#oh and oppenheimer was good too ig

[the-clotpole-and-the-disgrace]

barbie is one of the best aroace characters ive seen on the big screen yet. in a world where aspecs are slowly getting more recognition, hence increasing the targeted negativity from others that comes with not confirming to societal standards, having such a well known character not only have no interest in sex or romance while others in her environment do, but showing that her lack of romantic or sexual feeling is not something that stands in the way of her being her true fulfilled self sends a powerful message against amatonormativity. in this essay i will

[quantumfizz]

Completely Uneducated Internet Opinion after seeing Oppenheimer and Barbie

The Barbie Movie focuses on a very specific lens of misogyny that doesn't show just how pervasive and horrific it really is, and it's painfully obvious that it's selling a brand of feminism that isn't too alienating to the status quo and is very "Oh well! The Kens will have as much power as us girls do in the real world ig. Get it? 😜" It just leaves a sour taste in my mouth, but it's about as politically aware and active a multimillion dollar Warner Brothers film based on a Mattel IP can really be. I appreciate it more as a celebration of embracing all the terrible flaws and aspects of being a woman in a misogynistic world, and an abstract being deciding that it's all worth it because of the joyful and meaningful experience of being a woman and not just an idea.

It's also funny that Ken as a character eclipses and overshadows a lot of the film, since the whole thing is about feminism and the name of the film IS Barbie. But much like feminist causes in the real world, the audience focuses more on the men involved lol. A lot of that comes down to Ryan Gosling's fantastic performance though. This man understood the assignment like no actor ever has before.

Also, the costuming and set design are god tier and exactly what we need to see more of in a media landscape dominated by shitty looking CGI from un-unionized and poorly treated sweatshop artists. If you like good looking movies, watch this movie.

Ken does take over the screen whenever he's there, but Margot Robbie shines in this thing. The comparison can't NOT be made between Barbie and The Truman Show (Gerwig iirc says it was one of her main inspirations and it shows), and her performance as Barbie discovers the world she's lived in and her existence itself is a flimsy ideal is so moving. Because like Truman, she chooses personhood and freedom over certainty and safety. She chooses to become a real woman not despite the many disadvantages and pain that comes with it, but BECAUSE of the experience. She learns that there is beauty in cellulite and stretch marks and wrinkles, there is beauty in aging, there's an entire world of experiences and emotions that as a doll she could never achieve and truly feel. And seeing someone CHOOSE humanity is such a wonderful thing.

The film also indulges in the kind of campy silly shit we expected, and I can see how some viewers view it as inconsistent and jarring when it's juxtaposed with moments like America's speech. But despite how half-stepped and steeped in a very specific advertiser friendly brand of Hollywood/corporate liberal feminism this film is, I appreciate Greta Gerwig even trying to do this in the first place. If even one woman or girl comes out of this being more critical of the world around them and the ways misogyny affects us, then I'm happy. If even one man or boy comes out of this being more critical of the world around them and the ways misogyny and patriarchy affects THEM and how they view and treat others, I'm happy. You are Ken-ough (sweater now available via Mattel for $86.99 while supplies last btw).

Oppenheimer is...what you'd expect of a Christopher Nolan biopic of Oppenheimer. It looked nice on 35mm film but it's also got the sound quality issue every fucking Nolan film has, where if you don't have the exact setup he wanted for the film then so many bits of dialogue will be drowned out by music or be otherwise unintelligible. The effects showing one woman with radiation burns were so laughably bad, it was like she let a bunch of Elmer's glue dry on her face and it looked so goofy that it ruined the weight of the scene.

For a film that really tries to show how paradoxical and complicated Oppenheimer was, it doesn't exactly sympathize with him to the extent I've seen people say it does. The film shows he's a dramatic, dismissive, egotistical asshole that refuses to explain his convictions and at times you (and other characters) wonder if he even has any. And his hypocrisy is constantly pointed out by many characters. The prosecutor in the security hearing asks how and why he suddenly decided to have moral qualms about nuclear bombs when he was eager on the Manhattan Project and outright helped decide which city to drop the first bomb on. Strauss's belief that Oppenheimer wants to be a martyr seems true, whether it's (as Strauss believes) out of pure ego or (as his wife says) that he honestly believes that receiving every punishment possible will somehow lead to him atoning and being forgived.

Also if you're watching a Nolan film you're already coming in with low expectations for women characters and this is no exception. Florence Pugh's character exists to show tits, talk briefly about communist ideals only to be talked down to by the more well-read Oppenheimer, fulfill a "methinks she doth protest too much" shtick with her always tossing his flowers, show tits again, break down when he says he can't see her anymore, and then kill herself to add to his sorrow. I do like that his wife immediately looks at him and says that he can't do things like have an affair out of selfishness, disregard other peoples' feelings, and then be surprised when his behavior ruins peoples' lives and fucks him over. His wife is incredibly based and Nolan does a good job portraying how miserable she was as Oppenheimer's wife.

The film showcases his lack of empathy or regard for others until it comes back to fuck him over outside of the affair. He builds Los Alamos knowing that local indigenous tribes come up there for burial rites because they're less important to him than The Big Picture and building the bomb. The civilian lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are something he's prepared to destroy for the sake of this experiment and usher in a new era of scientific discovery (again, nothing is more important than that Big Picture). The lack of regard for the Japanese people, the indigenous tribes of New Mexico and the other civilians in the area is (imo) intentional because the film is about Oppenheimer. It's about how he put them, his family, and everyone around him aside to follow what he's worked in his entire life: theory. Real tangible lives were something he did weigh, and ultimately decided were worth the cost if it meant a) proving this theory b) furthering scientific knowledge and c) ushering humanity into a new era of understanding. And as disgusting as it is, it's interesting to see a film trying to dissect why and how one human being made that decision and seemingly came to regret it.

