Real-Life Woman Named Barbara Oppenheimer Weighs In On Barbie Vs Oppenheimer

The real-life Barbara Oppenheimer weighs in on the Barbie and Oppenheimer phenomenon. Both movies notoriously were released on the same day last month, an occasion that was deemed “Barbenheimer” by audiences. While Barbie won the box office battle with its $1 billion and counting worldwide gross, Oppenheimer too has had a successful run, earning $777 million worldwide, and both films have received glowing reviews from critics and audiences.

A woman with a unique Barbenheimer connection, which is the name Barbara Oppenheimer, now offers her opinion on both movies. Barbara Oppenheimer, who has previously gone by the name “Barbie” and is related to J. Robert Oppenheimer by marriage, was asked by Slate about which movie she liked best. She remarked that the films were “so different,” making it impossible to choose a favorite. Check out the full quote from Barbara Oppenheimer below:

“That would be really hard! They’re so different. I think of myself—though I’m sure I’ve fallen behind the times—as a feminist, because of the generation I came out of. So I was tickled pink, I might say, that they put Barbie in the Barbie world and then Barbie in the real world. I laughed out loud practically through the whole thing. Oppenheimer is more serious—not that feminism isn’t. I do think there were some serious notes … women today stand on the shoulders of their mothers, who lived the Barbie life.

“I can’t choose. I’m glad I saw both.”

Why The Barbenheimer Phenomenon Has Helped Both Movies

Questioning someone with the name Barbara Oppenheimer is funny in concept alone, but despite the laughs, she offered up some salient commentary as to how both Barbie and Oppenheimer relate to audiences. Oppenheimer focused her commentary on Barbie and how much it resonated with her “because of the generation” in which she grew up. She isn’t the only one to express this, for other viewership surveys have shown that Barbie has brought audience members who haven’t been to theaters in years back once again. Some of them hail from older age demographics.

This attraction to Barbie does not mean that audiences have neglected Oppenheimer. For a three-hour epic biopic, Oppenheimer has done extraordinarily well, and is a pop culture phenomenon in and of itself. With many declaring it Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, the movie was likely always going to be a success. However, there’s no doubt the buzz surrounding it partially stems from its connection to the equally unique Barbie.

Much of this dual success would not have been possible without the same-day release that caused the Barbenheimer phenomenon. Barbie and Oppenheimer, on paper, simply do not attract the same audience. As exhibited by Barbara Oppenheimer, however, the movies have found a way to resonate with crossover audiences, thus propelling them to new levels of acclaim and box office profits.

Source: Slate