At this late period in my life, I realize that I have begun to lose count of the number of narratives I have encountered based on the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer. These have included at least one television series, performances of Doctor Atomic by both the San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, and the documentary The Day After Trinity. Yesterday I allowed my curiosity to get the better of me, and I went over to AMC Metreon 16 to see the IMAX projection of Oppenheimer.
First impressions: Most of the film involves the ways in which those associated with the creation of the atom bomb engaged among each other, mostly in small groups for the sake of problem-solving and testing. Such encounters, along with those involving the title character’s love life and family life, were not well served by the enormity of the IMAX screen. That format was selected to provide a more realistic account of the Trinity detonation of the first atomic bomb, and there was no faulting the efficacy of the projection when it came to both sight and sound. This accounted for a relatively small fraction of the entire narrative, but the experience was such that one might be willing to forgive the tail wagging the dog.
Nevertheless, that is a pretty strong “might.” Ultimately, the film delves into the complexity of Oppenheimer’s personality that is far more extensive than any previous account of the narrative. Furthermore, unlike most of the previous accounts, the narrative does not end with the Trinity detonation. Having documented Oppenheimer’s rise and triumph, the film continues into his fall into contentious encounters with the Washington bureaucracy, which ultimately led to the loss of his security clearance on grounds that he was a threat to the defense of the United States.
In that context it would be fair to say that Oppenheimer actually consists of two “origin” narratives. The first is the more familiar: how we “got the bomb” before any other country did. The second is about the emergence of the Cold War and the impact it had throughout the culture of our country, with particular attention to the academic world. Those of my generation saw the end of the Cold War as a promise for a better life on a global scale, rather than just in the United States. Instead, we now have to deal with conditions that seem to be even more sinister and on a broader global scale.
Thus, I found that, while watching Oppenheimer I tried to keep my spirits up by focusing on the little things. There is one post-Trinity episode that may have affected me far more dearly than any other part of the film. In the narrative of the film, it was the last episode involving Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein. It took place when Einstein was walking home from the Institute for Advanced Study. He was always joined on those walks by Kurt Gödel, who may be the most accomplished individual in the discipline of mathematical logic. Sure enough, Gödel was there in the cast listing (even if his back was to the camera for the entire scene). If he was addressed by name, it was an instant that went by like lightning.
Nevertheless, it reawakened an old memory of Einstein’s life. It concerned two researchers at the Bell Telephone Laboratory in Murray Hill, who had gotten stuck on a thorny problem. They were able to arrange a meeting with Einstein to address this issue, since it involved only driving from Murray Hill to Princeton. The meeting lasting an entire afternoon. As it grew dark, the Bell researchers offered to drive Einstein to his home. Einstein replied, “No thank you. I always walk home with Kurt Gödel. You know, he is the only man I know that can give a logical reason why Eisenhower should be President!”
The screen may have been enormous, but it was all the little things that sustained my attention throughout the Oppenheimer narrative.
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