Summary
Oppenheimersparked controversyfor a few reasons before and upon its release. However, Christopher Nolan’s new film became even more divisive when other countries used CGI to censor a sensitive scene.
From the onset, Nolan’s new film was going to be divisive in one way or another. The film depicted one of the most important moments in American history, and with that comes a lot of weight. J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) was considered the father of the atomic bomb. The theoretical physicist gathered a team ofscientists for the Manhattan Projectto create a weapon powerful enough to end World War II. Though this resulted in the end of the war, it also came with a huge asterisk next to it. The American government dropped two bombs on Japanese soil, which killed civilians indiscriminately. The moral implications of this act remain a divisive subject to this day. But surprisingly, that is not the only source of discourse that the Nolan film spawned.
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OneOppenheimerscene became so contentious that other countries altered a scene featuring Florence Pugh using computer graphics. The scene showed an intimate conversation between Oppenheimer and his lover,the character Pugh plays inOppenheimer, Jean Tatlock. Both characters are nude, but this was not the scene that was shown in other countries. “A censored version of ‘OPPENHEIMER’ is being [screened] in several countries, with a CGI black dress covering Florence Pugh,”Florence Pugh Dailyreported.
This report came around the same time as India’s criticism of the film. In a preceding scene, the scientist recited part of the Bhagavad Gita, which containsthe most notable quote fromOppenheimer. “I am become death, destroyer of worlds,” the scientist said during a sex scene with Jean. Because of the religious context of the book, how it was used in the film also caused a stir.
This is an interesting perspective, considering the subject ofOppenheimer. Already, the film has had a small backlash with accusations of glorifying a terrible time in human history. Like arguments that Nolan’s film is pro-patriotism, making the case for censoring a woman’s body falls flat. There is a difference between depicting complex events of human history and supporting them. Just becauseNolan was inspired to tell theOppenheimerstoryof what led to the atomic bomb doesn’t mean he thinks it was a good thing. This film depicted these events specifically because they had moral complications. Oppenheimer was famously opposed to bombing civilians and using the H bomb during the McCarthy era. And just like showing those events as necessary, so was depicting the relationship between Oppenheimer and Jean.
The censored scene was not sexually gratuitous. It was just two people conversing in a room who happen to be naked. This showed the intimacy between the two characters and the emotional violence that has occurred between them. This scene was just as important as Oppenheimer’s professional efforts. That isn’t to say that the cultures of different countries shouldn’t be acknowledged and respected.Oppenheimerwasn’t the first film to be censored similarly in Eastern countries.Marvel Studios’Eternalswas even bannedfor refusing to make cuts. However, censoring nudity and not the harrowing scene where Oppenheimer imagines the violence his creation caused seems to be a double standard.
