This weekend a big showdown will happen on Capitol Hill and in other political spheres across the country: at the box office.
“Which of your state’s senators is seeing the Barbie and which is seeing Oppenheimer? (you have to choose)” The question posed in a tweet Tuesday had constituents across the country speculating.
Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” each premiere this weekend. One tells the story of a beloved children’s toy, and the other the tale of the man who led the development of the atomic bomb. The films are poised to provide a much-needed jolt to the film industry even as their contrasting subject matters have been put in sharp relief.
Virginia senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner − assigned Barbie and Oppenheimer, respectively, by one Twitter user −joined the conversation.
Kaine retweeted a Forbes headline yesterday projecting Barbie will “trounce” Oppenheimer in the box office. This morning Warner responded on Instagram with a post captioned, “No reason we need to be picking sides” and inviting the junior senator to a double feature.
Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona’s independent senator who’s voted with both sides of the aisle on issues, responded with her own tweet, saying, “Get you a Senator who can do both.” Sinema included photos of herself, one in a Barbie-pink dress and the other a black-and-white image of her serious expression, to mimic the movies’ dichotomous styles.
Politicians outside the Senate chamber have chimed in too. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy tweeted photos of him and his wife, one of them in all-black attire and the second in pink tops and a colorful lei, with a caption asking for two tickets to both.
Washington, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton tweeted that it will be a double feature for her as well.
“Naturally, I’ll see both, since I handle the work of two Senate offices and a House office on behalf of nearly 700K DC residents,” Norton wrote.
Some replies and retweets from Texans put their junior senator, Ted Cruz, in the Barbie audience.
Cruz, though, has been a vocal opponent of the movie, accusing “Barbie” of including Chinese propaganda.
Cruz and other GOP lawmakers have criticized a scene featuring a crayon-drawn world map with a dashed line, similar to what is used on Chinese maps to suggest the country’s control of the South China Sea territory.
