As we commemorate the 78th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, America is gripped in a confusing and (as some have argued) insensitive cultural moment.
The release of very different movies, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," on the same day has spawned the “Barbenheimer” craze where the two come together in a strange yet symbiotic fashion. Box office records have been broken across America and it has become a trend among moviegoers to express an ironic sense of humor by seeing both films on the same day.
In addition, countless internet jokes and memes — some showing "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" juxtaposed against the backdrop of atomic explosions — have gone viral. However, the resulting satire has led to deep offense and anger among many Japanese. Things culminated earlier this week when Warner Bros. (the makers of "Barbie") issued an apology after their official U.S. social media account reacted positively to a Barbenheimer meme.