The Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer made $80 million dollars last weekend — an unlikely feat for a cerebral, three-hour biopic about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. But it has inspired audiences, as well as discussion, right here in Las Vegas, which sits fewer than 100 miles away from the old Nevada Test Site. Ahead of their July 27 appearance at the Beverly Center, J. Robert’s grandchildren, Dorothy Oppenheimer Vanderford and Charles Oppenheimer, appeared on KNPR’s State of Nevada on July 25 to talk about the new movie, their grandfather’s legacy, their founding of the Oppenheimer Project, and the long shadow the atomic bomb still casts over our world. Below is an edited excerpt from their conversation with host Joe Schoenmann.
You now live in Boulder City and work as a contractor for the Department of Energy. Does it hearten you that younger moviegoers are embracing this movie about your grandfather?
Dorothy Oppenheimer Vanderford: It absolutely makes me happy that younger people are interested. I'm not totally sure whether they've been adequately educated about the history of atomic weapons and nuclear science. … And the reality is we still live with the effects of the development of the atomic bomb. It is not something that was of its time and then disappeared. It still matters very much we live with atomic weapons; we have other nation-states that we have to be concerned about. And it's important for young people, and people of all ages, to really give that some consideration: what we have done with weapons, and what we may do with them?
What did you think of the film?
DOV: I really liked the movie. I liked it as an artistic work. And I like that it did him justice by showing how he served the country. He created this weapon in the context of World War II, when we were concerned about fighting the Nazis and ending the war, and then in eventually being engaged in the war. And it did a good job of showing what happened in his trial and the unfairness of it, how he was treated so poorly by elements of the government, and when his security clearance was stripped. The movie made sure to have him appear more as a hero and as a person who didn't necessarily prevail but was the good guy.
What is the significance of the themes explored in Oppenheimer?
Charles Oppenheimer: Well, that central question of, “Is it valid to do science if one of the outcomes is a very dangerous weapon?” And I like to always look back to my grandfather's actual words — instead of how people restate (them) — and he said, “I believe it's fundamentally a good thing to understand how the world works and turn it over to humanity.” And then there's the second question of, “What are you going to do with the effect of that science and technology?” Are you going to make weapons or energy out of it, for example? We shouldn't have a reaction (like), let's slow down the idea of exploring the world and understanding how things work.
Your grandfather was quoted as saying he had blood on his hands. Does that make him more heroic because he was able to examine what he had done from the perspective of what it might mean for humanity?
CO: If you look at the historical record, (he) and other scientists were very clear that the bombs were going to work … And he said, “If we go on making these weapons, you can't keep it secret from the other side, it will escalate into an arms race and (become) terribly dangerous. And the only way to counteract that is to work together with people who we may have previously considered our enemies — we have to work together in a new way.” And that is a really deep message. It goes back thousands of years; every religion and philosophy has said the same thing, that you have to get to that point. He gave a technical reason (for having) to do that.
He came pretty close, from ’45 to ’47, to influencing policy and having a practical and pragmatic way of avoiding a nuclear arms race. … But in ’47, that plan was stopped. We're all dealing with the effect of his policies (and) advice not being listened to. And I'm trying to help work on that today.
