Maybe it's a species thing, but it's also a science thing, dating back to Mary Shelley and Dr. Frankenstein. I think both Jules Verne and H.G. Wells also toy with these ideas--to what extent is our desire to know balanced by the consequences of knowing things that are too terrible to contemplate?
Coming from you, Maurice, that is quite a compliment to the filmmakers! If other readers are checking out these comments, Maurice's book, If I Had a Hammer, is one of the best sources on the CPUSA I know. And I agree with you--that one's world could be saturated with Communists and sympathizers was pretty common in 1930s intellectual circles and is, in itself, an interesting tidbit of history.
I saw the film last night. You've written an insightful essay describing the central conundrums of Oppenheimer's life with one exception, which to a large extent was left out of the movie. He was an ambitious man, and his quest to build the bomb, offered as "if we don't, the Nazis will get there first," was also driven by his desire to become a power player in world of Washington politics. The architecture critic Martin Filler, who was part of the extended Oppenheimer/Rabi clan as a child saw both men up close, wrote about that issue and how it contributed to Oppenheimer's decision both during the war and after when he pursued arms control on the New York Review of Books website last week.
Ms. Potter: you may have been the only one in your audience to be searching the 70mm screen for David Greenglass. But I feel bad for filmmaker Steve James, whose documentary A Compassionate Spy, not to be released until August 4th, tells the tale of Ted Hall and Saville Sax. They funneled far-more-useful information out of Los Alamos and to the Russians. Unlike Fuchs and Julius Rosenberg, they were never prosecuted, or even arrested, for their clearly treasonous crimes. It's a pity the film can't be widely viewed at this time.
In 2008, my son was an intern at CERN: a 17 mile atom smashing tunnel that straddles the Swiss/
French border. The Large Hadron Collider was built to find the Higgs boson (also referred to as the god particle). A group of physicists tried to stop the project based on a theoretical risk that the collider could create a black hole into which the world would be swallowed. They flipped the switched anyway on September 10, 2008. Luckily we are still here. Manhattan Project, Higgs Boson Project, etc., etc. History has already taught us that world destruction will never be a deterrent. We are at our core a species that loves to gamble.
One important physicist in the Manhattan project that developed the atom bomb, and a colleague of Oppenheirmer is, curiously, not mentioned in the movie. His name is Joseph Rotblat. Unlike Oppenheimer, when Rotblat realized in the midst of the Manhattan project, that the rationale for developing the atom bomb was no longer valid--Germany had decide to drop its project to develop a nuclear bomb--Rotblat decided to quit the Manhattan project. He realized that there was no longer any need for the US to develop the atom bomb. Rotblat devoted the rest of his life campaigning for nuclear disarmament--along with Einstein and philosopher Bertrand Russell. Rotblat played a key role in the Pugwash conference--a gathering of the world's leading scientist who advocated for nuclear disarmament. Oppenheimer could have done the same thing. He did not quit the Manhattan project. Neither did he join the Pugwash conference, despite being invited by Einstein. All these crucial facts are not mentioned in the movie "Oppenheimer".
One important physicist in the Manhattan project that developed the atom bomb, and a colleague of Oppenheirmer is, curiously, not mentioned in the movie. His name is Joseph Rotblat. Unlike Oppenheimer, when Rotblat realized in the midst of the Manhattan project, that the rationale for developing the atom bomb was no longer valid--Germany had decide to drop its project to develop a nuclear bomb--Rotblat decided to quit the Manhattan project. He realized that there was no longer any need for the US to develop the atom bomb. Rotblat devoted the rest of his life campaigning for nuclear disarmament--along with Einstein and philosopher Bertrand Russell. Rotblat played a key role in the Pugwash conference--a gathering of the world's leading scientist who advocated for nuclear disarmament. Oppenheimer could have done the same thing. He did not quit the Manhattan project. Neither did he join the Pugwash conference, despite being invited by Einstein. All these crucial facts are not mentioned in the movie "Oppenheimer".
This is a really amazing review. Oppenheimer is a really sophisticated film, it addresses communism and the beginning of the Cold War really well. I’m happy Nolan included the mentality of “if we don’t, the Nazis will.” It’s a scary thought to think of a world where the Nazis had the atomic bomb, but the world we live in now is scary too. Nuclear weapons should have never been developed. Wish he would have touched on Oppenheimer’s want to be in politics.
Excellent review, Claire. I read the book last year, before visiting the trinity site, waded through the minutia about the American communist party which was to my mind excessive but I know they did it bc of the security clearance issue, and was most fascinated by the nuggets suggesting oppie maybe, was unhinged from the get go. I was glad to see Nolan included the poison apple. Doesn’t go into the therapy. And schizophrenia diagnosis.
Actually I think the film's treatment of Oppenheimer's Communist connections is one of its strengths. Oppenheimer wasn't a Communist, but his brother was, his wife was, and his mistress was. And he was a sympathizer with some of the causes that Communists championed in the 1930s, especially the struggle in Spain against fascism. All presented as perfectly normal (at least for him). And yet, at the same time, the issue of Soviet espionage is also addressed directly, and without hysteria. Being a Communist was one thing, being a Soviet spy was something else. I think this is a very smart film, very sophisticated historically, and, I think, a classic.
