Lessons from Barbenheimer – Embrace the Larger Story
By John J Kelley | July 28, 2023 |
This past weekend I did something unusual, at least for me. Though given the blockbuster audience numbers, it was a rather typical decision. That is, I saw both Barbie and Oppenheimer on the big screen, diving headfirst into the summer cultural phenomenon known as Barbenheimer.
I don’t quite know what possessed me. It has been years, certainly pre-pandemic, since I attended an opening weekend premier, much less two. It may have been the surreal opposites the two projects represent. Perhaps the memes drew me in, or the appeal of a cool, dark cinema on a blistering summer day. Or maybe it was simply the call of story, the promise of two fresh visions to pique my interest and awaken my senses.
And wow, did they deliver! From the explosion of color in Barbie to the heart-shattering explosion at the center of Oppenheimer, both were the culmination of bold visions brilliantly executed. The films captivated, cajoled, and touched me, leaving my emotions a maelstrom in their wake. Shakespearean scholars would be pleased at the catharsis I experienced.
But here’s the thing. For all the massive sets, sweeping vistas, splashy dance numbers, and stellar casts, it was – as it always is – the root stories that transformed both from interesting premises to works of art.
In the days since, I’ve been pondering just why the writing touched me so. It wasn’t the plots. They were fine, of course, hitting all the marks. Oppenheimer had a few twists and a slow burn culminating in a searing finale. Barbie was satisfying too, though a bit predictable. Yet I was still moved from laughter to tears by the end. So, what was it? What sparked the magic?
The more I reflected, a key similarity between these two seemingly incompatible endeavors jumped out. In both cases, writers found the broader stories swirling around the main plot line – crucial cultural, social, and political currents – and employed them to shape not only events within the tale but also the emotional life of the characters. The alchemy was how they so deftly integrated these elements that they became indispensable to the tale.
How did they do it, and what lessons can we learn to elevate our own tales? Let’s take a peek at how both incorporated the larger story swirling around the main plot.
<spoiler warning – please do not proceed if you have a movie date on the near horizon>
Embedding the Big Issue within the Protagonist’s Journey
Oppenheimer anchors its epic story with a quote from Hindu scripture that the scientist once used himself when reflecting upon his dubious achievement – “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” The line is spoken twice, once in a scene of personal passion and again at the moment civilization changes forever. And while the story winds in many directions, brimming with plots, subplots and more than a little subterfuge, the heart of Oppenheimer the man is weighted with the burden reflected in the evocative meditation. For it was his vision, intellect and leadership that birthed the nuclear age that shapes our modern world and yet might still destroy it; and he carries that burden with him. It struck me afterward that the story structure is like a distorted mirror. The events of the first half, though jumbled in their presentation, display Oppenheimer’s nearly arrogant confidence as he pursues his vision to lead development of the first atomic weapon. Whereas the events of the second half recount his regret and his futile attempts to warn of its dangers, which earn him scorn and even betrayal from those who once toasted him.
Barbie, likewise, embraces a dichotomy of image, placing a long-standing debate at the heart of the protagonist’s journey. Does Barbie represent the aspirations of millions of young girls to become professionals and thrive independently? Or does she reinforce an unrealistic, dysfunctional societal vision that ultimately harms their self-esteem and undermines their confidence? It is this dilemma the character Barbie must face herself if she is to resolve her existential crisis and find her true path.
Both stories placed a big issue front and center and then built a story around it. Yes, the plots carry nuance and subtlety. But the root conflict is never in doubt. It is written in bold and underlined. And it works.
Lean into the History with an Eye on the Present
For all the humor that infuses Barbie, it serves as a documentary of sorts too. Though the story I gained an appreciation for how the introduction of the Barbie doll changed the toy industry forever. I also learned how Barbie planted the idea of women becoming doctors, lawyers, and astronauts a full decade before a woman could even purchase a home or obtain a credit card without a man cosigning. Throughout the story, Barbie’s relevance as a cultural touchstone, despite changing eras and perspectives, was highlighted. This was never more apparent than when character Barbie leaves her dream house and enters the real world – our world.
The juxtaposition is both humorous and sobering, providing tension that carries the remainder of the tale. The jarring contradictions culminate with a brilliant monologue from the woman who unknowingly beckoned Barbie, played by talented actress America Ferrera, lamenting the unrelenting expectations society places upon women to this day.
