Barbieheimer

I now have seen both movies (I think you know which ones I mean) and I am ready to report. Both are enjoyable, if you go in with the right expectations. Believe it or not, they do have their differences. Barbie is entirely lacking in big explosions. Oppenheimer is entirely lacking in the color fuschia, possibly because it was all used up making Barbie. In Barbie the men are all doofuses. In Oppenheimer the men are all super successful physicists or politicians. In Barbie, her dreamhouse is considerably bigger than it is in real life. In Oppenheimer, General Groves’ waistline is considerably smaller than it was in real life. I’m sure there are other differences.

I’m surprised (and yet not really surprised) that both movies have been derided as “woke.” But before I can get into that, I think it’s worth raising the question of why “woke” is, to many conservatives, a bad thing. My understanding of the term is that it means a newly developed appreciation for issues regarding racial and social equity and justice. It’s hard to imagine why anyone would be opposed to that. But, of course, that is not what conservatives mean when they throw the word around as an insult. They are implying a much more nefarious connotation: “woke” is a code word for efforts to change the meaning of history, to portray conservative, white Christians (or any combination thereof) as having been the bad guys in the history of the U.S. At its worst, they see it as both a power and a resources grab, an attempt to take away things they believe rightfully belong to them. No wonder some Republicans running for president are so eager to exploit the concept.

This kind of division reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. Many people see this story as one of forgiveness. That it is, but I see something else in it as well. When the son who has wasted his inheritance returns, his father rewards him with a robe, a ring, and a feast. The older brother is incensed. He views life as a zero-sum game. To give more to his brother is to leave less for him. I wonder if he even hears his father tell him that everything is still his. There is enough of what really matters for both of them, and more after that. For me, the real meaning of the parable is that compassion for our fellow humans can be an infinite resource. Recognizing that the value of history is how it can illuminate our present time, recognizing that giving some of what we own to provide an equitable opportunity for others is the essence of Christ’s message: those are the ways we extend equity to our brothers and sisters. It is not our job to decide if they “deserve” it. Grace is infinite; we will not be diminished by giving it away.

Oppenheimer is not, despite the right-wing complaints, a movie full of left-wing moralizing. It dares to touch on the real complexities of something as world-changing as using a nuclear weapon in war, but it does not come down firmly on either side of the decision. Barbie, for all it’s pink fluff, makes a much firmer moral statement, but it is one I would hope most of us agree with: women deserve to be as empowered as men, and for that to happen, men need to work harder at making room for them. That shouldn’t be a life-shattering concept.

The lightspeed at which this country embraced the novelty of Barbieheimer tells me something. We are desperate for things that bring us together, even for a moment. There is no substance in conflating two movies that happened to come out on the same day. Barbieheimer was a wisp, a tease, and it is already a done thing. We need much more. Many people are convinced they know what that thing is, be it church or political activism or volunteerism or so many other big things. Personally, I don’t know what it should be. Possibly, probably, it’s more than just one big thing. It may be a lot of little things, like appreciating the eccentricities of our friends, or ferreting out the joy in movies instead of the dislikes, or sharing the discovery of the magic to be found in a 120 year-old farmhouse.

I knew I would figure out some way to fit the Farmhouse in here.