Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man.
For this, he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity
American Prometheus
These lines greet our eyes at the opening of the film against a backdrop of nuclear fire. They are accompanied by a sound almost like a train pulling out of a station which we later learn is the sound of stomping feet before a speech given by Oppenheimer. Immediately after this, the film cuts to a shot of rain falling on a puddle-covered pavement and the ripples this rain creates. These may seem like insignificant artistic flourishes, but the motifs of the stomping sound and rippling water repeat throughout the film, which ultimately concludes with these same sounds and images. The fact that these specific sights and sounds bookend the movie, and repeat at key moments in between, highlights their symbolic importance in emphasizing the themes of this film. What are these themes? Let’s delve into that below.
First, we see the symbolism of the ripples: how small decisions can create big consequences. The very inception of the Manhattan Project was based on the realization that mankind could use the smallest building blocks of our universe in ways which could change civilization. Parallelling this, we watch as Oppenheimer makes decisions which initially seem insignificant but which have momentous consequences for himself and the rest of the world. Second, there are many times when the sounds of the crowd seem to build to an overwhelming cacophony. Later in the film, these sounds are paired with a blinding white light, representing the nuclear blast itself. These moments of light and sound symbolize the massive and unstoppable consequences Oppenheimer is forced to confront from his past decisions. One telling scene using both of these symbols depicts the scientist arguing with his colleagues against creating larger nuclear bombs while we see ripples of water moving out from every major city on a world map, alluding to potential blast radii while the sounds of the crowd thunder in the background.
Thus, Oppenheimer focuses on a man trying to correct, or even undo, his past actions, but he is haunted by the fact that he is unable to do so. These sounds and images remind us continually that the consequences are now outside of Oppenheimer’s control, and the ripples from his choices will only continue to grow. This sets the stage for the film’s antagonist, who uses every one of the physicist’s flaws—big and small—to build a case against the scientist.
Flawed Prophet
Throughout the film we cut away from the events of the Manhattan Project to a federal inquiry into Oppenheimer’s life. We learn that this investigation is taking place years later to determine if the scientist should maintain his security clearance. While questions do surface about Oppenheimer’s involvement in historically significant moments, what ultimately damns him in the hearings is not these grand scale decisions but rather the more minute failings in his relationships and personal conduct.
We watch as one of Oppenheimer’s friends warns him of his potential downfall. After the atomic bomb creator boasts of himself as a prophet, his friend says: “That prophet can’t be wrong. Not once.” While Oppenheimer takes this statement to heart with advice he gives on the future of the nuclear program, his day-to-day actions remain reckless and damaging. Oppenheimer lies when it is convenient for him, treats others with disdain, and even cheats on his wife multiple times. One man Oppenheimer offhandedly slights is Lewis Strauss (played by Robert Downey Jr.), who makes it a personal mission to humiliate and discredit the physicist by orchestrating the government inquiry. Ultimately, when this pattern of dishonesty and disregard is presented before his judges, they decide to strip Oppenheimer of his security clearance—despite having sympathy for the good he was striving to achieve. Oppenheimer does express remorse for his shortcomings when confronted, but this does little to stop the condemnation. His wife, Kitty, berates him when he is paralyzed by remorse saying: “You don’t get to commit to sin and have us all feel sorry for you when you suffer the consequences.”
For Christians, Oppenheimer’s arrogance and downfall here follow warnings given in scripture such as Proverbs 16:18 and Luke 12:47-48. The man was clearly a genius in physics, and a conscientious enough leader to direct the Manhattan Project with a deft and precise hand; yet, all the brilliance in the world couldn’t keep him from making the mistakes which eventually led to his condemnation. If anything, his giftings often hastened his downfall, as we see his quick wit applied equally to complex formulas and convoluted falsehoods. Thus, Oppenheimer falls short of the standards he’s weighed against, leaving him with a grim view of humanity’s future surmised in the film’s final scenes.
Stopping the Doomsday Clock
Early in the movie, we see Oppenheimer visit Albert Einstein, trying to reconcile the fact that there is a chance that their bomb will start a chain reaction so destructive that it will ignite the atmosphere and consume all life on Earth. At the end of the film, Oppenheimer returns to Einstein to say that he believes this chain reaction did occur, just not in the way they thought it would. The scientist’s words here are overlaid with flashes of maps, bombs, and the previously mentioned stomping sounds and ripples. This indicates that Oppenheimer believes what they started in the deserts of New Mexico will eventually consume the earth in fire. He seems to accept the judgment applied to himself by his peers, and recognize that the rest of humanity will be condemned by the same standard.
Despite agonizing over moral decisions for most of the film, Oppenheimer is left feeling that he made the world worse with his choices, and that the consequences of his sins will only continue to grow to the point of cataclysm. If we follow the causal thoughts of Oppenheimer—or even more bitter souls like Strauss—this path seems as inevitable as the ripples of every person’s choices will eventually come to consume them and all their neighbors in cycles of sin and vengeance. However, this film presents another path which provides an escape from this devastation.
Physicist David Hill (played by Rami Malek) is another victim of Oppenheimer’s shortcomings. In every scene the two share, Oppenheimer either slaps something out of Hill’s hands or completely ignores him (despite Hill’s best efforts to be helpful). Because of this, when we learn that Hill is testifying at a confirmation hearing for Strauss, the first assumption is that he is going to further disparage Oppenheimer for the same reasons Strauss does. Instead, Hill chooses to look past the physicist’s flaws and condemn Strauss’s vindictive behavior towards Oppenheimer instead. A similar stunning reversal comes from Kitty, who decides to fervently defend her husband during the inquiry, despite still being deeply hurt by his unfaithfulness. Alongside other friends supporting Oppenheimer in spite of his failings, these examples of forgiveness give a glimpse of a solution to the problem consuming Oppenheimer at the end of the film.
One day, we will all face judgment for our actions, and like Oppenheimer, we are destined to be condemned for sins. By any moral metric devised by God or man, everyone eventually falls short and justice must be served. However, thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus, justice has been served and we can be forgiven. Thus, we should be quick to repent from our mistakes and ask for forgiveness (Revelation 3:3); and in light of the divine forgiveness we have received we should also be quick to forgive others (Colossians 3:13), even if their choices have caused great pain. Oppenheimer serves as a powerful portent of what our world will look like without such radical grace: a world where our sins will ripple out forever, burning away ourselves, our neighbors, and our world until Christ mercifully brings all pain to an end (Revelation 21:4 ESV).
*Please note this movie includes sexual content/nudity, some strong language, and a brief violent depiction of suicide
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