The summer of 2023 was huge for the entertainment industry as two new movies created a lot of press because of the excitement of the public. These two movies were Barbie and Oppenheimer. The Barbie movie was about women’s roles in society and the pressure put on people to be perfect. While keeping true to the iconic Barbie characters and plastic items from most women’s childhoods. The movie does a good job highlighting the immense pressure people put on themselves to be perfect and how that is not a healthy way to live life. On the contrary, the Oppenheimer movie was about the creation of the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. The movie goes into detail about the design process and development of the bomb while also following J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life as he was one of the lead physicists on the project. The movie also highlights the very first nuclear explosion which changed the world and war as we knew it. 

The two movies are extremely different but because they were released around the same time they are often compared. Social media created this cultural phenomenon and is a comedic joke among Gen Z because of the lack of similarities and people are arguing which movie is better. Although it is strictly opinion-based. This joke has evolved as well. Schools are using Barbie vs. Oppenheimer as homecoming dress-up day themes or football game themes. Even going as far as creating a new name for this idea: “Barbenheimer”. So whenever this word is said from now on, remember the summer of 2023 and the wide array of movies released.