Wrap up
The thread of the second story line was handled, I thought, reasonably well, but the third one was overly long. Poor Oppenheimer was grilled by the malevolent committee for what seemed hours. This after the point was made clearly within a couple of minutes! Why numb the mind while making a simple point?
That’s it. One man’s opinion. Some critics loved it. See here and here. Final reminder: If you decide to see Oppenheimer, consider taking along ear plugs.
You wrote my impression better than I could-I didn’t take ear plugs. Communism was a serious threat at that time. the communist party had tents and propaganda on many college camposes-there was one at K State when I started there in Jan 1946. Did you notice Kennedy voted against Oppenheimer.
Right, Ralph. I think in the early 1940s there was a strong carry-over from the Communism popularity that reigned on college campuses during the late 30s. (maybe like the DEI fever that is sweeping campuses these days?). The trend clearly had cooled by the mid-1950s when I enrolled at the University of Wisconsin. In fact, I think I’m correct in saying that Wisconsin was then the only campus in the country that had an above-ground Communist group (the Labor Youth League: see here. Yes, I did note that Kennedy (“the young senator from Massachusetts”) put in an against vote.
Other than your comment around “DEI fever”, I agree with your post, dad. 😉 I’m glad I saw the movie but wouldn’t see it again. The odd sound design was certainly intentional, but it felt/sounded sloppy rather than creative.
No “DEI fever” in this one, Anne. There was no inkling of such ideas at the time. (Although I have mentioned the subject in other posts.)