Oppenheimer, too, is steeped in history, from scientific discoveries of the era to the descent of the world into war to the prevailing prejudices of the time. Even the intricacies involved with designing, building, and testing the first atomic test are recounted, set as a race against the enemy to see whose efforts would prevail.
The outcome of this history is known, or course. But the fear that lingered throughout the final act, that we may already have created the seeds of our destruction, resonates all the way to the present day. Living now through a summer of world temperatures hotter than at any point in 100,000 years, when scientists have just named a new geological epoch caused by human activity, and with reports warning that a critical system of global weather may soon collapse, it’s hard not to draw parallels … just as the writers intended.
The Bottom Line — Dream Big. Write Accordingly.
My takeaway from a weekend of Barbenheimer is simple. Embrace the larger story circling the one you first imagined. If writing a historical feature, dig deeper. What undercurrents were dissolving the foundations of the time? Which bold ideas were transforming the culture? Seek to bring those elements into your story, and into the arcs of your characters. If writing science fiction, find ways to reflect the uncertainty in today’s world on your distant planet. A YA novel can deliver a powerful punch, opening the eyes of a new generation. And the youth will get the message, no matter how many politicians try to silence it.
Don’t fear going big, regardless of genre. The future belongs to the bold.
Oh, and write on!
That is my pep talk for the day. What are your thoughts? Did you see either of the Barbenheimer duo? Did they inspire you, or were your underwhelmed? Do you have examples of finding a larger story within your own works? Are there threads in your current writings which could be expanded to create a bigger story? Please share — I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
PS — If you’d like to follow the Q Street Barbies highlighted in the post photo, they can be found on Instagram. Trust me, they have a lot to say about current events, with wit, wisdom and oodles of style.
John J Kelley crafts tales of individuals at a crossroads, exploring themes of growth, reconciliation and community. His debut novel, The Fallen Snow, about a young soldier’s homecoming at the close of WWI, received a Publishers Weekly starred review and earned an Honorable Mention nod at the 2012 Foreword Reviews Book-of-the-Year Awards.
Born and raised in the Florida panhandle, John graduated from Virginia Tech and for a time served as a military officer. Today he lives with his partner in Washington, DC.
I have not yet partaken of Barbie but plan to; observing the cultural phenomenon of the (mainly) women who were waiting outside has been a show in itself.
The arc I found most compelling in Oppenheimer was the visual, physical, and audible portrayal of his intense intellect, focus, curiosity, and ultimately fear, anxiety, and (shame/guilt don’t seem adequate to describe not the stone weighing him down but the tempest he barely contained).
At its best, the film showed us the consequences of the work at Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and Hanford through Oppenheimer’s very body (when Oppenheimer says the most he is not actually speaking, a kudos to Cillian Murphy’s embodiment of the character) while the telling was accomplished mainly through reenactment of key meeting and events, especially the Atomic Energy Commission’s security hearing in 1954.
In my own work I am unexpectedly pulling in both the religious and the technological landscape—in a comedy. To write is also to be a historian of the current day so you can better see the strings that are pulling you and instead wrap them around your characters.
Thanks much for the q street rec. 😁
I agree on Oppenheimer. The post does not even scratch the surface of the artistry that went into the film, on so many levels. While I know visuals can greatly influence the audience perception of a story, I still find applicable lessons – and inspiration – by studying what works in the screenplays themselves. And to that point, for Oppenheimer credit should be given to the source material from American Prometheus, the 2005 biography from which the screenplay was adapted.
But can we talk for a moment about your observation — “To write is also to be a historian of the current day so you can better see the strings that are pulling you and instead wrap them around your characters.”
Oh my gosh – that is so spot on! I’ve been doing some intense soul-searching lately as to why my writing has suffered for, well, honestly, to varying degrees for years. So much so that it almost became the topic of my post today. What I’ve concluded is that my voice is at times strangled by my own fears, and a low unrelenting anger. It hinders my ability to be objective, to step outside as an observer … something I find vital to my writing. I explained to a friend recently that I once had a view of how the world worked, our world anyhow. And trusting the roadmap that view provided, I could see stories and how they might unfold. I feel like I’m just now coming to terms with the need to lean into the fact that what I felt I knew was just a sliver, and that my writing needs to reflect the not knowing. I need to let my characters live with the unknowing as well because it’s reality. It always has been; my youthful confidence in my instincts had simply blinded me to it.
