Japan responds to Barbenheimer with 9/11 memes – but Americans “love” it
@SeanLongore on Instagram/@MovieMantz on TwitterBarbenheimer and 9/11 memes
Japan hasn’t taken too kindly to the Barbenheimer memes, but their retaliation hasn’t effected America in the way you’d expect.
Unless you live under a rock when it comes to cinema, you know what Barbenheimer is. For those who don’t, the word is a mix of Barbie and Oppenheimer, two films – the former by Greta Gerwig, the latter by Christopher Nolan – that dropped on the same day, that being July 21, 2023. Naturally, these two movies became amongst the most highly-anticipated of the year, and plenty of memes have sprung up about them.
Now, part of the draw of the Barbenheimer memes is that the two flicks are very different. One is a fun coming of age story for a doll, the other is a historical thriller about the man who helped birth the atomic bomb.
It’s been 77 years since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb attacks, which led to the deaths of an estimated 129,000 to 226,000 people. Because of Oppenheimer’s part in these attacks, Nolan’s film is yet to receive a release date in Japan. And the memes haven’t gone down well on Twitter either in Japan, leading to a certain type of retaliation.
Japan calls out Barbenheimer, and responds with 9/11 memes
The Barbie movie’s Japanese Twitter account recently posted a statement condemning the Barbenheimer jokes. They said (as translated by The Guardian): “Because the movies Barbie and Oppenheimer were both released in the US on July 21, there is currently a movement driven by overseas fans to watch them together (#Barbenheimer), but this is not an official movement.
“We find the reaction to this fan-driven movement from the official US account for the movie Barbie to be extremely regrettable. We take this very seriously and are asking the US head office to take appropriate action… [and] apologise to those offended by these inconsiderate actions.”
The hashtag “#NoBarbemnheimer” even began trending in Japan over the last week, but now further action has been taken by Twitter users. Many are comparing said memes to 9/11 jokes, as that event is considered by the U.S to be the deadliest terrorist attack in human history.
The American branch of Warner Bros has since apologised for any memes they partook in, emailing to Variety: “Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology.”
However, many American Twitter users haven’t responded to the 9/11 memes in the way you’d expect.
Americans “love” the 9/11 memes
While no doubt some will be upset by the 9/11 memes, for the most part American Twitter users are loving them. That is because in the 20 years since 9/11, U.S citizens themselves have already made plenty of jokes about it.
Check out the responses below:
Obviously, the moral implications of these jokes are murky at best, but Twitter has never been the place for kindness and morality, so we will likely see plenty more 9/11 and Barneheimer memes in the future.
