Very disappointed in the film. Obviously the film is well done...but so was the development of the atom bomb itself, right? Icarus and Babel, man. Ego has to beat its mighty chest and make a scene, be it a man, a nation, a faith, a way of life. We live in a world of spectacle, not reason or reflection.
I knew, going in, the story was all Oppenheimer all the time. I was hoping, especially with Ukraine and the Middle East, that people would be more concerned than ever about the world's nuclear capability. Unfortunately people who I have talked to, who have seen the movie, were not motivated to learn (or thought they already knew) any more about the status of nuclear weapons today.
I saw the film with four close friends. One friend, the one who was most looking forward to the movie, fell asleep half way in. I was surprised at how little I felt, the story didn't impact me emotionally, even though what happened (in reality) does hit me hard. The history and aftermath of the bombings are haunting, horrible, disturbing, but I didn't feel that watching the story unfold. I also didn't appreciate the way the female characters (real women, who lived and breathed) were presented. It was a muddy experience for me.
You are correct I fear in the public not catching on to the problem of nuclear weapons today and the policy of our government and others. The movie OPPENHEIMER should have pulled back the curtain on the issues of nuclear weapons. Much was made of Oppenheimers change of heart in the movie and his belief in controlling the weapon through international cooperation. Nothing was hinted at the awful destruction of the device and the attendant secondary issues.
For his birthday I gave my brother AMERICAN PROMETHEUS, THE BEGINNING OR THE END, and NUCLEAR COVER-UP’. No person given access to those works could be uninformed.
Your work on this issue is inspirational and I do what I can do to share it with others.
Chris Nolan truly FAILED. An extraterrestrial sociologist observing this movie in the political context in which it was made, and being aware of the power Nolan has in the movie-making business, would consider this movie reprehensible failure. Nolan blew it!
With modern moviemaking technology he could have shown people the full Monty, the skin hanging off the bodies of screaming Japanese children. **He went into great detail about the hammer but completely ignored the nail!**
OF COURSE we understand the balancing act he was attempting. If he had made the movie the way that our life-and-death situation demands , we realize it might not have drawn quite as large an audience. But in 78 years this was only the second serious Hollywood treatment of Oppenheimer. The first was usurped by our government and made into a commercial for nukes.
And Nolan’s movie was made into a great drama. He squandered the last chance to teach the world about nuclear war. He flat failed. He didn’t even move the needle. The world, in its trust that an accidental nuclear holocaust won't happen, is exactly like my "brilliant" doctor sister, who has lost all her precious data 3 times now because of not backing up her hard drive. Hard drives are so reliable, she kept assuming they would always work …
I remember very well the huge anti-nuke movement in the 80s, and the whole cultural environment: music, films, books, graphic novels, and so on. I believe it had some effect.
Northland Grandmothers for Peace and Veterans for Peace Chapter 80 has been organizing specifically around the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons for over a year now in the Twin Ports (Duluth MN and Superior WI). We used the local showings of Oppenheimer to do some demonstrating and leafletting but got little response from theater goers. I myself found the film a whitewash of the project and the man, and your essays here have resonated with me. The struggle continues to end nuclear weapons before they end us. This Hollywood spectacle did not make an effective anti nuclear statement.
I think you're over reacting on this score. What amazes me about Nolan's film, is that he takes all of his film mastery (all those Batmans, Inceptions, all that block buster crap) and puts it to the service of one historical moment, the beginning of the Nuclear Age. The film lead me to understand something: "Wholly crap! We've lead our entire lives under the weight and anxiety of this development and its consequent political outcomes, wars, cold and not so cold; and is still as deadly today as in August 6, 1945." I don't think it'll make you want to go build your own nuclear bomb or anything.
The film lead me to read the book, "American Prometheus", which I believe leads to the conclusion that the U.S. Nuclear option was high-jacked by conservative anti-communist, anti New Deal Republicans in consort with the NEA, SAC, & FBI.
I think the film failed in that it did not inspire anti-nuclear responses or actions. Images and commentary on Hiroshima and Nagasaki could have been included, adding a mere few minutes to the end. My concerns about a nuclear war in connection with the Ukraine have fallen on my Senators' deaf ears with we must support Ukraine responses. I stand with Dr. Ron Paul in not giving any money to either Israel or the Ukraine. More billions to US weapons manufacturers. The real beneficiaries being the US military-industrial complex. Not Israeli nor Ukrainian citizens.
Very disappointed in the film. Obviously the film is well done...but so was the development of the atom bomb itself, right? Icarus and Babel, man. Ego has to beat its mighty chest and make a scene, be it a man, a nation, a faith, a way of life. We live in a world of spectacle, not reason or reflection.
