Why Barbenheimer is Good News for the Future of Cinema

A film's most important duty is to make us feel.

Growing up, one of my favorite movies was Space Jam. My siblings and I would watch it over and over again, laughing at it as if it were the first time we heard the jokes. Michael Jordan's imperfect performance was the cherry on top of the cake.

And, trust me, that's just the tip of the iceberg. I could come up with a long list of "silly" movies that I learned to love.

When I grew up, I engaged in more "serious" films. For example, when I was in college, the teachers would make us watch Greenaway, Goddard, Kubrick, and so on, and we did enjoy it. Still, whenever a new blockbuster arrived at the local movie theaters, the immediate reaction would be, "Yikes, more Hollywood garbage."

I was taught there was elite cinema and junk. But, nowadays, this distinction seems wrong.

The more movies I have watched, the more it grows in me the idea that a film's most important duty is to make us FEEL.

To move us.

After all, what kind of sorcery is this that, while we are in a dark room, surrounded by strangers, we detach from reality and connect with characters who are nothing but light on a screen?

It doesn't matter if it is a black-and-white movie. It doesn't matter if the screen is drowning in pink. It doesn't matter if the subject is depressive, gritty, violent, or sweeter than a lollipop.

The fact that Akira Kurosawa is my favorite filmmaker doesn't mean I'm not "allowed" to remember with sweet nostalgia all of the hours I invested rewatching Space Jam.

What matters is Cinema and the stories it tells us. What matters is the magic we allow ourselves to feel.

I have had it with film snobs who wag their fingers at anything that doesn't line up with their sacred preconceptions, people who believe there's only one right way to enjoy a film which, curiously enough, happens to be their way.

Enter Barbenheimer.

When the news broke about a Barbie film being made, some people groaned. Ugh, here it was, another plastic film about a plastic toy.

However, once we learned more about the film, the cast and crew behind it, and, above all, once we got that fantastic teaser trailer, the audience's perception of the movie began to change.

And about Oppenheimer…well, we have Christopher Nolan behind it, which almost guarantees that we will get a film that will intrigue and fascinate us.

Once it was announced that both movies would be released on the same day, July 21st, their fates became entangled. However, for once, instead of devolving into a hateful rivalry, social media has been filled with people who say they'll proudly enjoy both Barbie and Oppenheimer. The only point of disagreement seems to be which one to watch first.

But where there's barely any kind of debate is the fact that both films have excited moviegoers beyond belief.

People want to see Gerwig's film and bask in its promised pink delight just as much as they want to drown in the magnificent visuals Nolan will deliver.

Because, in the end, Cinema is Cinema.

Sure, we all have encountered crappy movies that make us feel nothing and fail at the critical job of creating cinematic art. But we should never place the value of a film on whether it looks artsy or snobbish enough.

It is true we have yet to see the films. However, they have already rekindled people's passion for The Seven Art.

2023 is headed to be one of the best years for movies. We already had Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Asteroid City, and soon we'll get Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon (I'm so ready to sit through its 206 minutes), the second part of Dune, Napoleon, and much more.

It feels so adequate that in the face of the many threats filmmaking currently faces — just ask the members of the WGA who remain on strike — we are reminded of the magic these stories carry.

The gist of it all is that there are movies we come to treasure. We can appreciate the technical details and marvel at how a particular shot was achieved. But in the end, if you ask someone to explain their passion for certain films, usually their eyes will light up, and they'll say, "I don't know, I just love them."

A previous version of this article was published on Tumblr.

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