Monday, July 24, 2023

Barbenheimer and the Anthropocene

The following are quotes from:

Washington Post opinions

'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' tell the same terrifying story

"As an unabashed enthusiast of all things lowbrow, I’ve delighted in the campy, mindless confection of Mattel-meets-mushroom-cloud content that this nuclear meet-cute has produced. As an environmental studies professor who has spent a lot of time studying the history of science and technology, however, I’ve found “Barbenheimer” strikes a darker chord.

The underlying premise of all the jokes — that these films come out on the same day but are about hilariously different subjects and have wildly different tones — is misguided. The two movies actually have a fundamental, and disturbing, common ground. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man behind our nuclear age, and Barbie — a toy that takes more than three cups of oil to produce before it lingers in landfills around the world — both tell the story of the dawn of our imperiled era.


“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” each offer a window into the creation of the Anthropocene, the suggested term for our present geological epoch, in which human beings have become the most significant influence on the natural environment at a planetary scale.


He goes on to describe the various geologic eras, and finally comes to the present day (or last 70 years or so.)


"Yet, the 1950s was not only the decade of plutonium. It was also the decade of plastic.


"The war was over, and Americans were being promised “better things for better living … through chemistry.” Only days before Hiroshima was consumed by a second sun, the president of DuPont advised his employees that Americans, drunk on peace and whose homeland was largely untouched by the war, would crave new trinkets and luxuries.


"In the 1940s, DuPont had played a part in bringing about the war’s end, producing the plutonium required to make the atomic bomb at its Hanford, Wash., facility. Now that the global conflagration had ended thanks to that plutonium, DuPont turned its attention to plastics and the mass production of consumer goods. The company had begun making polyethylene at scale in 1944, which was soon hailed by Fortune as “the fastest growing plastic on the market.” By 1951, polypropylene would join its ranks as a new wonder material that would help bring about the transformation of consumer manufacturing in that decade.

In the spring of 1959, one of the most famous consumer goods in world history emerged at a New York City toy fair. Produced from polyvinyl chloride — colloquially known as PVC — the inaugural Barbie came in blonde and brunette. More than a quarter of a million dolls were sold in the first year.


"Almost 65 years later, Barbie remains one of the most recognizable American brands on the planet, with approximately 100 dolls being sold every minute. Polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride remain the three most common variants of synthetic plastics in the world, and are among the primary “techno-fossils” that help distinguish the Anthropocene from prior epochs in Earth’s past.


"In the new “Barbie” film, an older woman imparts a piece of wisdom to Margot Robbie’s titular character: “Humans have only one ending; ideas live forever.” The recent news that scientists have selected a lake in the Canadian wilderness — riddled with traces of pollution, waste and radioactive fallout — as the proposed start to the Anthropocene signals that the immortality of ideas is more than just a pretty thought: It’s a reality in a world where humanity has baked its worst vices into the Earth’s geological record. Despite their apparent differences, both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” tell the story of core ideas of the 20th century: accelerating militarism and unbounded consumption, ideas that might well outlive our species in the form of plastic and plutonium’s lingering traces across our fragile planet."


Author: Tyler Austin Harper is an assistant professor of environmental studies at Bates College. 


See my post on the lake in Canada being used to measure the Anthropocene HERE.

11 comments:

  1. ...some ideas, I hope don't live forever.

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    1. It just shows what indoctrinating children can do to a culture. The Church of Rome said, give me a child until he is 6, and he will belong forever...or something along those lines.

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    1. That these movies came out the same weekend is a very strange phenomenon.

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  3. Gosh, plastics! What a thoughtful post! Thanks for the mention of Canada!

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    1. Yes, and I'm finding more and more friendly bloggers in Canada too! An amazing group of people you are!

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  4. Loved this post because it made me think. I have seen Oppenheimer which I found thought provoking, both fascinating and disturbing. I am also intrigued by how Barbie has been such a marketing Box Office hit when no one knew the story line, so I want to see this too!

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    1. Glad to hear you've seen Oppenheimer, and your feelings about it. I'm still hesitant to see Barbie. And I would prefer to wait and see Oppenheimer at home, where I can push a pause button when I get too emotional watching it.

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  5. It seems these two movies are really being promoted, it is all I hear about lately. Take care, have a great day!

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    1. Interesting that this is on the news, while no movies or TV shows are being written or acted thanks to the strikes.

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  6. Barbara, I know enough about the nuclear bomb and its development...an amazing accomplishment that saved a huge number of lives at the time...and which now could destroy the whole world. No interest in "Oppenheimer". I do know that we'd be living in a completely different world if the Nazis had developed theirs first...or the Chinese...or the Russians. No good options. While I know that "Barbie" is made out of plastic, we're both looking forward to seeing the movie...looks like fun! Nothing is perfect. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave (now 81!)

    Conundrum... Grocery stores are banning plastic bags...but so many products are sold wrapped in plastic containers. I guess banning some plastic is better than none.

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There is today, more than ever, the need for a compassionate regenerative world civilization.