Now I am Become Barbie, Destroyer of Patriarchies

The ancient myth that makes Barbenheimer a cinematic power-couple

Barbenheiemer — what an unbearable juxtaposition! What a terrible thing for cinema, that its future hangs on the success of a marketing gimmick! What could the origin story of the atomic bomb and a fictional world full of Mojo Dojo Casa Houses have in common? More than you might think.

I saw Oppenheimer and Barbie on back-to-back weekends, and during Act III of Barbie, I had a realization.

Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is an epic biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, Father of the Atomic Bomb. Greta Gerwig's Barbie is a comic fantasy about the cultural significance of Mattel's Barbie doll (and the most creative use of existing IP since Spaceballs). In their own (completely different) ways, both films explore ethical and existential questions that hit at the core of what it means to be human. And what does this cinematic power-couple reveal about the nature of humanity? Barbie and Oppenheimer have the same thesis: life is a Promethean struggle.

Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man.

For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.

If you want to learn how Barbie and Oppenheimer can help you grapple with the human condition, continue reading this month's essay:

"Introducing: Promethean Barbie"

• Who was Ruth Handler, and did she intend for Barbie to cause body dysmorphia?

• Was Robert Oppenheimer unjustly punished after creating the atomic bomb?

• Should you create something even if you can't know whether it will benefit humanity?

Springboard:

We have used Prometheus’s gift to create extinction-weapons and anatomically inaccurate dolls. So, was Prometheus right to steal the divine fire? Or was Zeus right — that we are undeserving of that gift?

Shoutouts

I spent a month writing this essay and dove into an eclectic set of rabbit holes to do it — from Barbie and Greek mythology to nuclear fission and Christopher Nolan's cinematography. Along the way,

Michael Dean

and

Yehudis Milchtein

gave me feedback and deadlines that helped me get this thing out the door.

Michael gave me feedback on structure and marked some of my darlings for the chopping block, which helped the essay flow. He just published a piece on the history of the Internet and the virtue of radical self-expression. It’s delivered through a captivating profile of Justin Hall, one of the first online writers. After reading it, I'm motivated to share more of myself online, if for no other reason than to create a time capsule for my grandkids.

The First Online Writer

Yehudis helped me breathe life into the characters of Robert Oppenheimer and Ruth Handler so that readers would understand their struggles. Her latest essay is about the utility of fear. Fear is a compass that points you toward experiences that will help you grow. Yehudis’s stories inspire me to make each day an adventure and to seek discomfort, so that I don't stagnate or lose sight of the life I want to live.

Learning The Rain Dance

---