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What Is Barbenheimer?

The Battle of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer"

Chances are you've heard there's a new Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig coming out that stars Margot Robbie as the iconic doll and Ryan Gosling as her companion Ken. The film has had one of the most extensive marketing campaigns in recent memory, and outlets have noted its impact on fashion, aesthetics, and culture at large before even being released. Though Barbie usually has a reputation for being a somewhat shallow character designed for young girls, the captivating aesthetics and satirical take on femininity and patriarchy have led the film to be one of the year's most anticipated.

What really sent cinephiles into a spiral was when it was announced that Christopher Nolan's new film Oppenheimer about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the making of the atomic bomb, was slated to be released the same day. Both come out this Friday, July 21!

The opposing aesthetics (hot pink vs. black and white) and genres (fantasy comedy vs. historical biography) have led to the coining of the term Barbenheimer—a portmanteau of the two titles. (Even if you've never heard the term portmanteau, you're familiar with them if you've ever used words like brunch or spork.)

Across social media, people have shared how they plan to see the films as a double feature, and actors not associated with either film, like Tom Cruise, have even shown off their pre-purchased tickets. It's become a campaign to bring crowds back to the theater as much as it is a celebration of the next installment of both directors' work. 

Movie theaters have struggled to bring back audiences since the onset of the pandemic, and even though some films have shown staggering success, like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Top Gun: Maverick, it's been a long time since two films by two highly-acclaimed directors opened together. 

Though it's projected that Barbie will beat Oppenheimer in terms of money on opening weekend, it's exciting that avid moviegoers have multiple reasons to go to the theater. Check them out this weekend—there's nothing quite like sitting in a cool theater on a hot summer day!

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What's the Difference Between Hyphens, En Dashes, and Em Dashes?

Have you wondered what the difference between all the little lines that fall between letters mean and when it's appropriate to use each? Well, here's a rundown of hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. 

• Hyphens (-) are used to create compound words like check-in or merry-go-round. They are also used when creating compound adjectives; an example would be "there are two- and three-bedroom united available." In print, you also use a hyphen to cut a word in half and ensure your right margin is aligned, but this is less common today due to computer spacing capabilities. 
• En dashes (–) are a little wider than hyphens and are used for anything that deals with numbers like, "President Obama was in office between 2009–2017." It can also be used in instances of conflict and connection: "The Republican–Democratic partisanship never ends."
• Em dashes (—) are even wider than en dashes and are one of the more versatile pieces of punctuation. They can be used in place of commas, parentheses, or colons. Due to being more noticeable than a comma, they help highlight a piece of information (e.g., The food was delivered—nearly an hour after we placed our order—and it tasted horrible!). 

As a bit of trivia, it's worth noting that em and en dashes are named what they are because they're the width of a capital M and N. 

Where can I find them on the keyboard?

If you are using a Mac, you can use Option + Shift + Dash (-) to make an em dash and Option + Dash (-) to make an en dash.

It's a bit more complicated on Windows since you have to use an alt code, but if you have a numeric keyboard, it's easier. Hold down the Alt key and type 0151 for an em dash or 0150 for an en dash. Otherwise, your best option might just be copying and pasting. 

Using hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes in your work will elevate the visual aspect of the piece and indicate to your readers you are a master at grammar. 

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