Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster, like many Hollywood films, drowns out the ongoing legacies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at a time when global conflicts increase the possibility of nuclear war, says Naoko Wake, Michigan State University history professor.
Christopher Nolan is finally an Oscar winner -- he posed with his awards for best director and best picture for 'Oppenheimer' Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster about the making of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has already garnered all kinds of accolades – five Golden Globes and seven BAFTA awards, not to mention a sterling 93 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first world nuclear attack captured on Aug 6, 1945, when US airforce dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima When Nolan was pressed over why he chose not to show any images of Hiroshima, Nagasaki or the victims, he said, “less can be more” – that the subtext of what’s not shown is even more powerful, since it forces audiences to use their imaginations.From the 1950s to the 1980s, many Hollywood films explored the fear of a nuclear apocalypse.
In the 2024 book Resisting The Nuclear: Art And Activism Across The Pacific, one chapter describes how Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein reenacted the Trinity test in Atomic Power, a 1946 film that celebrates the role of science in US military might. They note that in the film’s outtakes, Einstein seemed unfocused while Oppenheimer appeared stilted.
Moreover, about 3,000 to 4,000 of those affected by the bombs were Americans of Japanese ancestry, as I have shown in my book about Asian American survivors of the bombings. Most of them were children who were staying with their families, or students who had enrolled in schools in Japan prior to the war because US schools had become increasingly discriminatory to Asian American students.
I wondered, as I watched this scene, whether this decision encourages the audience to look away, too.Even if this film is seen purely through the lens of entertainment, Nolan could have chosen to recognise why the bombs are such a galvanising subject to begin with: They have done much, much more than make white, middle-class Americans feel anxious or guilty.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Christopher Nolan wins best director Oscar for OppenheimerNolan had been favored to win the Oscar after earning best director awards at the Golden Globes, BAFTA, Critics Choice and the Directors Guild of America this year.
Read more »
Oscars 2024: Oppenheimer wins 7 awards including Best PictureLOS ANGELES - Oppenheimer, the blockbuster biopic about the race to build the first atomic bomb, claimed the prestigious best picture trophy at the Academy Awards on Sunday (March 10). Director Christopher Nolan's film starred Irish actor Cillian Murphy as theoretical physicist J.
Read more »
Biopic Oppenheimer crowned best picture at Oscars, sweeps seven categoriesA three-hour historical drama about science and politics, Oppenheimer became an unlikely box office hit.
Read more »
Oppenheimer Wins Best Picture at Academy AwardsOppenheimer, the biopic about the race to build the atomic bomb, wins the best picture trophy at the Academy Awards. Christopher Nolan's film stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and grossed over $953 million.
Read more »
Cillian Murphy wins best actor Oscar for 'Oppenheimer'LOS ANGELES — Cillian Murphy earned his first Academy Award for his portrayal in “Oppenheimer” the physicist who led the United States’ development of the atomic bomb during World War Two.
Read more »