Japanese social media users are firing back at insensitive “Barbenheimer” fans within the US.
The international feud began after the official X (formerly Twitter) account for the “Barbie” film commented that “it’s going to be a summer to recollect” beneath a movie poster collage that mashed up the toy-inspired flick with “Oppenheimer,” a movie in regards to the making of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, eventually killing nearly 200,000 Japanese.
The poster uploaded last month by the account DiscussingFilms on X depicts J. Robert Oppenheimer, portrayed by Cillian Murphy, holding a Barbie in front of a fiery mushroom cloud.
And Japanese X users didn’t take the joke frivolously. In a rebuke of the “Barbenheimer” trend, they’ve since spawned memes that mock the September 11, 2021 terrorist attacks on the US and the three,000 victims who died that day.
Because the controversy, the hashtag “#NoBarbenheimer” has been trending on social media.
“YO, how do you’re thinking that? Idiots, Go fuq ya self,” one user wrote alongside a photograph of NYC’s World Trade Center towers, which were struck on 9/11, emitting pink smoke.
“What do you Americans who use this tag to make jokes in regards to the atomic bomb feel after they see this image,” said one offended user next to an identical image of the dual high-rises aflame in front of a sparkling background. “What you guys are doing is strictly similar to this. Shame on you.”
“How would American people think in the event that they see the meme with the image of attacked Twin-tower, saying ‘it’s going to be September to recollect’,” asked a 3rd critic.
Cynics fought back claiming that the memes weren’t hurtful — as a result of the proven fact that US social media users mock the tragedy as well.
“What Japanese people fail to know is that the majority American Twitter users find 9/11 jokes funny,” remarked a user. “They’re screaming at a wall here lol.”
Several others echoed the sentiment, claiming that Americans would indeed “laugh at this” and “joke about 9/11” with frequency.
Americans’ hardened response looked as if it would appall more reverent Japanese social media users, including the one who incited the “Barbenheimer” backlash. “It’s an incredibly unethical national character,” snapped the initiator of the #NoBarbenheimer movement. “I actually have never seen a Japanese making jokes in regards to the atomic bomb. I’m glad I used to be born in a good country.”
Responding to the rift, the Japanese account for the “Barbie” movie released an announcement stating that it was “extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie ‘Barbie’ reacted to the social media postings of ‘Barbenheimer’ fans.”
“We take this case very seriously,” they posed on X. “We’re asking the US headquarters to take appropriate motion. We apologize to those that were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions.”
On Tuesday, Warner Bros. US issued an apology for its “insensitive” social media engagement, though many have remarked that the apology seemed half-hearted.
“Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement,” a rep for the studio told Deadline. “The studio offers a sincere apology.”
Since each movies opened on July 21, “Barbenheimer” has sparked an obsession on the web, starting from memes and mashups to products like T-shirts and mock-up movie posters.
“Oppenheimer” has yet to be released in Japan as this August marks the 78th anniversary of the US dropping the A-bombs on innocent Japan.
“Barbie” was initially banned in Vietnam after an in-movie map of the world using the “nine-dash line” — a set of line segments that represent China’s territorial claims within the South China Sea — which the country said “violated” their sovereignty.
Warner Bros. later issued an announcement attempting to make clear its intention.
“The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” a spokesperson told Variety. “The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’ It was not intended to make any sort of statement.”