I’m utterly fascinated by your blend of religion and technology in a comedy. I can’t even imagine how that might manifest itself, but am eager to learn more. Hope it is coming together nicely!
Oh, and the Q Street Barbies are a source of endless amusement for me. Whenever I’m near, I make a little detour to view their latest creations, not all of which end up on their Instagram page (though most do). Such creativity. I love it when people find their niche for expression and share it with the world.
Happy Friday – Have a wonderful weekend, regardless of whether or not it includes Barbie :)
John, I haven’t seen either but have read/heard enough to be excited about doing so, especially after reading your post, which is for me about high-level craft. Incorporating a bigger picture into a tale is what makes a story timeless. Thank you for explaining it so beautifully here. These days, (I write YAF), those bigger-picture are as essential as the escape-into-another-world element of the best stories. My current tale begins in small town NJ in 1978. I chose it because there are so many threads connecting the hope of the sixties to the slow derailment of human compassion. Threads that are vibrating again today and meeting the same resistance. Threads that younger readers are picking up.Your post is going into my CRAFT file today. Thank you for every word. Hope you’re keeping moderately cool.
Thanks, Susan! Years ago, in a writing group, there was a woman who had written a series of stories she had hoped to turn into a novel, though I think they later became a play. The stories were about a young teen woman and her family vacation at a lakeside town in the late 70s. They were wonderful! I was instantly drawn into the world she brought to life, stunned at how she was able to infuse the vernacular, attitudes and images from the era. The stories were funny yet piercing.
I was transitioning from childhood to my teens in the late 70s, but when I look back now I realize it was an awkward time for the nation, not just an awkward period in my own life, with the 60s fading and the Reagan era not yet begun. I think the idea of choosing that period to explore what is unfolding today is brilliant, especially for young adult audiences. Write on!
As for our weather, I think our heat is peaking today and tomorrow. Fortunately, we haven’t had it as bad in the mid-Atlantic as other parts of the country. Plus we’ve been getting rain. Hoping that remains the case, though August here can sometimes be brutal.
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods as well. Take care.
Hi John, I have not seen either film yet, but find the linking of the 2 emblematic of our wide and wild culture. We Americans always want to go Big. But…it is the singular person sitting in the theatre and reliving two historic movements in our culture that should be eye opening. Greta is always about women in society, her growth, her struggles; and of course Oppenheimer changed forever what fighting and wars could portend. Our own work might feel small up against such presentations, but writing is always singular. We never know how our writing might touch, change, or even challenge the thinking and hearts of our readers.
Definitely. Being a fan of quiet stories myself, I still find the most effective ones for me deal with a solitary figure facing the larger world. Oppenheimer, for all its Christoper Nolan flourishes, succeeds best when the camera lingers on the nuances of Cilian Murphy’s portrayal, which fortunately it does quite often. The beauty is bringing those small moments to a scale worthy of their emotional impact.
I enjoyed your post. I hope I get as much out of the next two movies I see.
I write about heroes, detective stories, the kind of thing I like to read. Theme, beyond things like crime should not pay, or bad guys should come to bad ends, is not a big focus. I seek to entertain rather than inform or instruct. When I read craft books that discuss theme and the deeper personal goal or conflict of the protagonist, my stories, which I feel are satisfying as detective stories, seem a little shallow. I wrote a hero’s journey that has a theme, but it’s set in antique times and doesn’t have a lot of connection to events today, at least none that I can see. I’m marinating a story idea that might have a theme relevant to today. I probably would never have thought of it that way had you not written this. It could help ground that story in a very helpful way. Thank you,
Detective stories, like comedies and romances, provide a valuable service to our wounded psyches. They are popular because they fulfill an emotional need. I have notes of a romantic comedy I dreamed up at some point that my partner would love for me to write, but so far I’ve resisted. I think because I’m not sure I can do it justice. It’s like I want to find someone who I know can pull it off, and get them to feel the same enthusiasm for the story and characters as I did when they came to me.
It’s a silly notion, one that sounds even sillier now that I’ve said it out loud. Maybe it’s good to step outside our comfort zones on occasion, but there’s something to be said about knowing what comes naturally and working to improve those muscles.