I knew, going in, the story was all Oppenheimer all the time. I was hoping, especially with Ukraine and the Middle East, that people would be more concerned than ever about the world's nuclear capability. Unfortunately people who I have talked to, who have seen the movie, were not motivated to learn (or thought they already knew) any more about the status of nuclear weapons today.
I absolutely agree--and yet perhaps it was thought that making the movie any longer would cause people to decide not to see it.
I saw the film with four close friends. One friend, the one who was most looking forward to the movie, fell asleep half way in. I was surprised at how little I felt, the story didn't impact me emotionally, even though what happened (in reality) does hit me hard. The history and aftermath of the bombings are haunting, horrible, disturbing, but I didn't feel that watching the story unfold. I also didn't appreciate the way the female characters (real women, who lived and breathed) were presented. It was a muddy experience for me.
You are correct I fear in the public not catching on to the problem of nuclear weapons today and the policy of our government and others. The movie OPPENHEIMER should have pulled back the curtain on the issues of nuclear weapons. Much was made of Oppenheimers change of heart in the movie and his belief in controlling the weapon through international cooperation. Nothing was hinted at the awful destruction of the device and the attendant secondary issues.
For his birthday I gave my brother AMERICAN PROMETHEUS, THE BEGINNING OR THE END, and NUCLEAR COVER-UP’. No person given access to those works could be uninformed.
Your work on this issue is inspirational and I do what I can do to share it with others.
I disagree with Spike Lee. The film is Oppenheimer not Japanese people.
I think we should look at why America is the only country to drop the bomb.
Chris Nolan truly FAILED. An extraterrestrial sociologist observing this movie in the political context in which it was made, and being aware of the power Nolan has in the movie-making business, would consider this movie reprehensible failure. Nolan blew it!
With modern moviemaking technology he could have shown people the full Monty, the skin hanging off the bodies of screaming Japanese children. **He went into great detail about the hammer but completely ignored the nail!**
OF COURSE we understand the balancing act he was attempting. If he had made the movie the way that our life-and-death situation demands , we realize it might not have drawn quite as large an audience. But in 78 years this was only the second serious Hollywood treatment of Oppenheimer. The first was usurped by our government and made into a commercial for nukes.
And Nolan’s movie was made into a great drama. He squandered the last chance to teach the world about nuclear war. He flat failed. He didn’t even move the needle. The world, in its trust that an accidental nuclear holocaust won't happen, is exactly like my "brilliant" doctor sister, who has lost all her precious data 3 times now because of not backing up her hard drive. Hard drives are so reliable, she kept assuming they would always work …
I remember very well the huge anti-nuke movement in the 80s, and the whole cultural environment: music, films, books, graphic novels, and so on. I believe it had some effect.
Nothing like that today.
Northland Grandmothers for Peace and Veterans for Peace Chapter 80 has been organizing specifically around the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons for over a year now in the Twin Ports (Duluth MN and Superior WI). We used the local showings of Oppenheimer to do some demonstrating and leafletting but got little response from theater goers. I myself found the film a whitewash of the project and the man, and your essays here have resonated with me. The struggle continues to end nuclear weapons before they end us. This Hollywood spectacle did not make an effective anti nuclear statement.
The movie lived down to my expectations. i don't anticipate any inspiration whatsoever.
I have not seen the film and will not watch it because Holywood lies and betrays whenever the flap falls.
My fear is that the film is as much a preparation for the things to come as "Pearl Harbor" was for 9/11.
You have to get people used to it, or they might rebel...
I think you're over reacting on this score. What amazes me about Nolan's film, is that he takes all of his film mastery (all those Batmans, Inceptions, all that block buster crap) and puts it to the service of one historical moment, the beginning of the Nuclear Age. The film lead me to understand something: "Wholly crap! We've lead our entire lives under the weight and anxiety of this development and its consequent political outcomes, wars, cold and not so cold; and is still as deadly today as in August 6, 1945." I don't think it'll make you want to go build your own nuclear bomb or anything.
The film lead me to read the book, "American Prometheus", which I believe leads to the conclusion that the U.S. Nuclear option was high-jacked by conservative anti-communist, anti New Deal Republicans in consort with the NEA, SAC, & FBI.
I think the film failed in that it did not inspire anti-nuclear responses or actions. Images and commentary on Hiroshima and Nagasaki could have been included, adding a mere few minutes to the end. My concerns about a nuclear war in connection with the Ukraine have fallen on my Senators' deaf ears with we must support Ukraine responses. I stand with Dr. Ron Paul in not giving any money to either Israel or the Ukraine. More billions to US weapons manufacturers. The real beneficiaries being the US military-industrial complex. Not Israeli nor Ukrainian citizens.
i was there with many millions