Memes / Barbie (2023)

She's arrested. He's just Ken.

Memetic mutations about the 2023 Barbie film.

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• "Barbenheimer" (or, alternately, "Barbieheimer") — Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer releasing on the same day as Barbie with its own All-Star Cast has led to several memes fusing the two films, fuelled by the sheer force of Bathos from contrasting the very serious nature of Oppenheimer's invention of the nuclear bomb and ensuing moral dilemma against the whimsical and comedic nature of Barbie and their wildly differing aesthetics, with Oppenheimer's Deliberately Monochrome look vs Barbie's very bright Pink. See also that film's meme page.
  • People joking that choosing between either one is like "choosing between the boys' Happy Meal and girls' Happy Meal." Many people have also responded to this by saying that they're going to see both films as a Double Feature instead of choosing between either one, although that has raised a new debate of whether one should watch Barbie or Oppenheimer first in the double header.
  • "Come on Bobby, let's go party."◊
  • With the revelation that Pikmin 4 was releasing that day as well as Shin Kamen Rider (2023) releasing on Amazon Prime that day, the name for some fans has now evolved into “Shin Barminheimer”. And with Toy Story also being re-released in theaters the same day as part of Disney's 100th anniversary celebration, the name has been further mutated into "Shin Barminheimer Story".
  • And now, both movies' trailers in the other's style.
  • "Women are my favorite guy" ^ExplanationA lyric from Kyle Gordon's viral "Planet of the Bass", which has been paired up with the following lyric "Sex! I'm wanting more. Tell the world: stop the war!" in reference to the Friendly Fandoms of Barbenheimer, with this one in particular being in regards to Barbie.
  • As of November 2023, Charles Band of Full Moon Features is developing an actual film inspired by the Barbenheimer meme, about a scientist doll developing a nuclear weapon.
• The movie's campy appeal has led to captioning pictures of various fictional characters (especially tough guys) with "[#] tickets to the Barbie movie, please".
• Speculation on whether or not Aqua's "Barbie Girl" song will be featured. Jokes about boycotting the film became common after Aqua commented that it would not be in the film. The song would later make it into the trailers and soundtrack via a sample in the Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice number "Barbie World".
• The "BarbieCore" style became really famous in 2022, with many social media users sporting bright and pastel pink looks inspired by the movie. Even before its release, the movie was being shouted out for being a trailblazer when it came to fashion.
• The character posters, especially the "This Barbie…" ones, released in early April 2023 instantly exploded in popularity with excessive use of different culturally relevant or easily recognizable figures — fitting or unfitting — being edited into them instead with a caption/tagline meant specifically for them. This was helped by Warner Bros. creating an official website where anyone can make their own "This Barbie/Ken" posters.
• The opposing taglines for Margot Robbie's Barbie and Ryan Gosling's Ken ("Barbie is everything." vs. "He's just Ken.") have been used as a tongue-in-cheek way to compare highly accomplished and talented female characters or celebrities with the men in their lives, whom people consider less impressive for whatever reason. (For example, Taylor Swift and her less famous then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, Zendaya and Tom Holland, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks, Hope Van Dyne and Scott Lang, Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers, Jane Foster and Thor Odinson, Pepper Potts and Tony Stark, Laura and Clint Barton, Gamorah and Peter Quill, Mary Jane Watson ( Or Gwen Stacy, or Felicia Hardy, or...) and Peter Parker, or Sailor Moon and her love interest, the Memetic Loser Tuxedo Mask.) This is usually done with affection, as most Barbie fans love Ken, despite their ribbing about him being a Trophy Husband.
• The French version of "Barbie is everything. He's just Ken." is "Elle peut tout faire. Lui, c'est juste Ken," literally translating to “She can do everything. He’s just Ken.” Which seems innocuous enough…except that in French, “ken” is also a slang term for “fuck,” while “c’est” (he is) is a homophone for “sait” (he knows how); ergo, the tagline could also be read in French as “She can do everything. He just knows how to fuck.”
