(Image Source: NBC)

July 2023 saw the release of two record-breaking blockbuster movies on the very same day: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie – a double bill popularly referred to as Barbenheimer. Barbenheimer seems to be worlds apart in its subject matter and target audience – but they have more in common than we might instinctively imagine. This essay explores ideas of indexical realism and ontology through the lens of these massively popular films. 

Rodowick (2007) mourns the loss of indexical, ontological qualities of cinema following the film industry’s transition from analogue to digital production. His critique draws upon Bazin’s theory of indexicality, whereby a real phenomenon taking place before a camera interacts with exposed celluloid film, creating a physical index of a moment in time, maintaining a clear relationship with reality and the physical world. 

How, then, does Barbenheimer stand against these claims? I argue that although they are produced within a post-cinematic era, and do make use of digital techniques in production and distribution (much to Rodowick’s dismay), there are elements of their production that serve to maintain some sense of indexical realism, and maintain that ‘materiality of the cinematic experience’ that Rodowick writes about.

For example, Barbie’s signature fuchsia pink backdrop is completely hand-painted, and exists in the real world. Rather than using a green screen, Gerwig and the team behind Barbie opted to use a physical backdrop, slightly flattening each scene’s depth of field – reminiscent of old soundstage musicals. (Dockterman, 2023) 

(Image Source: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Nolan similarly opted to represent Oppenheimer’s story without the use of CGI – a tall order considering its primary subject matter and its famed climax scene – the detonation of an atomic bomb. Rather than relying on CGI and the vast library of explosion graphics available to 21st-century filmmakers and studios, Nolan and his team conducted numerous experiments, smashing ping-pong balls together, throwing paint at a wall, concocting luminous magnesium solutions – then filmed and edited them to create the impression of a piercing, astounding explosion. (Mcdowell, 2023) Those who have seen Oppenheimer will certainly be able to vouch for the entrancing abstraction of the Trinity test explosion scene. 

Furthermore, Nolan made use of large-format celluloid film as a medium for shooting, instead of digital cameras. Since the movie was made to be screened in IMAX, it called for the invention of a new type of large-format black-and-white film, specially produced by Kodak for the purpose of the film (Mcdowell, 2023). It is clear that the team behind Oppenheimer placed great emphasis on the medium of their craft – disproving Rodowick’s belief that the photographic process (i.e. using, developing, and processing celluloid film) is now seen as an obstacle to creativity, as something to be overcome, rather than as the very medium of cinematic creation. 

(Image Source: The New York Times)

Barbenheimer’s box office success and massive pop culture impact indicates that perhaps Rodowick was too pessimistic in his belief that ‘all that was chemical and photographic is disappearing into the electronic and digital’ – these two films are part of a wider resurgence in celluloid film popularity, and reflect a harking back to all things analogue and rooted in reality. 

By Yanning Tan, BA Media and Communications

References: 

1. Dockterman, E. (2023, June 27). How Barbie Land Was Created: Sets design, costumes. Time. https://time.com/6287494/barbie-land-dream-house-movie-set-greta-gerwig/ 
2. McDowell, J. D. (2023, October 10). How does “Oppenheimer” re-create history? We asked Christopher Nolan. History. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/oppenheimer-historical-accuracy-christopher-nolan#:~:text=Nolan%20also%20made%20the%20decision,It%20had%20to%20feel%20lethal 
3. Rodowick, D. N. (2007). What Was Cinema? In The Virtual Life of Film (pp. 25–87). essay, Harvard University Press.