‘Insensitive’ Barbenheimer poster sparks controversy in Japan: ‘I can’t snort at it’

A now-deleted poster for the web sensation “Barbenheimer” has sparked controversy in Japan after it appeared to poke enjoyable on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, reports the South China Morning Post.

The fan-made poster, which was initially uploaded last month by the account DiscussingFilms on X (previously Twitter), confirmed Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer holding Margot Robbie’s Barbie in entrance of a mushroom cloud.

Japanese customers had been additional aggravated when the official US account for the Barbie movie commented on the put up, writing that “it’s gonna be a summer season to recollect.”

For the reason that remark controversy, the hashtag “#NoBarbenheimer” has been trending on social media.

“I really like memes, however this one was surprising,” wrote one consumer. “It most likely unfold with out such a deep which means, however as a Japanese individual, I can’t snort at it.”

“I completely can’t condone the act of jokingly spreading tweets that make enjoyable of the atomic bombing that killed so many individuals in Japan,” spat one other. “I strongly demand that the associated tweets be instantly retracted and deleted.”

“The Barbie film is not any good as a result of the components is already fully driving on the atomic bomb and the meme of the mushroom cloud,” slammed a 3rd individual. “There isn’t any salvation in phrases that the followers had been simply excited and there was no official intention. completed.”

Warner Bros. Japan mentioned it’s presently looking for “an acceptable response” and has since responded to the hoard of indignant posts.

The Japanese “Barbie” account released a statement saying that it was “extraordinarily regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the film ‘Barbie’ reacted to the social media postings of ‘Barbenheimer’ followers.”

“We take this case very critically. We’re asking the US headquarters to take acceptable motion. We apologize to those that had been offended by this collection of thoughtless reactions.”

On Tuesday, Warner Bros. US issued its personal assertion apologizing for its “insensitive” social media engagement, however many have remarked that the apology appeared half-hearted.

“Warner Brothers regrets its current insensitive social media engagement,” a rep for the studio told Deadline. “The studio gives a honest apology.”

Since each films opened on July 21, “Barbenheimer” has sparked an obsession on the web, starting from memes and mashups to merchandise like T-shirts and mock-up movie posters.

“Oppenheimer” has but to be launched in Japan as this month will commemorate the 78th anniversary of the US dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“Hollywood takes into consideration themes and expressions which might be delicate to sure international locations,” Takashi Uchiyama, a professor at Aoyama Gakuin College told the South China Morning Post. “I believe there was a want to shift the timing of the discharge.”

Jeffrey J. Corridor, a historical past lecturer at Kanda College of Worldwide Research, instructed the information outlet that “it is extremely frequent for Japanese movie distributors to delay movie releases as much as six months or a 12 months, and it hardly ever is politically motivated.”

This isn’t the primary time “Barbie” has been reportedly blasted within the media.

The movie was initially banned in Vietnam after an in-movie map of the world utilizing the “nine-dash line” — a set of line segments that signify China’s territorial claims within the South China Sea — which the nation mentioned “violated” their sovereignty.

“We don’t grant license for the American film ‘Barbie’ to launch in Vietnam as a result of it accommodates the offending picture of the nine-dash line,” state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper mentioned, Reuters reported.

Warner Bros. later issued an announcement attempting to make clear its intention.

“The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” a spokesperson told Variety. “The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘actual world.’ It was not supposed to make any sort of assertion.”