Warner Bros. apologises in Barbenheimer row after studio’s Japanese wing slams US branch for ‘inconsiderate’ positive replies to Twitter images using images from Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings
- The studio’s marketing off the ‘Barbenheimer’ craze was not well received
- WB Japan ‘deeply regretted’ U.S. counterpart’s glorification of atomic bombings
Warner Bros has apologized after enraging its Japanese branch with ‘insensitive’ Twitter replies to ‘Barbenheimer’ memes that show Barbie actress Margot Robbie set against atomic bomb mushroom clouds.
Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ movie and Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ were both released on July 21 and together have raked in more than $1billion worldwide, securing the fourth highest-grossing box office weekend in history.
Their release was so hotly anticipated that legions of eager cinemagoers shared a variety of dystopian and surrealist cross-over fan art and memes on social media.
One work depicted Margot Robbie, in character as Barbie, sporting an atomic blast mushroom cloud for hair. The official Warner Bros Barbie movie Twitter account responded: ‘This Ken is a stylist!’.
In another, Oppenheimer actor Cillian Murphy is seen carrying Barbie on his shoulders away from a nuclear explosion, to which the account responded: ‘It’s going to be a summer to remember.’
But in a sombre statement, Warner Bros. Japan hit out at the U.S. account’s tweets, arguing that they were ‘extremely regrettable’ given Oppenheimer’s depiction of one of the worst tragedies in Japan’s history.
One work depicted Margot Robbie sporting an atomic blast mushroom cloud for hair. The official Barbie movie Twitter account responded: ‘This Ken is a stylist!’
In another, Oppenheimer actor Cillian Murphy is seen carrying Barbie on his shoulders away from a nuclear explosion
Warner Bros. Japan hit out at the U.S. account’s tweets, arguing that they were insensitive in its glorification of a movie depicting one of the worst tragedies in Japan’s history
The film – which follows the development of the first nuclear weapons by J. Robert Oppenheimer – is a noticeable absentee from cinemas in Japan
‘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’s statement read.
‘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. Warner Bros Japan.’
Robert Downey Jr. heaps praise on his Oppenheimer co-star Cillian Murphy: ‘I have never witnessed a greater sacrifice by a lead actor in my career’
Warner’s US today issued an apology in comments carried by Deadline and the BBC which read: ‘Warner Bros regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology.’
Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ movie has made more than $351 million in the U.S. and Canada since opening on July 21, and nearly $775 million globally.
Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ – a historical tale of the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the making of the atomic bomb – has made $174 million in the U.S. and Canada so far, and $400 million worldwide.
Barbie is set for an August 11 release in Japan – less than a week after the 78th anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima.
But the distributor of Oppenheimer has not yet provided a release date for the film in Japanese cinema amid a swell of criticism among Japanese fans, whose opposition to the film saw the hashtag ‘#NoOppenheimer’ trend on social media.
The movie depicts the fervent work of Oppenheimer, his team of scientists and the U.S. military to devise, build, test and deploy the atomic weapons that killed more than 200,000 Japanese citizens, and the title character’s euphoria when the Trinity test – the first ever detonation of an atomic device – was successful.
But it shows in equal measure Oppenheimer’s moral quandary and regret in the weeks, months and years following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and how he worked diligently to encourage the U.S. to limit its production of atomic and thermonuclear weapons, to no avail.
The film has also been censored in many Middle Eastern and Asian countries due to a pair of nude scenes featuring British actress Florence Pugh.
During a pivotal moment, Oppenheimer, portrayed by Cillian Murphy, engages in an intimate encounter with Communist party member Jean Tatlock, played by Pugh.
While the uncensored version showcases Pugh lounging topless in a hotel room chair, audiences in the Middle East and India were presented with a discreetly placed computer-generated black dress covering her body down to the thigh.
Other cinemagoers in Bangladesh and Indonesia also reported that the scene had been altered, according to Newsweek.
The film contains several sex scenes involving Pugh and Murphy, and viewers in various countries took to social media to confirm they were heavily edited.
The uncensored version showcases Pugh lounging topless in a hotel room chair, but audiences in the Middle East and India were presented with a discreetly placed computer-generated black dress
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, left, and Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in a scene from Oppenheimer
Florence Pugh attends UK Premiere of Oppenheimer at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 13, 2023 in London, England
Scenes featuring explicit content regularly undergo editing to ensure a smooth release in countries with strict censorship rules on nudity and adult themes.
For example, movies aiming for a ‘U/A certification’ in India must adhere to certain standards, allowing moderate adult themes with parental guidance for children below 12 years of age, according to India’s Central Board of Film Certification.
But Pugh’s nudity wasn’t the only aspect of the film to raise eyebrows in India.
Oppenheimer also faced controversy for quoting lines from the Hindu scripture ‘Bhagavad Gita’ in one of the aforementioned sex scenes between Murphy and Pugh.
Oppenheimer took a keen interest in the teachings of Hinduism over the course of his life and learned Sanskrit so he could read original Hindu texts.
He recalled in an interview after the detonation that at the time of the explosion he remembered a line from the Bhagavad Gita: ‘Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’
But in Nolan’s film, Murphy quotes the Bhagavad Gita while in the throes of passion with Pugh.
India’s Information Commissioner, Uday Mahurkar, said the scene was ‘a direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus’ in a cautionary statement released last weekend.
The film received a perfect five stars from Daily Mail’s Brian Viner, who wrote that Nolan ‘magnificently’ balances thriller elements with ‘profound questions about the morality of laying Hiroshima and Nagasaki to nuclear waste.’
Viner wrote: ‘Oppenheimer is a stunningly well-made film… Much of Oppenheimer unfolds like a thriller, while not swerving profound questions about the morality of laying Hiroshima and Nagasaki to nuclear waste.
‘I despair at the inordinate length of many films these days, yet even at three hours this one never seems unreasonably long. There is an awful lot of story to tell, and Nolan tells it magnificently.’
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