If you do decide to pursue the new idea marinating, hope the exploration is rewarding.
Be well!
John, I’ve not seen either yet, but know the history of the Manhattan project. I still remember when I first learned of it in high school and ever since then went deeper into it throughout my studies. I have never played with Barbies, not having grown up here, and neither did I get those dolls for my kids. They were always more attracted to baby dolls. So it was very interesting to read your take on it, what was happening in the culture when they were introduced. I’m looking forward to seeing Oppenheimer but I doubt I could take all the pink and plastic of Barbie. I did watch one summer movie in the theater: Sound of Freedom and it was done very well, with the story focused on a pair of siblings and their rescue, but we learn the kind of world we’re living in right now. My husband had to preview it for me because I wasn’t sure how much violence would be on-screen.
In my historical, the specifics of my characters reflect what’s occurring in the country, but given that it’s through the eyes of a child, has a more innocent quality. My narrator is growing up and is discovering that the world isn’t just. In stories, the good always wins, but that’s not true in her world. But what is winning? Perhaps the best revenge is having a good life. Thank you for making me think more deeply about my own stories.
Hi, Vijaya! Long time no speak, so to speak. :)
I was the youngest of 5, and my much older sister never had a barbie to my knowledge … at least I never saw one in old home movies, even those taken at Christmas. But like other aspects of youth, it was just out there, part of the culture. So I was keenly aware of “Barbie world.” One thing interesting aspect of the movie release has been hearing women speak of their experiences – or lack thereof – with Barbie, and also hearing them talk about the opinions of their mothers at the time. I think the image has always been up for debate, so it makes sense that the movie explored that. You might enjoy it more than you think simply because it did work as a social commentary, and a fairly wide-eyed one at times. But there is indeed a lot of pink, especially in the first twenty minutes.
I so suspect you would like Oppenheimer. One thing I loved about it was that much of the tension, particularly in the middle sections, was centered around scientific debates and experimentation. Who would have thought that arguments about the shipment of isotopes, and an ongoing tug of war between theory and experimentation, when of course both are necessary, would receive so much screen time in a “blockbuster” formatted film that to be truthful was really only utilized to its full extent for perhaps 15 minutes in the course of a 3-hour film.
I have heard about Sound of Freedom. It’s a horrid topic to take on, but one people need to understand.
Your historical sounds appealing, even if the subject matter may be difficult. Seeing stories of our world today through the eyes of a child is a good choice. Even well-meaning works often lose sight of that perspective, but it’s an important one to explore.
Stay cool, and carry on. Be well!
Hey John,
Just finished reading your piece on the Barbenheimer experience, and dude, you nailed it! Really felt like I was there in the theater with you, oscillating between Barbie’s saccharine world and Oppenheimer’s chilling reality.
I am a cinephile and naturally saw Oppenheimer on opening night and Barbie the night after. I was also struck with a strange sense of cohesion between the two films despite their polar opposite tones but didn’t think deeply about it until now.
I think you nailed it when you emphasized how the writers captured larger cultural, social, and political narratives and made them an integral part of the characters’ emotional journeys. That’s what we all strive for, isn’t it? Crafting stories that are more than just… well, stories. It’s about creating pieces that reflect the heartbeat of society, capturing a moment in the world around us.
Your final takeaway? Dream Big. Write Accordingly. That’s got to be my mantra now. It’s not just a simple phrase, it’s a challenge to every storyteller out there. You’re calling us to look beyond the surface-level drama and dig into the bedrock of our characters, our society, our world. That’s the stuff real stories are made of.
Until the next cinematic adventure,
Liam
Hey, Liam! You flatter me, especially given your work out on the coast. It’s been cool to hear updates on occasion from your parents. Hope the film opportunities are keeping you busy, and that the strike isn’t affecting you too much. I look forward to seeing your next project, whatever it may be.
Btw, you definitely nailed my own feelings about storytelling, and writing generally. I’ve always thought of it in terms of capturing moments.
Take care, guy. Have a great weekend!
I will have to come back to this article, John! Have aspirations to see both movies but no definitive date, so am heeding your spoiler alert.
Jan! I so miss hearing your thoughts on stories!
Hope you are doing well and feeling fine. And hope your projects, writing and otherwise, and coming along nicely.