Source
r/askasia•
Queendrakumar

Is "Barbenheimer" a thing in your country?

Seeing all the "Barbenheimer" memes and discussions everywhere on the English sides of online, I came to wondering. Is this a thing in your country?

It's not in Korea. Oppenheimer didn't even release yet, and Barbie is not doing too well without Oppenheimer, mostly because most Koreans don't relate too much with Barbie dolls so it never had the selling power to begin with.

What about your country? Does the phenomenon even exist? Is the meme popular? Which movie is more popular?

Posted Aug 1, 2023, 5:04 PM UTC

121
moshiyadafne:philippines-flag: 28, Philippines•

Based on my observation with traditional and social media, "Barbie" is far more popular by a long shot. The controversy with Vietnam banning the 2023 Barbie film because of the imaginary map there gave noise to the said film here and our senators talked about it and decided not to ban it because the map is not a real life map at all. Before that, there's also the Barbie photo template that became popular in social media.

1
QueendrakumarOP:south-korea-flag: South Korea•

I heard the news about the map. What was the common local reactions? Was it as bad as some media reported it to be?

2
moshiyadafne:philippines-flag: 28, Philippines•

Based on those who knew the issue, many people wanted to join Vietnam with the ban. But some people think that it's an overreaction because the map is not realistic at all.

1
Fireboar07:philippines-flag: Philippines•

It was nowhere near as bad as Vietnam. The government even released a statement confirming the validity of the claim.

1
Fireboar07:philippines-flag: Philippines•

There is but it’s limited to gen z

1
Filippinka:philippines-flag: Philippines•

+++ All of my uni friends watched Barbie and Oppenheimer back to back. The Barbenheimer phenomenon really does exist among the Gen Z crowd!

1
plushie-apocalypse:taiwan-flag: Taiwan•

No idea why it's such a big deal. Didn't watch either and have no interest.

1
Filippinka:philippines-flag: Philippines•

It's just a meme, it doesn't have to be deep. It's like that moment when Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing were released around the same time. It's just funny seeing interactions between fans of things that are polar opposites.

1
Kristina_Yukino:china-flag::japan-flag:🇪🇺•

Oppenheimer is set to be released on August 30 in China, and it’s not exceptionally popular. Barbie is not very popular either but is far more controversial because of its discussion of feminism, and it’s somewhat integrated into the online gender wars of China. (See https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3229238/how-barbie-reigniting-discussion-china-about-feminism-and-womens-rights)

1
QueendrakumarOP:south-korea-flag: South Korea•

I didn't know there was a sort of gender war going on in China.

1
Nukuram:japan-flag: Japan•

I am not a feminist, but I have some hope that the spread of feminism in China could undermine that social system.

1
uoco:china-flag: China•

Is there not a similar gender war in Korea?

1
QueendrakumarOP:south-korea-flag: South Korea•

There is a pretty big gender war going on in Korea. Didn't know this was also happening in China.

1
Nukuram:japan-flag: Japan•

Isn't it only the Japanese who respond to "Berbenheimer"?

For people in Korea and other countries, "Oppenheimer" is a "feel-good story about beating Japan," and there is probably not much to criticize.

1
QueendrakumarOP:south-korea-flag: South Korea•

Apprently, there is no direct competition because Barbie is playing in the theatres now, and Oppenheimer isn't even released yet. I do think there was a sort of "Nationalism marketing" at play by the Universal Pictures that decided to release the movie on August 15, for whatever reason, in Korea. But I don't know how this would be received. It's going to be a very heavy movie for sure.

I have read by Korean media thatt some people in Japan didn't like the tone carried out by Oppenheimer, at least by the way Universal Pictures did their marketing which was perceived to be insensitive towards the victims. Do you think this is a big marketing failure in Japan or is the news (again) overgeneralizing minority responses from Japan?

1
Nukuram:japan-flag: Japan•

I will continue to pay attention to the impact of this nationalistic marketing in Korea.
I am aware that at this point in time, the "Barbenheimer" argument in Japan is only being introduced by some of the media. However, it is true that the atomic bombing is a sensitive topic, and it has the potential to become a major issue in Japan in the future. Most Japanese people do not claim victim consciousness at this point, but I am sure that they would not be pleased with such deliberate acts of provocation.

1
DerpAnarchist:south-korea-flag::germany-flag:🇪🇺 Korean-European•

If it were to any interest to you, around 15% of the Hiroshima victims were ethnic Koreans, maybe put your enthusiasm of how much someone supposedly wishes for the deaths of others aside.

1
polymathglotwriter:malaysia-flag: Malaysia•

August 15

6 days late 💀

1
amajorismin:south-korea-flag: South Korea•

Not really. August 15 was when the Empire of Japan officially surrendered and Korea was liberated. Obviously Koreans relate the nuclear bomb with that particular date more.

1
polymathglotwriter:malaysia-flag: Malaysia•

Do you not get the joke?

1
MOUDI113:usa-flag: :south-korea-flag:Water Tribe•

Boobie(boomer + barbie)heimer

1
kamburebeg:turkey-flag: Turkey•

The Barbie-Oppenheimer contest unironically rivaled the Presidential election lol

1
niftygrid:indonesia-flag: Indonesia•

It's definitely a thing in Indonesia, for some people. People would buy twi tickets and watch both Oppenheimer and Barbie on the same day, at least that's what I saw on Indonesian Twitter, and my friends' instagram.

Though there are also other people who prefer to watch only oppenheimer or barbie.

1
polymathglotwriter:malaysia-flag: Malaysia•

Indonesia

lmao nasgor = atomic bomb 💀

1
Akira_2920•

Oppenheimer is performing far better than Barbie in India. Watched Oppenheimer twice. Masterpiece.

1
polymathglotwriter:malaysia-flag: Malaysia•

Cringe Korea, Koreans don't have a childhood

Yes but Oppenheimer is good

1
ohyourhighness:kazakhstan-flag: Kazakhstan•

Barbie is very popular there. Oppenheimer is not that much.

1
starbucks_red_cup:saudi-arabia-flag: Saudi Arabia•

Oh yeah it was insane. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing ads for Barbie or Oppenheimer. (Though Barbie was delayed here, you'd still see store advertise Barbie merch.)

1