Barbenheimer Syndrome

Carolyn Condon Jacobs is Assistant Professor of Media Studies in the Department of Communication at Central Connecticut State University, USA.Anna Young is Assistant Professor of Communication at Central Connecticut State University, USA.Karen A. Ritzenhoff is Professor in the Department of Communication at Central Connecticut State University, USA.

This book offers a rich and varied analysis of the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, bringing together a range of scholars to explore how it captured the attention of the world, and revived cinema-going in 2023. Reading 'Barbenheimer' as a syndrome – one that manifested differently across the globe – this engaging collection reveals the lasting cultural significance of the summer when Barbie met Oppenheimer.

• Foreword: From Barbie to the Bomb: What Barbenheimer Taught Us About Meme CultureDahlia Schweitzer (Fashion Institute of Technology, USA)AcknowledgementsIntroductionCarolyn Condon Jacobs (Central Connecticut State University, USA), Anna Young (Central Connecticut State University, USA) and Karen A. Ritzenhoff (Central Connecticut State University, USA)SECTION I: Deconstructing Barbenheimer1. A Viral Sensation: “Barbenheimer” and the Covid-19 PandemicCarolyn Condon Jacobs2. “A Chain Reaction That Would Destroy the Entire World”: Blowing Up Patriarchal Capitalism in Barbie and Oppenheimer Kathleen McClancy (Texas State University, USA)3. Asterbarbenheimer: Our Summer of Ironic NostalgiaThomas Prasch (Washburn University, USA)4. Empire-building and post-WWII collective trauma: Bodily abnormalities and male symbolism in BarbenheimerMicky Lee (Suffolk University, USA)5. "What Was I Made For”: Barbenheimer, Metamodernism, and Why Barbie Works Better Than OppenheimerJohn Alberti (Northern Kentucky University, USA)6. Objects as destroyers of worlds: gender, power/knowledge, and blackboxing in the Barbenheimer Convergence Holly Randell-Moon (Charles Sturt University, Australia)7. Barbenheimer: the Nuclear Age, Civil Rights, and African American WomenWalton Brown-Foster (Central Connecticut State University, USA)SECTION II: Gender Dynamics in Barbie's World8. To Be or Not to Be Feminist: The Question of Stereotypes in Greta Gerwig’s BarbieDharshani Lakmali Jayasinghe (Central Connecticut State University, USA)9. Playing House, Playing Cowboy: Sentimental Gender Scripts in BarbieKatharina Gerund (University of Zurich, Switzerland) & Stefanie Schäfer (University of Mannheim, Germany)10. Horses and Patriarchy: The Chivalry of Kendom Kate McGrath (Central Connecticut State University, USA)11. Patriarchy in the Boardroom and War Room Karen A. RitzenhoffSECTION III: Unveiling Barbie’s Influence12. Barbie’s Jewish Mother: Ruth’s Reveal and the Return of the Ethno-Maternal RealSusan N. Gilmore (Central Connecticut State University, USA) 13. In Defense of Barbie: Determining the Worth of a Billion Dollar Success Judith Clemens-Smucker (Sam Houston State University, USA)14. Barbie: A 21st Century Star Vehicle Amanda Konkle (Georgia Southern University, USA)15. From Doll-Hood to Humanity: The Role of Music in the Narrative and Marketing of BarbieRebekah Brammer (Independent Scholar, Australia)SECTION IV: Exploring Oppenheimer's Impact16. “We might start a chain reaction;” Splitting The Great Man in Oppenheimer Vincent Gaine (Lancaster University, UK)17. Principled Uncertainty: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and the Scientific BiopicA. Bowdoin Van Riper (Independent Scholar, USA)SECTION V: International Reception of Barbie and Oppenheimer18. Barbie in a War Zone, Oppenheimer in a Nuclear Memory: Gender and Atomic Legacies in Ukraine’s Cinematic ReceptionAnna Young19. "Why Didn’t the Film Barbie Succeed in South Korea? Exploring Gender and Cultural Dynamics through Online Reactions Yeojin "Julie" Kim (Central Connecticut State University, USA)20. The Bombing of Barbie in Japan: Incendiary Memes, Feminist Ambivalence, and Licca-chan Suzanne Kamata (Naruto University of Education, Japan) and Yoko Kita (Kyoto Notre Dame Women's University, USA)21. The Barbie world is only fantastic in the United States: Different marketing strategies for the movie and merchandise in Asian MarketsSung Eun (Stella) Park (Webster University, USA)22. “I’ve Worked Really Hard for This and I Deserve It”: How Barbie’s White Feminist Perspectives Set Other Women up for FailureHiba Aleem (Boston University, USA)About the Editors and ContributorsIndex