I really wanted to watch it, but when it first came out (it opened in Korea on 2023.08.15), I was busy doing 42 Seoul and never seemed to find the time. During the May holiday weekend (the 4th to 6th), I found it on Netflix and hesitated because of the long 3-hour runtime. Still, I didn't have plans to meet anyone that day, so I started the movie.
It opens by explaining Prometheus. It tells the story of a god who is punished for bringing fire to humanity.
The movie is presented through three major timelines.
- From his school days to the end of the Manhattan Project
- The private hearing after the Manhattan Project
- The public confirmation hearing for Strauss after the Manhattan Project (black and white)
Because the movie moves forward while mixing those timelines together, at first I kept wondering why some parts were black and white and others were in color. After I finished the movie, I looked up Strauss and read that he saw the world in a binary way. Since he viewed other people as either allies or enemies, I wondered if that was why he was portrayed in black and white. If you get the chance, I really recommend watching it at least once. This movie talks more about relationships between people than scientific ideas, so it probably won't feel too difficult.
The reason I ended up writing this post is because something critic Lee Dong-jin said while talking about this movie really stayed with me. He says this in an episode of 알쓸별잡. 알쓸별잡 - 김상욱&이동진이 알려주는 크리스토퍼 놀란의 〈오펜하이머〉 배경 지식 🔍
Even when the war ends, once it comes to the use of nuclear weapons, their control, and all that authority, each of these people ends up splitting apart almost completely. In a way, this itself looks like a story about an atomic bomb to me. Actually, that's what interests me the most. Something that was one in the beginning undergoes something like nuclear fission and turns into countless collisions. I think Christopher Nolan brought that plot into the film itself. So to me, that's what makes this story so fascinating. - Critic Lee Dong-jin
Before I heard that review, I thought the movie was simply trying to tell the life story of the father of the atomic bomb. No matter how great a person is, they still have shameful sides, regrets, and enemies, and it felt like a beautiful human life story because of that. It made me think that maybe life is like one person's thoughts and relationships spreading outward like nuclear fission. Maybe our lives flow that way too.
After the Manhattan Project, the world entered the age of nuclear weapons, and I imagine that must have been painful for the people involved in creating them the more they thought about it. Even these geniuses seemed saddened by the direction of the world, and seeing that made me feel like nobody can live while predicting everything. So even when making something, it would be such a shame to think too much and end up never creating it. I've been doing exactly that, and I think I need to get back up and try again.
Lastly, after watching this movie, I was reminded of American Prometheus from the Infinite Challenge: Jung General Manager Treats Everyone episode.
I'll leave the YouTube link here! Haha - "How nice must it have been?" A book report that sounds like it was written by an elementary school student
How nice must it have been for Robert? - Haha
Why does this scene keep sticking in my mind after watching the movie? Maybe that's part of why the movie did so well.
I'm just happy that this meme is getting attention again.
Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.
— Brian Tracy