• Memes predicting that Max Steel is set to make an appearance (usually as the post-credits scene) spread in Latin America (where Max has always been much more popular than anywhere else) as the trailers dropped, since in this region Max was used as Barbie's partner when kids were playing with the toys. A common guess is that John Cena's character is actually Max Steel himself. (Ultimately, the theory proved to be incorrect; Cena's role is as a merman.)
• Mugshot redraws.^ExplanationWhen the brief mugshot scene of Barbie and Ken was first showcased in the trailers, it rapidly became one for artists to make drawings depicting duos from other works in the mugshots; á la Barbie and Ken, these drawings usually involve a character on the left who's shocked and/or serious, while the one on the right hams it up, though this isn't necessarily always the case.
• "Directed by Quentin Tarantino." ^ExplanationThe trailers feature many gratuitous closeups of Margot Robbie's bare feet, which spawned jokes about Barbie being a Quentin Tarantino film due to his infamous foot fetish. Robbie previously starring in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood also added some more humor to it.
• Too much pink energy is dangerous! ^ExplanationOn June 1, news articles revealed that the production set for Barbieland required so much pink paint, it accidentally caused a pink paint shortage. This caused quite a few people to reference this memetic line from the “Wild West Rangers” multi-parter. It probably helped that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always was released earlier in the year, which also referenced the "too much pink energy" line as a combination Fandom Nod and Ascended Meme.
• The creatives behind the film coined the word "Kenergy" to describe Ken's foppish himbo trophy boyfriend vibe, and the term spread across online outlets and social media as people tried to pin down the term.
• Mojo Dojo Casa House ^ExplanationWhen Ken takes over Barbie's Dreamhouse he renames it to the Mojo Dojo Casa House, even though Casa and House mean the same thing simply because it sounds cool. This phrase has become a meme where people describe real or fictional abodes they find appealing as a "Mojo Dojo Casa House".
• I am Kenough ^ExplanationAt the end of the movie, after getting a pep talk from Barbie about how he needs to find value in himself instead of basing everything off his relationship with her, Ken is seen wearing a rainbow hoodie that says "I am Kenough." Merchandise with this phrase, including the iconic hoodie, has become very popular, and the phrase itself has spread across the internet, especially in regards to positive masculinity and/or reaffirming their individuality
• Ken on Barbie's Shoulder ^ExplanationA still from the film where Ken rests his head on Barbie's shoulder and his hand tantalizingly close to her breast, with many people saying they want that in a relationship.
• Barbie crying.^ExplanationA screenshot of Barbie crying during her breakdown scene has been adopted as a reaction meme to bad news or referencing other sad moments in life or media.
• You guys ever think about ______?^ExplanationA still from when Barbie says "You guys ever think about dying?" is used frequently when people mention certain (usually negative) topics.
• Good night, Barbies!^ExplanationOn that note, Barbie says she’s “definitely not thinking about death anymore” after the party before going to bed, and said still is used when people sarcastically claim they’re not thinking about similar topics.
• Closer I am to fi-AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!^ExplanationUsing Barbie singing "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls while on the road from Barbieland to the Real World, Barbie's singing is used to highlight a potential positive happening, and Ken's sudden popping out and singing which freaks her out and causes the car to somersault is used to highlight a snag in their plan.
• BARBILLION DOLLARS!!!^ExplanationThere has been a lot of discussion on whether or not the movie will earn a billion dollars in the box office. Margot Robbie claimed the movie had the potential to do so in her pitch to Warner Bros, but joked afterward she was laying it on thick. Lo and behold, the movie surpassed the mark after 17 days in theatres.
• Some variation of "Barbie and [insert movie that was not a financial hit] have a combined total of over $1 billion at the box office"^ExplanationA copypasta that pokes fun at both Barbie's outsized box office and how another film was not a financial success — the joke is that the "1 billion" in the copypasta is entirely from Barbie.
• The scene of Stereotypical Barbie taking a few seconds to join the other Barbies cheering after taking back Barbieland.^ExplanationIt's become a reaction video expressing subdued joy.

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