Warner Bros apologises for Barbie movie account's response to atomic bomb memes

Warner Bros has issued an apology after the official Barbie movie account responded to Barbenheimer memes containing images of atom bombs. Some of these images featured Margot Robbie with a mushroom cloud hairstyle, and the account's reply read, "This Ken is a stylist". The incident has caused significant outrage among Japanese film buffs, especially given that the Margot Robbie movie is set to be released in the country on August 11, just five days after the 78th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack. The hashtag #NoBarbenheimer has been trending. If you don't already know, Barbenheimer is a portmanteau of two major studio films — Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer — that were vastly different in terms of their character, both of which released on 21 July. Barbenheimer was promoted as a sort of strange double feature. And it worked in the favour of both movies.

Among the memes that angered Japanese social media users was one depicting Cillian Murphy, who portrayed Robert Oppenheimer, also known as the "father of the atomic bomb," carrying Ms Robbie on his shoulder through a burning city. The official Barbie movie account's response to this image was, "It's going to be a summer to be remembered."

In response to the controversy, Warner Bros Japan, through its own Barbie account, had expressed deep regret for the American headquarters' official Barbie account's reaction to the "Barbenheimer" fan posts on social media.

Now to the BBC, the Warner Bros headquarters in the US said, "Warner Bros regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology."

What is the Japanese anger about?

The thing is, Oppenheimer, a Universal Pictures project not a Warner Bros one, is a serious biopic that is centred around the events that led to the development of the atomic bomb technology. The said technology was then used to devastating effect in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The bombings effectively ended World War II, as Imperial Japan surrendered, but also caused the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocents. Naturally, the topic is quite touchy, particularly so in Japan. And making jokes about it, even if for promotional purposes.

What is Barbie all about?

Barbie follows the journey of Barbie and Ken, who find themselves expelled from the perfect world of Barbie Land due to their imperfections. Directed by Gerwig and co-written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, the film explores themes of self-exploration and existential crisis as the characters navigate the realm of reality. The star-studded cast includes Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Emma Mackey, America Ferrera, Alexandra Shipp, Ariana Greenblatt, Emerald Fennell, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Sharon Rooney, Anna Cruz Kanye, Ritu Arya, Conor Swindell, Jamie Demetriou, Marisa Abela, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, and Ncuti Gatwa.

The film's quirky, committed marketing has been credited for its huge success at the box office, but clearly, too much enthusiasmcan sometimes backfire.

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