Oppenheimer (2023)
A few times in the Bhagavadgita, Krishna is said to have shown His true self, Vishvaroopam. He is said to have uttered the now-famous quote, “Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, himself a Sanskriti scholar, upon witnessing the detonation of a successful nuclear explosion and seeing the highly explosive nature of his experimentation, is credited to have mentioned the same line.
Now that Oppenheimer’s experience is immortalised on the silver screen with Hollywood’s latest offering, this quote has been scrutinised extensively. One Hindu scholar even mentioned that he had never read such a line in the epic. Something close to the text in the scripture about the destruction of the worlds in Chapter 12, verse 11, is about Time. Time as being the destroyer of physical things. In other words, the scholar Devdutt Pattnaik says Oppenheimer had misinterpreted the text.
As it is now, academics have always been leftist in their mindset. Added to Oppenheimer’s liaisons and the era of McCarthyism, Robert Oppenheimer became a scapegoat for allegations of leftist activities. In a gist, this set the storyline. As the enquiry goes on, we get the backstory of his early life, his affair, his wife, his appointment to head the Los Alamos project, the successful Manhattan project, his subsequent regret of unleashing the nuclear beast and his animosity with his working colleagues.
Back in 1980, BBC released a 7-part miniseries on Oppenheimer, starring a young Sam Waterston. Oppenheimer’s predicaments were expressed in a more unrushed manner covering his story in depth as if it was a miniseries.
Director: Chrsitopher Nolan
J. Robert Oppenheimer, himself a Sanskriti scholar, upon witnessing the detonation of a successful nuclear explosion and seeing the highly explosive nature of his experimentation, is credited to have mentioned the same line.
Now that Oppenheimer’s experience is immortalised on the silver screen with Hollywood’s latest offering, this quote has been scrutinised extensively. One Hindu scholar even mentioned that he had never read such a line in the epic. Something close to the text in the scripture about the destruction of the worlds in Chapter 12, verse 11, is about Time. Time as being the destroyer of physical things. In other words, the scholar Devdutt Pattnaik says Oppenheimer had misinterpreted the text.
The movie apparently was released in two versions. One specific for the Indian and Middle Eastern audiences was released with a U certification, and another with an R rating for the rest of the world so as not to hurt the Hindu sentiments. Still, many are up in arms. The above-mentioned sacred quote is uttered during an intimate sex scene. As the scene had scant relevance to the flow of the story and the availability of two versions, naysayers feel it is a deliberate attempt at mischief.
The movie is a gripping one, depicting a time when the Western world was developing its physical sciences by leaps and bounds. A time when quantum sciences was in its infancy and molecular science was beyond atoms, protons and electrons. We are discussing when Heisenberg, Bohr and Einstein could fit into the same narrative. With the development of science, the trust in the entity of God to take care of His subject diminished. Increasingly, people believed that aristocracy, theocracy and capitalism would not save mankind. Human malady had to be held by its horns, and the socialist and communist rule would spread wealth and justice justly. Leftist ideology was spreading worldwide, especially after witnessing the 1928 stock market crash and the two world wars that ensued.
The movie is a gripping one, depicting a time when the Western world was developing its physical sciences by leaps and bounds. A time when quantum sciences was in its infancy and molecular science was beyond atoms, protons and electrons. We are discussing when Heisenberg, Bohr and Einstein could fit into the same narrative. With the development of science, the trust in the entity of God to take care of His subject diminished. Increasingly, people believed that aristocracy, theocracy and capitalism would not save mankind. Human malady had to be held by its horns, and the socialist and communist rule would spread wealth and justice justly. Leftist ideology was spreading worldwide, especially after witnessing the 1928 stock market crash and the two world wars that ensued.
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| Father of Atomic Bomb |
Back in 1980, BBC released a 7-part miniseries on Oppenheimer, starring a young Sam Waterston. Oppenheimer’s predicaments were expressed in a more unrushed manner covering his story in depth as if it was a miniseries.
When one's zeal for new knowledge and the passion to search truth in its pursuance are high, morality seems petty; but once the ugly reality sinks in, one tries to seek refuge and solace in the bosom of justification, which is, more often than not, hard to come by.
ReplyDeleteA tad too late
ReplyDeleteA tad too late!
ReplyDelete