Barbenheimer: Memes on the Opening of Barbie and Oppenheimer on the Same Day

It’s “highly regrettable” that the U.S.-based account for the film engaged with the “Barbenheimer” movement in an inappropriate manner, Warner Bros. Japan LLC said in a statement posted on the official Japanese account for Barbie.
–Time magazine

In Barbie’s white, cat-eyed sunglasses—roiling, rolling atomic fire.

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Her bodacious blond hair gushing up into a mushroom cloud, Barbie confesses: This Ken is a stylist.

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A cuddly Ken crows: I am become Ken, Destroyer of Beach.

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In their sleek, pink convertible, Barbie and Ken cruise the desert, a perfectly pink mushroom cloud blossoming behind them.

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Cowgirl Barbie in pink jumpsuit shakes hands with J. Robert Oppenheimer, his civilian-military-scientist-professorial suit aflame.

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Sporting a knowing smile, Oppie glows, a massive mushroom cloud ascending a mountain range behind him, while an offscreen Barbie coos: Come on Bobby, let’s go party.

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A hunky Oppenheimer with a long-legged Barbie perched on his shoulder, the firestorm raging behind them not daring to ignite the oh-so-polite palm trees.

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Two torn half-faces fitted together: in Barbie’s sunglass lens, Trinity simmers; in J. Robert’s lens, a slinky-pink highway unwinds.

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Take the bathroom tissue test: Pink or black? Are you Barbie or Oppenheimer toilet paper?
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Half black-hatted, half-white hatted, this two-faced creature states: I am become Barbie, Destroyer of Worlds.

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Blindingly blonde Barbie, wildly waving her white hat while astride that nasty, naughty infernal gadget.

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O look and see what Little Boy did to Barbie Land. All the dreamy Dreamhouses—Hiroshimaed. Chorus the Kens and Barbies: The horror! The horror!

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John Bradley