Barbenheimer memes making light of atomic bomb blasts deemed controversial in Japan

Last Updated on August 3, 2023

While the summer movie season brought audiences the much-talked-about July double-bill Barbie and Oppenheimer, the latter, unfortunately, still has some very real-world horror associated with it. While the notion of the dual movie premieres made for a unique experience that can have a fun light shone on it, some who saw Oppenheimer may feel the movie, and the real events it depicts, too heavy to make light of.

This gave all the jokes and memes made online a thinner line to walk than usually thought. And while nobody is seemingly joking about the nature of the historical events themselves, certain imagery and wording can offer the possibility of over-straddling the line of taste. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Japanese Twitter has been trending the hashtag #NoBarbenheimer after the official Barbie account responded positively to mash up images of Barbie being her bubbly self in the face of an atomic explosion. In one such fan-made image, the stars of both movies are depicted in front of a mushroom cloud and the official Barbie Twitter commented responses like, “It’s going to be a summer to remember.”

It can be assumed that the intent behind the fun was to draw attention to the films and not the events; however, the Japanese division of Warner Bros. would issue an apology which has been viewed on Twitter around 30 million times. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the statement said the movie account’s comments were “very regrettable” and saying that they “lack consideration.” It added: “We take this situation very seriously and are requesting the US headquarters to take appropriate measures.”

After the “summer to remember” comment, a user with the handle, @akishmz, replied, “Summer to remember that to the Barbie film team and to Hollywood more than 200,000 death by the end of 1945 (and half a million so far) by two atrocious bombs are something they feel comfortable joking about to promote their precious summer blockbuster.” Another user, @mankodaisuki58 replied to the apology with a picture of Barbie sitting on the shoulders of Osama Bin Laden in front of burning buildings in the same style as one of the original posts.

Barbie is set to be released in Japan on August 11, although there is no news of Oppenheimer making its way to that market as of yet.