By Leah Nath, Contributing Writer
Film has become one of the largest and most obvious markers of popular culture in modern society, defining certain years by anticipated releases. This year, the summer of 2023 was overtaken by the releases of Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” and Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer.” “Barbie,” a Greta Gerwig film about one of the most famous toys of all time, exceeded many expectations by combining the lightheartedness of girlhood with overt social commentary about the struggles of femininity in a capitalist society. Emerson Rodriguez ’26 spoke on the powerful messaging of the film.
“[It] touched on topics of womanhood and the immense amount of privilege that men have and how the patriarchy looks down on women and anything that symbolizes femininity,” Rodriguez said.
In comparison to Barbie’s playfulness, Christopher Nolan’s R-rated “Oppenheimer” reimagined the World War II Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb. The movie included thematic warnings about the consequences of losing sight of morals and managing the responsibility for one’s actions. Alfredo Roman ’26 spoke about the quality of “Oppenheimer.”
“Oppenheimer’s level of production was incredible… Nolan clearly took many creative risks, like the length of the movie and the black and white sections, that paid out,” Roman said.
Despite being marketed for such different audiences, the two movies share complementary messages about the limitations of hierarchical positioning in society. Together, they make quite a statement about the dominant ideologies of their respective times, shedding light on growing polarization and brewing tensions.
Sharing the same release weekend, a social media trend, “Barbenheimer,” arose where people planned to dress up to see “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” back to back. Movie theaters are still in a precarious place after the rise of streaming during the coronavirus pandemic, but according to Box Office Mojo, Barbenheimer weekend became the best box office weekend of 2023 and the best domestic box office weekend since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Barbie” cost upwards of $145 million to make, which is about $95 million more than the average Hollywood film costs. In its opening weekend, “Barbie” pulled in a whopping $162 million, earning Gerwig the record for the biggest opening weekend in history for a female filmmaker. “Barbie” hit it big and has made $1.34 billion worldwide. The film has surpassed Warner Bros.’ “The Dark Knight Rises” as the highest grossing-global release for the studio, and the movie has completely blown critics out of the water with its enormous success.
With an original budget of $100 million to create, “Oppenheimer” was one of the cheaper films Nolan has made, but by no means any less successful. In its opening weekend, the movie made $80.5 million and has thus far earned $854 million worldwide in box office counts. It has become Universal’s highest grossing R-rated movie and marks another triumphant addition to Nolan’s work.
As far as the success of the films on Gettysburg College’s campus, students were surveyed as to their preferences and opinions on these two films. The survey revealed that more students had seen “Barbie” than “Oppenheimer,” and students who participated in the Barbenheimer trend dressed up for “Barbie” more so than “Oppenheimer.” Interestingly, students had personally preferred “Oppenheimer” and had answered that they thought “Oppenheimer” had been objectively better made.
Students’ favorite scenes show the contrast between these two films. Ryan Gosling’s campy “I’m Just Ken” song was a hit among students, as was the testing of the atomic bomb in “Oppenheimer.” Despite their differences, these two movies captured the interests of millions, creating a social media phenomenon that took everyone by storm and will stand as a testament to the opinions of popular culture in 2023.
This article originally appeared on page 22 of the October 2023 edition of The Gettysburgian’s magazine.
