Every summer, movies are released in different genres and styles. This year was no exception. The two movies that dominated the charts and our social media screens could not have been more different: one, the tragic story of the man behind the deadliest weapon in human history and the other, the tale of a childhood toy that explores human life. I am, of course, referring to “Barbie” vs “Oppenheimer” or Barbenheimer. Today, I’ll evaluate both movies and decide who won (or should’ve won) this battle.
Barbie:
Barbie begins in the fictional world of Barbie Land where every aspect of life for Barbie has no shortness of perfection. The inciting incident is when Barbie becomes aware of the insanity and illegitimacy of a world of constant perfection. This discovery gives rise to the break in perfection when human problems begin to arise in her life. She is advised to go back to the human world where she discovers the unsatisfactory parts of the human condition.
This movie attempts to educate viewers about important issues such as empowerment, gender equality, and independence but leaves a lot of plot points open and doesn’t develop many of the key ideas. For instance, at the beginning of the movie, Barbie mentions death, but the idea of mortality for the rest of the movie is not present. Despite this lapse, this movie is entertaining, discusses (although briefly) important issues, and includes many satirical elements such as their comical naivety that make it a great movie. I would recommend this movie as a light watch for someone not looking for a deep message.
Oppenheimer:
Oppenheimer is a historical thriller about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. It tells the story of his growth from a passionate physicist to the self-proclaimed “Destroyer of Worlds” from his perspective.
The newest Christopher Nolan film is no less compelling than any of his other hits. Almost every piece of this movie has been perfected to the highest extent, much in part to the amazing performances of Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, and many other talented members of the cast. The only criticism I would give this movie is that it was an extensive project covering a long period of time so consequently, it briefly mentioned or left out a lot of elements of the Manhattan Project. That said, what they ended up choosing to include was extremely well played out. I would still 100% recommend watching this movie. Even if the box office doesn’t agree, I believe this to be the definitive winner of the Barbenheimer saga.
