Barbie and Oppenheimer lack true representation of Indigenous populations, say advocates

Advocates are speaking out about two of the biggest summer movies of 2023, which they say invalidate Indigenous histories and futures. 

Oppenheimer, which looks at the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb, foregoes mentioning Indigenous involvement or impact in the events it captures. Barbie's Indigenous inclusion consists of a joke about smallpox.

Frances Danger, an Mvskoke and Semvnole author and gallery curator from Oklahoma, said that kind of erasure is something that First Nations people deal with on a daily basis.

"It can never be a conversation when you're Native or First Nations, it's always a fight," said Danger.

"Every fight we have is for our younger generation."

Danger said youth should be able to see themselves represented in the media as they truly are. Danger said the entertainment industry dehumanizes Indigenous people, something that won't stop until there's true representation, "not just on the screen — behind the screen as well."

Critiques an act of dignity, says filmmaker 

Klee Benally, a Dine/Navajo musician, filmmaker and artist based in Arizona, said it's about media justice, which he said is an approach to understanding how narratives in media can impact marginalized communities. 

Critiquing instances in mass media that dehumanize people is an assertive action of dignity, he said. 

"We have an important responsibility to our ancestors to stand up and resist the forces that degrade us, that tear us down, that perpetuate narratives that ultimately reinforce and legitimize ongoing colonial violence against us from the outside and from within."

In both the Barbie and Oppenheimer movies, Benally said what's left outside the frame is important. 

From the omission of  the disastrous effects the atomic bomb tests had — and still has — on Indigenous people in Oppenheimer, to the insensitive one-liner in Barbie, Benally said the narratives tell youth they are worthless — similar to how John Wayne or Billy Jack films do. 

"This is part of the overall legacy of the film industry," Benally said. 

"You know how it's been dominated by colonial forces and it's served those colonial interests."

'Let us ... have our criticism'

Yue Begay, a Navajo transgender woman born in Flagstaff, Ariz. who now lives in Los Angeles and is the co-chair of Indigenous Pride LA, said she doesn't remember seeing Indigenous people in mass media growing up. 

"I was accustomed to view Natives as not screen worthy because I was always fed this," said Begay. 

Begay said this is an example of culture of poverty — if youth don't see themselves reflected in mass media, they won't strive to do anything. 

"So many other Barbies were featured and included in that movie, but none of us were, and then you make the smallpox joke?" said Begay.

Begay said she wouldn't be doing advocacy work to challenge the status quo if it wasn't needed.

Begay used their graphic design skills to whip up some slides about the issues with the movies.

Begay said the screenwriters should have known better before letting their films make it all the way through production before realizing that they were upholding settler colonialism values.

"For people to try and defend it and defend that, it's like, no. Let us Native and Indigenous peoples have our criticism," said Begay.