Produced by: Somya
Designed by Sahaj Ajmani
Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s fantasy comedy Barbie released in theatres today (July 21)
The epic biographical thriller Oppenheimer was written and directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist who played a key role in the development of the first nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project, ushering in the Atomic Age. It is based on the 2005 book American Prometheus, written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
Greta Gerwig is the director of the American fantasy comedy Barbie, which she co-wrote with Noah Baumbach. The movie stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, who embark on a journey of self-discovery after being expelled from Barbieland. The ensemble cast includes America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Helen Mirren, and Will Ferrell.
Barbenheimer is an internet phenomenon surrounding the simultaneous release of Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ and Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ on July 21. The word ‘Barbenheimer’ is a blend of the films’ titles.
In line with the Barbenheimer trend, an interesting video by creator Farahani showcases the Oppenheimer cast in a trailer set in the backdrop of the Barbie movie.
In the video by Farahani, Oppenheimer’s lead Cillian Murphy, who plays the titular role of J. Robert Oppenheimer, is seen driving to the atomic bomb test site in a pink car on a pink road with his wife Katherine ‘Kitty’ Oppenheimer played by Emily Blunt and his daughter.
The trending video also shows a man pressing a pink button presumably to launch the atomic bomb.
Fans also reimagined Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy as Ken- the male lead of Barbie in the midst of the Barbenheimer trend.
On Etsy, shirt designers started making products inspired by the Barbenheimer phenomena. Early iterations of these shirts displayed the wordmarks of the movies side by side, whereas subsequent iterations used a "Barbenheimer" wordmark that was modelled after Barbie.
When asked by IGN about which movie he will watch, Oppenheimer’s lead star Cillian Murphy said, “I'm going to see Barbie 100%, I can't wait to see it. I think it's great for the industry and for audiences that we have two amazing movies by amazing filmmakers coming out on the same day. You can spend the whole day at the cinema. What's better than that?”
When asked about which movie to watch, Barbie’s lead star Margot Robbie suggested fans to start the day with Barbie, then watch Oppenheimer and end the day by rewatching Barbie.