Anyway while both films are completely different animals in different universes, I think I prefer Barbie because when I cringed, it was during parts I was meant to cringe. And Oppenheimer has the scene where Floremce Pugh (naked obviously) asks him to read the Bhagavad Gita and they start fucking as he says the "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" line and thus robs it of its actual historical context AND cheapens not just Oppenheimer as he originally quoted it...as well as cheapened the Bhagavad Gita as a whole bc. Dude. Now I want a Bollywood movie where a character reads the Bible while a woman rides him and shows tiddy for superfluous bullshit reasons.

[cocogrrrl]

AAAAA U LISTENED TO THEM my heart is full omg!! I’m glad u like :] also wait WHAT WHERE DOES SHE GO LIVE???? IF SHE DID A COLLAB W THEM I WOULD ACTUALLY DIE LIKE I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE IT BC OF HOW HAPPY I WOULD BE AGGGHSGSJHSOAA

I’m a type 7 I’m so stereotypically ENFP it’s embarrassing 🧍‍♀️ what’s urs 👀

O also when I watched Oppenheimer I had the exact same thought like I literally could not hear half of the shit they were saying in the first hour I was so confused 😭😭 did u like the movie tho??

- 💫 anon

omg ofc!!! i also listened to kets4eki and besides hands up, i really like it goes around the world!!

ALSO THE LIVES ARE ON IG LOL she has one with yvncc and another one chase icon and they're both uploaded on youtube I'm pretty sure :D THE 6ARELY HUMAN THING SHE SAID IN HER LIVE W YVNCC IM PRETTY SURE

oh my god im definitely a 7 too but im not sure if im a 7w8 or 7w6, i think more the latter though HAHAHA we can be stereotypical together! 😸😝

RIGHT i couldnt make out what they were saying at all i think i need to watch it with subtitles to give a more nuanced opinion on it HEDKJSJ honestly, i don't think I'm the target audience but i definitely loved it! there's a lot scenes that completely enthralled me and like holy crAP THE SCORE IS SO GOOD ITS ONE OF MY FAV OF ALL TIME .... what did you think of the movie anonn?? 🙌

[stylinsuns]

HII YOUR NEIGHBOUR ANON! OMGG I MISSED YOU ITS BEEN SO LONG! I hate tumblr for not posting your reply:( and i had also sent another ask after that but ig tumblr was being a bitch. Um i was so excited to write to you that i forgot what even was in your reply lol. Its july now so i assume your semester has also ended and you’re on break..? How are you doing?! And tho its too late now Happy Pride to you too! My birthday was also in June (i hate getting old😭)When’s your birthday? Omg i have alot to say but I’m a bit sleep deprived and that’s on me cuz I don’t even have any excuse to not sleep. Tell me what you’ve been up to?! Anything exciting happened in your life?!!

i didn't get any asks after that :(((((( really really hate tumblr yes that's the hymn. and no god. not even close to semester end. then i was yes. but not now. the new one started forcefully quickly in june and now we have a seminar in september for which we have to write research paper sample after research paper sampleand i just want off this ride now i will live degreeless i want off i don't careeeeeee!!!!

anyway yes i'm doing good, despite how bone-tired i am at the end of every day, this has quite ironically been the best year of my academic life. i just wish i wasn't so occupied with everything all the time. but yes, i had an hour long foot bath which made my toes go very comfortably numb (pun intended) so i'm doing good, thank you. how have you been yourself? sorry to hear about the sleep deprivation, definitely don't try coffee after 8 o clock, i've found it's not that great a coping mechanism apparently. but i do hope you've found another celebration to busy yourself with,- last time it was eid, this time maybe muharram? tell me if i'm treading the wrong waters here religiously or communally because i absolutely could be - as that is the best kind of busy one can be. sigh. oh and i was talking of celebratiions omg HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!!!! it's such a shame i couldn't wish you on the day of :((( but stiiiilll happpyyyy birthdaaaayyyy getting old is absolutely fabulous it just comes with an unwanted, very necessary side of responsibilities&othersomeseriousstuff but that's life.

also did you want Barbie &/or Oppenheimer??? because i've watched the former THRICE somehow and im still not as sick of it as i ought to be i just love it a lot i love barbie i love gerwig i love margot robbie i love ken i love ryan gosling and onandonandonandon. guess probably that could be taken as the exciting bit for me too seeing as i haven't done jackshit apart from reading and analysing and secondary reading and re-analysing through a second approach in a long while now. im going to end this before i fall face down on my keypad now.

SO happy you've not estranged me altogether and still are on my block. love you, sending you all the good summer days (because that's another shit thing that's happened here - fucking rains) and good sleep and rest <3333333 take care, write back soon. i shall be waiting at the door of my inbox forlorn like i'm a victorian heroine and we're actually sending actual letters between the two of us kiss kiss

in case of any typos/errors, do not contact original poster for she is just a poor boy from a poor family(the 1d fandom) spare her her life from this atrocity (grammatical corrections)