Oppenheimer,’ Christopher Nolan and Emma Stone: What made the 2024 Oscar winners great | America Magazine
Across the vast expanse of desert sands, under the shroud of a darkened sky, a momentous ascent unfolds from an illuminated platform, heralding the advent of a world-altering artifact. The inaugural atomic trial, a pivotal spectacle in “Oppenheimer,” clinched seven Academy Awards this past Sunday, including the coveted best picture accolade. This pivotal juncture unfolds over a tense seven-minute crescendo: a moment suspended in uncertainty, where the fate of the world hung precariously in the balance.
Viewing the film during its opening weekend, I found myself ensnared by the scene’s palpable intensity, despite history having etched its resolution long ago. My gaze lingered on the ensemble of Los Alamos savants, congregated to witness this monumental event, reclined beneath the celestial canopy as though attending an al fresco screening, shielded only by flimsy eye shades. Amidst them, physicist Edward Teller stood singular in his recognition of the need for precaution, resorting to a humble application of sunscreen.
“Oppenheimer” is not just a cinematic ode to a prodigious intellect, nor merely a chronicle of extraordinary collaboration; it serves as a poignant treatise on applied physics—a testament to how a solitary catalyst can instigate a cascade of unforeseeable and uncontrollable repercussions. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s triumph, hailed as a harbinger of safety, inadvertently unleashed forces that would precipitate his own downfall. An innovation conceived to safeguard the future ultimately plunged it into unprecedented peril. In subsequent atomic trials throughout the postwar era, scores of Americans were deliberately subjected to radiation, serving as unwitting test subjects to assess the aftermath of these cataclysmic events.
Soldiers traversed detonation sites once the sands cooled sufficiently for traversal; pilots soared through billowing plumes of fallout; and sailors stood sentinel on nearby vessels. At the Yucca Flat testing grounds in Nevada, an Army band was even mustered to perform. I possess firsthand knowledge of this episode because my uncle, Richard Gigger, led that band.
Richard enlisted in 1946 at the tender age of 16, a young black recruit in an Army still segregated by race. His enlistment catapulted him from the confines of East St. Louis to the vistas of Germany. During his tenure there, he secured permission to partake in a music training program in the unlikely locale of Dachau, led by members of the Berlin Philharmonic. This experience proved transformative. Over the ensuing decades, he regaled audiences, performed for dignitaries, led processions through Manhattan’s thoroughfares, and made frequent appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Between 1952 and 1955, amidst his multifarious duties, Richard found himself serenading the most destructive force known to humankind with renditions of “Shake, Rattle, and Roll.”
Other atomic veterans, now known by this moniker, found themselves stationed in the South Pacific, wading through radioactive waters to fill in blast craters. Their voices echo in a documentary titled “I Have Seen the Dragon,” recounting their experiences with a blend of pride, honor, and profound betrayal — sentiments my uncle shared.
Following a storied 25-year career spanning three wars, Richard retired from the Army and crossed paths with my aunt Ellen. Together, they embarked on a journey of musical education at San Fernando High School, guiding the marching band to an unparalleled string of victories — 13 championships in total, 11 of them consecutive. Alongside their triumphs on the field, they mentored countless students, many of whom attribute their success to their tutelage. Their legacy is immortalized in the renaming of a school building and an intersection, as well as a sprawling mural. Yet, the specter of Richard’s military service loomed ominously, as it did for many others.
For Richard, the descent began with a pituitary tumor. Though surgeons successfully excised it, years later, it precipitated a cranial hemorrhage and subsequent brain damage, eroding his vitality over time.
As a child, I found my uncle to be a figure of both warmth and intimidation — a larger-than-life amalgam of showmanship and military discipline. Following the hemorrhage, this essence dwindled. He moved with diminished vigor, his speech sparse. While he retained his musical prowess, in the documentary, it’s my aunt who speaks; Richard sits in silence. Three months hence, he departed this world.
For five decades, atomic veterans bore a burden of silence, prohibited from disclosing their ordeals to loved ones or medical practitioners. This veil of secrecy shrouded their plight, obscuring the true extent of their numbers and the medical tribulations they endured — including leukemia, thyroid cancer, esophageal cancer, and multiple myeloma. It also hindered access to vital support services. To vindicate her case before the Department of Veterans Affairs, my aunt delved into the annals of scientific literature, pored over Japanese translations of research papers on atmospheric ionizing radiation, scoured archives of Nevada newspapers, and consulted medical experts. Her efforts were met with countless rebuffs, yet after seven arduous years, the V.A. relented, acknowledging that Richard’s afflictions likely stemmed from his exposure. This concession entitled her to meager compensation.
Several maladies are now deemed “presumptive” for atomic veterans, indicative of a causal link to their service. Yet, the full extent of suffering endured prior to the adoption of this policy, or the myriad afflictions that may arise from exposure, remains shrouded in uncertainty. As the ranks of these veterans dwindle, unanswered questions persist, for the repercussions of radiation endure, cascading through generations.
“Oppenheimer” has garnered censure for its omission of the devastation wrought upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, this deliberate omission, in my view, was judicious. To relegate such profound suffering to a subplot within a biopic of a singular figure would verge on the insensitive, if not outright obscene. By leaving Japan’s anguish to the realm of imagination, or to the intrusive ruminations haunting Oppenheimer, the film displays a commendable humility regarding the limits of representation — epitomized by its near-silent portrayal of the initial blast.
The scene of the unprotected scientists serves as a poignant allegory for the naive optimism that underscored the nuclear endeavor — a sobering reminder of the world’s unpreparedness for the horrors it unleashed. As the military personnel pack away the remaining bombs post-test, Oppenheimer muses to Teller, “Once it’s utilized, nuclear warfare, indeed all warfare, becomes inconceivable.” Equally inconceivable, I surmise, would have been the notion that the United States would willfully subject its own servicemen to the deleterious effects of the bomb.
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