Maybe it's a species thing, but it's also a science thing, dating back to Mary Shelley and Dr. Frankenstein. I think both Jules Verne and H.G. Wells also toy with these ideas--to what extent is our desire to know balanced by the consequences of knowing things that are too terrible to contemplate?
Very astute. Thank you.
Thank you, Kelly!
Thank you, Nina!
Coming from you, Maurice, that is quite a compliment to the filmmakers! If other readers are checking out these comments, Maurice's book, If I Had a Hammer, is one of the best sources on the CPUSA I know. And I agree with you--that one's world could be saturated with Communists and sympathizers was pretty common in 1930s intellectual circles and is, in itself, an interesting tidbit of history.
Thanks, Merrill-I am going to read the biography, which normally I would probably jump over, but the movie revived my curiosity about these things.
I saw the film last night. You've written an insightful essay describing the central conundrums of Oppenheimer's life with one exception, which to a large extent was left out of the movie. He was an ambitious man, and his quest to build the bomb, offered as "if we don't, the Nazis will get there first," was also driven by his desire to become a power player in world of Washington politics. The architecture critic Martin Filler, who was part of the extended Oppenheimer/Rabi clan as a child saw both men up close, wrote about that issue and how it contributed to Oppenheimer's decision both during the war and after when he pursued arms control on the New York Review of Books website last week.
Ms. Potter: you may have been the only one in your audience to be searching the 70mm screen for David Greenglass. But I feel bad for filmmaker Steve James, whose documentary A Compassionate Spy, not to be released until August 4th, tells the tale of Ted Hall and Saville Sax. They funneled far-more-useful information out of Los Alamos and to the Russians. Unlike Fuchs and Julius Rosenberg, they were never prosecuted, or even arrested, for their clearly treasonous crimes. It's a pity the film can't be widely viewed at this time.
Indeed, but thank you for putting it on my radar, Richard.
In 2008, my son was an intern at CERN: a 17 mile atom smashing tunnel that straddles the Swiss/
French border. The Large Hadron Collider was built to find the Higgs boson (also referred to as the god particle). A group of physicists tried to stop the project based on a theoretical risk that the collider could create a black hole into which the world would be swallowed. They flipped the switched anyway on September 10, 2008. Luckily we are still here. Manhattan Project, Higgs Boson Project, etc., etc. History has already taught us that world destruction will never be a deterrent. We are at our core a species that loves to gamble.
One important physicist in the Manhattan project that developed the atom bomb, and a colleague of Oppenheirmer is, curiously, not mentioned in the movie. His name is Joseph Rotblat. Unlike Oppenheimer, when Rotblat realized in the midst of the Manhattan project, that the rationale for developing the atom bomb was no longer valid--Germany had decide to drop its project to develop a nuclear bomb--Rotblat decided to quit the Manhattan project. He realized that there was no longer any need for the US to develop the atom bomb. Rotblat devoted the rest of his life campaigning for nuclear disarmament--along with Einstein and philosopher Bertrand Russell. Rotblat played a key role in the Pugwash conference--a gathering of the world's leading scientist who advocated for nuclear disarmament. Oppenheimer could have done the same thing. He did not quit the Manhattan project. Neither did he join the Pugwash conference, despite being invited by Einstein. All these crucial facts are not mentioned in the movie "Oppenheimer".
One important physicist in the Manhattan project that developed the atom bomb, and a colleague of Oppenheirmer is, curiously, not mentioned in the movie. His name is Joseph Rotblat. Unlike Oppenheimer, when Rotblat realized in the midst of the Manhattan project, that the rationale for developing the atom bomb was no longer valid--Germany had decide to drop its project to develop a nuclear bomb--Rotblat decided to quit the Manhattan project. He realized that there was no longer any need for the US to develop the atom bomb. Rotblat devoted the rest of his life campaigning for nuclear disarmament--along with Einstein and philosopher Bertrand Russell. Rotblat played a key role in the Pugwash conference--a gathering of the world's leading scientist who advocated for nuclear disarmament. Oppenheimer could have done the same thing. He did not quit the Manhattan project. Neither did he join the Pugwash conference, despite being invited by Einstein. All these crucial facts are not mentioned in the movie "Oppenheimer".
This is a really amazing review. Oppenheimer is a really sophisticated film, it addresses communism and the beginning of the Cold War really well. I’m happy Nolan included the mentality of “if we don’t, the Nazis will.” It’s a scary thought to think of a world where the Nazis had the atomic bomb, but the world we live in now is scary too. Nuclear weapons should have never been developed. Wish he would have touched on Oppenheimer’s want to be in politics.
Excellent review, Claire. I read the book last year, before visiting the trinity site, waded through the minutia about the American communist party which was to my mind excessive but I know they did it bc of the security clearance issue, and was most fascinated by the nuggets suggesting oppie maybe, was unhinged from the get go. I was glad to see Nolan included the poison apple. Doesn’t go into the therapy. And schizophrenia diagnosis.
Actually I think the film's treatment of Oppenheimer's Communist connections is one of its strengths. Oppenheimer wasn't a Communist, but his brother was, his wife was, and his mistress was. And he was a sympathizer with some of the causes that Communists championed in the 1930s, especially the struggle in Spain against fascism. All presented as perfectly normal (at least for him). And yet, at the same time, the issue of Soviet espionage is also addressed directly, and without hysteria. Being a Communist was one thing, being a Soviet spy was something else. I think this is a very smart film, very sophisticated historically, and, I think, a classic.