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Just Some Of the Finest 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' Memes Out There
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Just Some Of the Finest 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' Memes Out There

By Petr Navovy | Social Media | July 26, 2023

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Header Image Source: HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images

I haven't gotten around to seeing Barbie or Oppenheimer yet, but what an interesting moment cinema it is, that in defiance of the 'sequels and comic book movies are the only thing audiences will turn out for' brigade, audiences have been descending on cinemas in droves--and all that taking place against the background of some of the most significant strike action in a very long time (unconditional solidarity with the strikers this time and always!).

My levels of respective excitement for the two films have been on trajectories that appear almost as mirror images of each other. When I first heard there was going to be a Barbie movie, my instincts bounced so far in the dismissive direction that they sailed straight through and I ended up in 'Okay, I'm curious--it's Gerwig, and it really looks like a passion project, so they must be planning something truly special' territory. Since its release, however, having now heard a few opinions that seemed to confirm some of my apprehensions about the film, my curiosity has died down a fair bit. Oppenheimer, on the other hand, has gone the exact opposite direction! I'm not the biggest Nolan fan--though I love Memento, Insomnia, and Dunkirk, and I acknowledge how important a figure he is in the industry, especially in the face of some powerful and prevalent anti-art tendencies--but after hearing so much glowing praise for his newest film, I couldn't help but think back to my piece ranking Nolan's films, and specifically this part I wrote about Dunkirk:

Nolan is a director often accused of being incapable of portraying the deeper, more nuanced sides of humanity. Dunkirk is a movie that gives the lie to that. It shows an empathetic maturity terminally lacking in movies that deal with war, and it does not shy away from complicated points of view.

[...]

War is terrifying. Pointless. An antithesis to life. And the real success of Nolan's Dunkirk--quite apart from the breathtaking technical brilliance on display--is how he makes us feel this, deeply and keenly. As if we were right there with the soldiers on the ground, feeling the weight of the countless numbers of them, sacrificed over and over again down the years to mankind's folly, with no end in sight.

If Dunkirk is a sign of things to come, then bring on whatever Nolan has planned next.

Based on what I've been hearing from a lot of sources, Dunkirk was a sign of things to come.

But enough of the serious stuff--we're here to see some memes! The meme bounty in response to the phenomenon that is Barbenheimer has been rich indeed. Many of those I sailed right past as I would need to see the films first in order to understand them. Here, though, are just some of the finest Barbie and Oppenheimer memes I've picked up in my trawler net in recent days: