Overview

In this edited volume, contributors engage with Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023) and Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, 2023) through the lens of the Barbenheimer fad, an online and in-person phenomenon — coined by critics and co-opted by fans — that celebrated the counterprogramming of these two divergent films. By framing Barbenheimer as a syndrome, the book revisits this moment in time to consider the elements that constituted the phenomenon on a global scale and to interrogate the logics through which this cultural spectacle may be symptomatic of larger cultural forces and social changes occurring at the time of release. Through the convergence of an interdisciplinary and global range of perspectives, Barbenheimer Syndrome interprets Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Barbenheimer within different cultural contexts to demonstrate both the universal and specific iterations of the phenomenon that struck such a cultural nerve in the summer of 2023.

Full Product Details

Author:   Carolyn Condon Jacobs ,  Anna Young ,  Karen A. Ritzenhoff (Central Connecticut State University, USA)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN:  

9781666968637

ISBN 10:   1666968633
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   16 April 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  

Table of Contents

Foreword: From Barbie to the Bomb: What Barbenheimer Taught Us About Meme Culture Dahlia Schweitzer (Fashion Institute of Technology, USA) Acknowledgements Introduction Carolyn 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 Barbenheimer 1. A Viral Sensation: “Barbenheimer” and the Covid-19 Pandemic Carolyn Condon Jacobs 2. “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 Nostalgia Thomas Prasch (Washburn University, USA) 4. Empire-building and post-WWII collective trauma: Bodily abnormalities and male symbolism in Barbenheimer Micky Lee (Suffolk University, USA) 5. ""What Was I Made For”: Barbenheimer, Metamodernism, and Why Barbie Works Better Than Oppenheimer John 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 Women Walton Brown-Foster (Central Connecticut State University, USA) SECTION II: Gender Dynamics in Barbie's World 8. To be or Not to be Feminist and Feminine: The Question of Stereotypes in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie Dharshani Lakmali Jayasinghe (Central Connecticut State University, USA) 9. Playing House, Playing Cowboy: Sentimental Gender Scripts in Barbie Katharina 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. Ritzenhoff SECTION III: Unveiling Barbie’s Influence 12. Barbie’s Jewish Mother: Ruth’s Reveal and the Return of the Ethno-Maternal Real Susan 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 Barbie Rebekah Brammer (Independent Scholar, USA) SECTION IV: Exploring Oppenheimer's Impact 16. “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 Biopic A. Bowdoin Van Riper (Martha’s Vineyard Museum, USA) SECTION V: International Reception of Barbie and Oppenheimer 18. Barbie in a War Zone, Oppenheimer in a Nuclear Memory: Gender and Atomic Legacies in Ukraine’s Cinematic Reception Anna Young 19. ""Why Didn’t the Film Barbie Succeed in South Korea? Exploring Gender and Cultural Dynamics through Online Reactions Yeojin ""Julia"" 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 Markets Sung 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 Failure Hiba Aleem (Boston University, USA) About the Editors and Contributors Index

Reviews

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. * Tanya Horeck, Professor of Film and Feminist Media Studies, Anglia Ruskin University, UK * Examining the alchemy between the simultaneous releases of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in the summer of 2023, Barbenheimer Syndrome is a welcome addition to the ongoing debates about this cultural moment in cinematic history. Including analyses of these films that explore the intersections between feminism, disability studies, meme culture, and the military industrial complex, this volume also looks at the films’ international reception in Japan, Ukraine, and South Korea as a means of investigating this worldwide phenomenon. * Sarah E. S. Sinwell, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Film and Media Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA * Barbenheimer Syndrome dissects Hollywood’s most mismatched double bill and the meme-worthy moment that defined 2023. From pink satire to plutonium angst, this timely and irreverent collection explores how mass entertainment collided with political polarization—sometimes with glitter, sometimes with fallout. A must-read for anyone interested in media convergence, gender dynamics, and the enduring power of film. * Elena Caoduro, Professor of Arts, English and Languages, Queen’s University Belfast, UK *

Author Information

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.

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