Is “Barbenheimer” bad?

No, humor is a sort of natural response to horror, and the creation of Barbenheimer is entirely on the studio which decided to release the same day as Oppenheimer. That everyone latched on is unsurprising.

That said, is the point of the article - Americans are still sorely undereducated on the effects of the bomb on the Japanese people - still true?

I think this is objectively true. As someone who has been to the Hiroshima Peace Museum and had a deeply moving, emotional, and enlightening experience, of course we don’t teach it or really ever experience the effects of the bombing to that extent.

I’ve long held the view that seeing the effects of war, in general, is the only way to help create a world where war is less common. I think true human empathy, even for former or potential enemies, can come from imagery.

I was sort of disappointed Oppenheimer did not include the imagery of the effects of the bomb, but it’s a film - about a man - not a documentary or educational piece.