Oppenheimer

Hollywood has a terrible reputation with history. As long as no one studies history from the movies, it’s harmless. This film is accurate but the difference is how it also has drama like a classic. 

The tension in his own life was the perfect basis for a film. The most famous scientist of the time recognized contradictions everywhere. For several years he was both proud and worried about both his past and his future. The truly paradoxical nature of theoretical physics is subtly matched by his choices.  His own actions are the root of his turmoil. The theme of contradictions dominates the plot, and his frail weaknesses are contrasted with his determined confidence. 

We walk away from the film judging him in a way that plagued his consciousness for the remaining years of his life. Everyone has their own verdict.  We haven’t changed so much. Emotion and logic are as mixed up as they always were. We can’t determine his place in history, just as he didn’t have an answer when he tried to judge himself.

This film reminds us of the country we wish we were. We like to think we’ve progressed and grown as a nation, but we still have questions. Accusations of Marxism are just as much free speech as what a Marxist would say. Joseph McCarthy ended his career with exaggerated claims but today’s political pundits would find his story to be quaint. If we still argue about economics, labor unions, tolerance and equality, then the issues in Oppenheimer are not just something in our past. 

Before anyone sees it, everyone knows the plot comes to a moment that must be included if the film is about this man. And everyone already knows what the result was in history. Millions of history professors feel vindicated since the release of this movie because history is not dull. 

When you see lightning, thunder comes after. The scientists and workers were six miles away from the site. Sound travels at 5 miles per second. Six miles x five seconds makes 30 seconds. That’s how long the audience held their breath. The room was full and completely frozen. I was saying that history was not dull.

This film is serious and deep. The entertainment is chasing after the questions the movie couldn’t hope to answer.