetics is the perfect pairing for such a phenomenon. Thus the memes came out in full force and definitely contributed to the further marketing of these films.
Fair point. I was just overthinking things.
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It may have not been intentional the first time but they sure as hell will try to do it again.
They already did. Look at what they’re trying to do with the upcoming Saw and Paw Patrol movie. Its laughable and everyone can blatantly see what they’re doing.
Saw Patrol definitely feels manufactured after the Barbenheimer hype. Not many people are raving about it and seem to see it as is.
There definitely went many millions in the advertising of both. The generated hype will probably die down in one or two months, I suppose.
I was just scratching my head as I haven’t really seen a movie that generated this much hype; although, that may be, in part, because I haven’t touched grass in a while.
I really enjoyed the Barbie movie, it was thought provoking without being preachy or trying to drive a particular narrative. It was also funny, and sad, and overall fun to watch with great costume and set design. Probably will go see it again if its still in theaters at the end of the month honestly
I heard that Barbie was inspired by Lain. Can you confirm or deny the Lainness of the movie?
I’ve never watched Lain but I will get to it now. I will say that Barbie referenced a lot of different movies/media so I would say it’s possible. Once I have watched Lain I’ll come back to give a more complete and definitive answer.
Serial experiment Lain?
Serial Experiments Lain.
Oh cool! I’ve watched the series a couple times, although its been over a decade since.
Do you know about the ps1 game? You can play it in your browser! Full disclosure: I never finished it because I got bored.
🤯
Cool!
Which one did you enjoy the most?
Both were well made films but I enjoyed Barbie more, I cried a few times and it made me really want to call my mom afterwards. Both complex in their own ways, too.
Ditto and agree. Barbie is the better movie for lots of reasons, OPP was actually a huge let down… I was really hoping for more details on why the bomb was actually used, more details on Russians involvement in Japan’s surrender, and far more desperate angst. All in all OPP is fine, it’s just definitely not Nolan’s best.
I really don’t understand why people online (twitter and TikTok, but mostly twitter) were freaking out about this movie. I’m not talking about the valid historical critiques, but more so the people arguing whether Oppenheimer himself was portrayed as a sympathetic character vs a coward. I have to wonder if we watched the same movie because to me it was pretty damn clear what they were trying to portray, not just with the characters’ actions but with the framing and music choices. I did say both movies were complex and I stand by that, but Oppenheimer wasn’t complicated in the way some are making it out to be.
Why did you do that to yourself?
Very fair question, haha. I wanted to hang out with my friends and watching a movie was what we all decided on. I really wanted to see Barbie and others wanted Oppenheimer so we came to the conclusion that we would do the fabled Barbenheimer.
Did you like Oppenheimer? I saw it and while I won’t spoil the movie, I’ll just say I didn’t enjoy it. Like I was literally surprised at how much I didn’t enjoy it, I didn’t outright DISLIKE it, but it’s a no from me, dawg
To me, I don’t think Oppenheimer is a movie that can be enjoyable just based on content alone. It’s a movie about the atomic bomb which is definitely not something that brings up good feelings.
Filmmaking wise it’s very good, I mean just the practical effects are something to praise. The acting is top notch, at least to me, and the symbolic clips of stars and, what I assume are atoms, were very nice.
I have a few issues with the movie, one of them being the duration. Three hours felt like too long and I think it could’ve been cut down. Some parts just dragged on while others felt rushed if that makes sense. In conclusion, this movie will win an Oscar, all war movies tend to.
I saw both too and really enjoyed them! There were things I didn’t like about both but on the balance they were fun, exciting movies with decent messages. Frankly, I was expecting Nolan to trash the Berkeley Communists a lot more. And of course there’s the corporate involvement tainting the Barbie movie, but I look past that because taking a step back, we live in such a patriarchal, chauvinistic society. Women hardly ever get anything in media that pushes back against that as hard as a film this big could without alienating a general audience. Even with the iconoclastic lens this forum has, I really enjoyed both, especially Oppenheimer.
Im really happy you enjoyed yourself, my friend. I was surprised at how Oppenheimer was softer on the communists and portrayed the American government as overly paranoid, then again I do feel it played a fairly “centrist” role, for lack of a better word.
While I think the visuals of the movie were extraordinary, I was not a fan of the lack of subtlety. Certain historical figures were treated like Marvel cameos so much so I was anticipating to hear the Avengers theme play; as if they were teasing a sequel movie.
The sexual content was uncomfortable in a unique way and I definitely believe certain parts could’ve been cut. I’m making it sound like I hated this movie and I swear I didn’t, I still don’t. I feel there could’ve been less and more, some content should’ve been scrapped to make room for others if that makes sense.
I’m surprised at the arguments people are having online about Oppenheimer. Nobody seems to agree on whether he was portrayed as a hero or a coward and to me it was incredibly clear how the movie framed the man and the events that occurred. Based on music choices and editing alone it’s obvious, at least to me.
great takes here. thanks for your perspective!
