Warner Bros. Japan calls out Warner Bros. over Barbenheimer meme

Understandably, some people don't find the "Barbenheimer" meme to be a light-hearted joke

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  August 1, 2023 | 4:17am
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Warner Bros. Japan calls out Warner Bros. over Barbenheimer meme
Barbie Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Warner Bros. Japan doesn’t find “Barbenheimer” amusing and it’s letting Warner Bros. U.S. hear about it. In a statement released on Twitter today, Warner Bros. Japan criticized the Twitter account of its own film Barbie, calling on its parent company to “take appropriate action.” On July 20, one day before the release of the two films, @BarbieTheMovie responded to “Barbenheimer poster art” tweeted by @DiscussingFilm. “It’s going to be a summer to remember,” the Barbie account replied.

Unfortunately, not everyone finds the meme so light-hearted. In Japan, where Oppenheimer has yet to receive a theatrical release, Christopher Nolan’s biopic has re-opened decades-old wounds caused by the American military’s use of two atom bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs are estimated to have killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people.

“We consider it extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie Barbie reacted to the social media postings of ‘Barbenheimer’ fans,” Warner Bros. Japan wrote in a statement posted to the Barbie Japan Twitter. “We take this situation very seriously. We are asking the U.S. headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologize to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions.”

The statement acknowledges the Barbenheimer movement but notes it is “not official.” Barbie was released by Warner Bros. and Oppenheimer by Universal, which is why we’re not seeing actual cross-marketing between the two. It’s also widely believed that Warner Bros. placed Barbie on that date as a petty swipe at Christopher Nolan, who exited Warner for Universal in 2021.

As long as there have been brands on social media, brands have been stumbling into controversy. In 2017, for example, Wendy’s posted a Pepe The Frog meme to score lulz and show the company’s followers how online the account was. These infractions often cause a stir because the original poster was probably ignorant of controversy, which is kind of why social media managers adopting the nihilistic sense of humor of Weird Twitter was a bad idea.

Warner Bros. and Universal made out like bandits on the grassroots marketing campaign that challenged moviegoers to see two films in one day. But these memes also flattened Oppenheimer’s severity, creating a space for people to make jokes about an actual tragedy. Barbie, we love you, but it’s time to log off.

[via Variety]

 
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