To many around the world, especially in the U.S., 'Barbenheimer' is where two blockbuster films come face-to-face in a massive showdown.
One one side, it's Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, an epic biographical thriller film based on the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist who was pivotal in developing the first nuclear weapons. On the opposing side, is Greta Gerwig's Barbie, the fantasy comedy film based on the Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel.
The simultaneous box office success for both films has called for celebration, and the internet in general couldn't be happier.
But in Japan, things are quite the opposite.
A little less than a century ago, on 6 and 9 August 1945, the U.S. military during the World War II dropped and detonated two atomic bombs over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively.
While the horrific incidents were the only times humanity ever used nuclear weapons in armed conflict, Japan, as the only place on Earth to have experienced the loss, isn't particularly happy about the Barbenheimer double features and the online mash-ups of Barbie’s pink fantasia with images of Oppenheimer-era nuclear explosions.
After all, the aerial bombings together killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, were scars left by the Allies.
It's something nobody could ever forget, even in the modern days of Japan.
Because of this, many people in Japan responded to the trend with anger.
Examples of what fueled the hate, include when Barbie's official Twitter account responded to posts about Barbenheimer with jokes, and senseless responds.
Like when it responded to a fan-made image depicting Barbie with an atom bomb bouffant with the comment, with: "This Ken is a stylist"; or when it sent an emoji to a movie poster showing Barbie and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, against the backdrop of a nuclear explosion, saying that "It’s going to be a summer to remember."
The backlash even forced a rare display of complaint filed by the Japanese subsidiary of Warner Bros. to its studio in the U.S. to "take appropriate action."
Read: 'Barbenheimer', The AI-Made Short Film That Mashes Up Barbie And Oppenheimer
“We take this very seriously and are asking the American head office to take appropriate action,” the statement concludes.
"We apologize to those offended by these inconsiderate actions."
In a letter, the Japan subsidiary also lamented its American counterparts’ promotion of Barbenheimer memes as “highly regrettable.”
— 映画『バービー』公式 (@BarbieMovie_jp) July 31, 2023
While in Japan, people are indeed excited, it's how the U.S. responded to the Barbenheimer viral trend that offends the people.
Some Japanese Twitter users responded with photos of the bombing victims, with many others saying that they had cancelled their plans to watch the films.
For days, Twitter users in Japan have been spreading the hash tag #NoBarbenheimer and #BarbieNoKen.
The Japanese Warner Bros. subsidiary noted, that Barbenheimer “is not an official activity” of Warner Bros.
