Every movie released in 2023 pales in comparison to the cinematic windstorm of ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer.’ Together, in less than two weeks, these two films have grossed a combined 500 million dollars domestically and 1.1 billion dollars internationally. Even the word “Barbenheimer” is now a trending hashtag and has inspired an endless barrage of memes. I admit, it’s fun to quip about the dichotomy of the two features released on the same day, but jokes aside, these films are more similar than one might think. Together, they hold a mirror up to their audience and reveal to us the wrinkles and scars and cellulite we have long denied we had.

(If you have not seen the films, please be aware there may be spoilers ahead.)

Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan’s latest film, a dramatic bio-pic, centers on J Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the first nuclear explosion. Yet many fans of the action-packed Nolan franchise have come away disappointed. I, myself, counted eight people in the theatre who walked out during the film’s showing. Instead of intense gunfights and mind-bending cityscapes, viewers of the film grapple with Oppenheimer’s conscience and the 78-year-long question: was the atomic bomb the right choice?

Entire libraries could be filled with movies about the Second World War. But in ‘Oppenheimer’ we see for ourselves how the “destroyer of worlds” spiraled into depression after “doing his duty.” One feels the magnitude of the boulder chained to the American Prometheus, the stabbing of the eagle’s beak as it consumes him. But more than that, we come face to face with the truth we have long downplayed and swept under the rug.

Early in the film, J Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, tells others in the room not to say the word “bomb.” In this way, he and everyone involved in the Manhattan Project learned to separate their feelings from their actions. This allowed them to theorize, design, build, test, and send the “gadget” off with the military, all while keeping their hands clean. But this doesn’t change what happened; those stationed at Los Alamos during the Second World War created the most destructive bomb in human history.

Since 1945, all countries have abstained from using nuclear weapons in warfare. Yet that doesn’t stop nine countries today from touting 13,000 “little boys” and “fat mans,” an arsenal large enough to destroy all life on Earth. In the United States, it is even a military aide’s job to carry around a locked briefcase, dubbed “the nuclear football”, in case the President needs to launch such an attack while on the road. With that in mind, sleep well tonight knowing our world is, at all times, one push of a button away from another kiloton blast.

But more importantly, there is this to consider: if a nuclear weapon was detonated, how could we deal with the fallout, if we have not yet had a full reckoning with the last one eighty years ago?

Barbie

From the opening sequence—a homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey—to the final line of dialogue, Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ had me laughing until I had tears in my eyes. Small details like Barbie drinking tea or how the word “beach” is used as a verb, make the movie fun, colorful, and hilarious. It even addresses—head on—the doll’s own conflicted history with a smile. As the character Sasha, played by Ariana Greenblatt, points out, for decades Barbie has created feminine archetypes and impossible-to-achieve beauty standards, not to mention Mattel has favored capital gains over inclusion and diversity. Still, the mix of double entendre, gawdy rollerblades, and a likeable cast help ‘Barbie’ cater to both children and adults.

It’s the lighthearted way, however, that the film showcases the underpinnings of our society, which should make viewers stop and think. We have all heard the statistics, but they are worth mentioning again. Women take home 82 cents for every dollar men earn. Congress is comprised of 72% men, and of the 115 total Supreme Court justices, only 6 have been women. Male millionaires outnumber females 2:1, male American CEOs 9:1, astronauts 9:1, and Vice Presidents of The United States 48:1. But in Barbie Land, a make believe utopia built out of pink plastic, women can be anything, even “weird.”

Every good satire has an ominous undertone. ‘Barbie’ is no exception. The film does not shy away from mentioning the word “patriarchy” by name over a dozen times to audience members who live in its shadow every day. (Kudos to Greta Gerwig, who, unlike J Robert Oppenheimer, has no problem calling a duck a duck.) And even though Ryan Gosling’s dance moves during his ode to toxic masculinity “I’m Just Ken” are whimsical and lighthearted, the true message could not be more painful. I’m reminded of the emperor Nero, who was rumored to have played the fiddle while Rome was burning. I’m glad that while our society wrestles with its history of misogyny and gender inequality, someone can at least carry a tune.

‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ did what few movies do. They handed their audience a mirror. And in looking at our reflection, we need to see ourselves for what we have become and discuss these difficult topics with our children and with each other—everything from the atom bomb to oppressive patriarchy. We need to have a reckoning with the choices we have made and the country we have built. But how we have that conversation is up to us. We can frighten the next generation into thinking they are doomed to repeat our mistakes, or we can dress in pink, sing and dance, and play the fiddle while the Coliseum turns to ash.