Warner Bros. U.S. has recently responded to the criticism made by a studio branch in Japan and many social media criticisms. The criticisms made were over Barbenheimer meme tweets featuring images of atom bombs.
Warner Bros. U.S. said, “Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology.” The offending tweets are being purged.
Previously, Warner Bros. Japan had stated about the “extremely regrettable” Barbenheimer tweets from the official U.S. Barbie Twitter account. Japan’s Barbie account posted, “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…We take this situation very seriously. We are asking the U.S. headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologize to those who are offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions. Warner Bros. Japan.”
In Japan, #NoBarbenheimer has been trending on Twitter following disturbing memes featuring explosions and playful Barbie images. It has been viewed seven million times with 34,000 likes. Many say that the memes trivialize the use of nuclear weapons and the real-life consequences that the atomic bomb had on Japan.
One of the fictional posters comes from the account @DiscussingFilm, where the Oppenheimer character is carrying Barbie on his shoulder. At the same time, a nuclear flame is surrounded in the background. At this time, the Barbie account said, “It’s going to be a summer to remember.”
Twitter (rebranded X) said, “At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945 (Showa 20), an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima for the first time in human history. The particular nature of the damage caused by the atomic bombs is that mass destruction and mass murder occurred instantaneously and indiscriminately.”
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