earlier this month, Someone made a Wikipedia page for Barbenheimerthe internet phenomenon inspired by the simultaneous release of Greta Gerwigs Barbie and Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer, two highly anticipated and critically acclaimed films that are expected to gross millions at the box office this summer. The creation of the Wikipedia page was followed by weeks of debate over how the page should be organized, where it should be placed, what images should be included, whether Barbie’s full name needed to be on it, and whether all of this should simply be deleted.
For those of you who have been living under a rock, Barbenheimer is an online meme related to the fact that the Barbie movie and Oppenheimer was released in theaters on the same day, July 21. While it’s certainly picked up steam in the past few weeks, the actual origins of the meme go back April 2022when WB Discovery announced that the then-upcoming Barbie movie would hit theaters on July 21, 2023. Netizens quickly noticed that it was the same release date Oppenheimer and soon began joking about seeing the two films on the same day. From there, Fan art, custom t-shirts and poster mashups were created and shared on social media. Even actors involved in the films paid tribute to Barbenheimer.
So a pop culture phenomenon of Barbenheimer proportions certainly deserves a Wikipedia page. I mean, it’s not like creating this site would lead to an online war, is it?
The Barbenheimer Wikipedia page leads to an online war
On July 1, 2013 Wikipedia user glad created a forwarding for Barbenheimer. Anyone who searched Wikipedia for the online phenomenon was “redirected” there. Oppenheimer movie item. A few minutes later, Freoh changed his mind and Users were redirected to the Barbie to the movie page instead. According to Freoh, the reason for the change was because it appeared that “the Barbie The film people have embraced it more.”
A few hours later, Wikipedia user Manasbose intervened. This user didn’t think the meme should be a redirect. Instead, they felt it deserved its own Wikipedia page. So they quickly created one and started expanding it. As the Twitter account Depths of Wikipedia points out, The first hours of the Barbenheim side were wild. In its early days, the site implied that “Oppenbarbie” was a common alternative name for the meme. Over the next few hours it was mainly Manasbose and a few other users who edited and expanded the site.
Then more users joined in. On July 10th, user Shmoovyshlasagna removed the alternative name Oppenbarbie and added a comment that “nobody cool” says that. “This shit makes my mouth scratch,” Shmoovyshlasagna said. “Barbenheimer is running smoothly. Think about it.”
At this point, the site was growing rapidly, making many edits, changing sections, deleting whole parts, and then changing everything again by dozens of users. Some wanted Pikmin 4 thrown into the mix as it was also due out on July 21st. Some wanted better, less ugly pictures of Barbie. And some wanted it all gone.
The assassination attempt on Barbenheimer
On July 11th user InfiniteNexus the Barbenheimer site suggested deletion. They stated that they are not sure why this article was created, suggesting that this is just one of dozens of viral memes that pop up every year. They believed that the site need not exist and that a brief section about the phenomenon could be included in articles about the films instead Barbie And Oppenheimer
“This topic is unlikely to receive significant and sustained coverage,” said InfiniteNexus. “And even if that’s the case, it’s too early to say at this point when either film hasn’t been released.”
When an article on Wikipedia is nominated for deletion, other users get involved and vote on what they think should happen next. Often these conversations are not particularly intense or lengthy. This is really something behind the scenes, deep in the bowels of Wikipedia shit, that most people who use the site never bother with or even think about.
But that wasn’t the case this time. Instead, the deletion request page for Barbenheimer exploded.
Some editors quoted the 20 year test, an old Wikipedia standard that suggests that only things that will be remembered or understood in 20 years’ time should get articles. They believed that this online meme had failed the test and that in a few years, no one would care about the Barbenheimer phenomenon.
However, the vast majority of Wikipedia editors involved disagreed and began voting en masse to keep the page alive. Many argued that Barbenheimer has grown beyond a simple internet meme and is actually having an impact on ticket sales. Hollywood stars talked about itand was his From reputable media as reported Diversity, IGNetc. Others also pointed out that the article contained too much information to simply throw in the article Barbie And Oppenheimer movie pages. And in the future, the Barbenheimer page might even provide useful information and context for researchers who want to better understand the whole phenomenon.
After five days Almost 100 different editors voted and only about 20 suggested deleting the site or including it in the main film articles. In comparison, most deletion debates only Get about a dozen votes and often end in killing the side. But not this time. On July 16, after thousands of words had been written through multiple sections of Wikipedia’s often unseen bureaucratic channels, Barbenheimer was allowed to live.
The ongoing war is over Barbie And Oppenheimer‘s memes page
Though the war for the site’s existence was settled, the fighting was not over.
A quick look at Barbeheimer’s talk page (a more behind-the-scenes forum where editors discuss changes and tweaks) reveals various debates about the article.
For example, there was much controversy about including Barbie’s full name in the caption below the top photo of the site. This eventually led to people suggesting that the caption also include Oppenheimer’s full name and nickname, Oppie. Further debate ensued as to which photograph of Barbie should even be used in the article.
Continue reading: Before Barbenheimer there was Eternal Destiny And animal crossing
After weeks of arguments, peace has finally returned to the Barbenheimer Wikipedia page. Most of the recent changes are minor changes, correcting typos, adding new links, or rearranging sentences.
However, the war is probably not over yet — some of the editors involved in nominating for the site’s deletion have hinted that they could return to the debate in a few months, assuming no one cares by then.
But I know the internet. I know Wikipedia editors. Someone will take care of it anyway. And no one is going to budge an inch on this digital battlefield, even if it means fighting for a page on a silly meme for months or years.
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