By Huma Arshad
Recently released scientific biopic Oppenheimer is grabbing the attention of millions around the world. The movie is a dense examination of the unholy matrimony of quantum physics and military bureaucracy, the biopic is all about developing and designing the atomic bomb for the first time in world history. From start to finish, “Oppenheimer” keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The film’s pacing is impeccable, ensuring that not a single moment feels wasted. The movie revolves around the events that occurred during World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. (American army) appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.
After watching this biopic, it has been quite clear that whether you are a physicist, a student of chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine, or Marketing you must learn ethics, philosophy, and empathy. All over the world, these subjects should be taught in all departments irrespective of different fields of study. Unless and until you will not be taught to deal with human emotions you may end to build or invent destructive inventions only based on your judgments amalgamated with their expertise related to any subject of study. Robert’s college days show how a troubled young student becomes one of the greatest scientists of his time, culminating in the ‘heart-tappingly’ tense ‘Trinity test’ scene. As Oppenheimer comes into focus so does the world. In 1920s Germany, he learns quantum physics; the next decade he was at Berkeley teaching, bouncing off other young geniuses, and building a center for the study of quantum physics. It’s at Berkeley that the trajectory of Oppenheimer’s life dramatically shifts, It’s also at Berkeley that Oppenheimer meets the project’s military head, Leslie Groves who made him the director of the project. The Inventor of the Atomic Bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer realized only in his later age that his creation has a limitless capacity for destruction.
Oppenheimer was fond of Sanskrit but he was not guided well in philosophy or ethics, so the world can see the result. No religion of the world leads you or guides you towards destruction. No wonder how intelligent you are if it leads you to make anything destructive or disturbing to the world and your life too that is utterly not admirable.
The Biopic is no doubt a masterpiece along with the director’s ambitious and exquisitely crafted plot, with a dense narrative and an outstanding cast. Cillian Murphy turns in a haunting career-best performance as a theoretical physicist. A bomb trial demonstrates the enormousness of the weapon’s capabilities, with fire, noise, and smoke. But viewers are told about, rather than shown, the horror that unfolded after the bomb was ultimately dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Great historical retelling and an important film for youth and age brackets. The question to ponder is you may have the knowledge and skill to create something dangerously powerful — but should you? The answer is “NO.” Frequent drinking, including by a character who’s portrayed as having an alcohol dependency. Smoking cigarettes and a pipe. Ultimately the character invented the most dangerous weapon in world History.
This is not an action movie; this is not a war movie in the traditional sense. This is a character study of Oppenheimer. I believe it was irresponsible of Christopher Nolan not to include any images – real or filmed in a studio- of the aftermath of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Current generations watching this may have little to no idea of the horrific effects of radiation from the atomic bomb that persist today, or that the Japanese have a word for those affected by nuclear fallout- Hibakusha. The most poignant moment of the film is when Oppenheimer admits he has blood on his hands. The film’s most spectacular attraction turns out to be the human faces that were studied and revealed on Oppenheimer in the last scenes. “The trouble with Oppenheimer is that he loves a woman who doesn’t love him — the United States government,” Einstein once said, according to the book “American Prometheus,” which the movie is based on.
