Oppenheimer - Listen to What It Does Not Tell!
The recently released Hollywood blockbuster - Oppenheimer - was no less than a perfume with fresh fragrance, at least, for the Indian movie buffs. The almost 'melodramatic' presentation, with a fantastic story telling, screenplay and series of extra ordinary performances, will be remembered as one more of epic from Christopher Nolan.
The film asks more questions than many other films that we see now a days. While it does pose the questions of morality of nuclear bomb types of research and their subsequent long term effects on human lives, environment and the whole ecology, it also forces us to think on some very subtle issues, which we might generally not much think about:
1. Is knowledge really power?: The protagonist, Oppenheimer, is a famous theoretical Physicist in US. Throughout the movie, we can see that, as soon as the "need" of any scientist is over, his/her "power" gets switched off! After that, if one tries to "switch on" that power, like Oppenheimer tried (to influence the policy related to nuclear bomb testing), he/she is made to face the music by the people in "power"! The movie really does well in raising this very fundamental issue.
Plus, his remarkable contribution to the research, related to the black holes, never received as much attention, as the one, related to nuclear bomb! It raises a very basic meta ethics related question, if "we", as "humans", are really interested in seeking truly new knowledge that explores the horizons of the unknown, OR are we only interested in seeking the innovation, that simply further our self-interested agendas?
2. There is no liberty for the liberals!: It took Oppenheimer a thousand of exams to prove that he was a "Patriotic American" despite being a liberal who used to (simultaneously) have very cordial relations with the communists. There was no contradiction in it, according to him. He was never married to any "sect" or "school of thought" or "ideology". He even learnt Sanskrit to read the verses of The Geeta. He was truly a liberal - never ever slightly tilted towards any ideology. His only ideas was Physics and the protection of his homeland - USA. Though he would keep away from that 'tag' as well! He was always worried about innovating a nuclear bomb, before the Germans. He enjoyed good rapport with many peers including Albert Einstein. But that was used against him only, once he was no more needed. Had he been more neutral or apolitical, he would have continued to enjoy the patronage of the Washington. But he chose to speak out, raise voice and did not succumb to the external pressures. It took a lot of efforts to prove that he was not a spy of the Russians, or that, he was never anti America, though he did attend many functions, that were hosted by the Communists in USA.
3. The chain reaction: With power, comes the responsibility, said the great Spiderman. And god, he could not have been more right! Albert Einstein, Oppenheimer and many other scientists, who had directly or indirectly contributed to the research of nuclear bombs, did know very well, that they have created something, that will lead to a long term chain reaction! In a way, it is an implied message to anyone, who has a lot of knowledge, and in particular, who is involved with a lot of innovation of any kind, must make sure that his/her research shall only be used for the benefits of the mankind. Though it is not 100% possible to foresee the misuse of any technology, the innovator can't turn a blind eye to this issue and claim that his/her only job is to carryout new research. Great researchers must have great hearts (conscience) too. For example, people involved in the research, related to AI, must ask the same questions to themselves, that Einstein and Oppenheimer kept asking themselves, till their deaths.
4. The "heroes" might be the real "villains": At least, at a very basic level, this question shall always be asked if the contribution of Oppenheimer should be viewed positively or negatively. By having his picture on the front page of the Time magazine, what message was being sent to the people of the world? I am not trying to imply that Oppenheimer was essentially a devil or what he did was completely wrong. But then, making him a hero would make the young generation "idealize" him and motivate them to innovate something which makes them "famous", without worrying about the moral dimensions of such actions.
5. The wars are always lost! - While the nuclear bombs would have forced the Japanese to surrender fast and would have saved lives of thousands of American soldiers, as the war ended early, it came up with the cost of loss of lives (min 1,10,000, the figure that might have easily risen to 2,00,000 or more later). What kind of win is that? Plus, the nuclear sites, where the nuclear bomb was tested in USA, are still having nuclear radiations and the people, living in those areas, are still paying price for that. The government of USA is still worried about these people. You can read more about it here: manhattan project: 'Oppenheimer' sheds new light on the legacies of the Manhattan Project: Nuclear legacy, public health hazards, and governmental secrecy - The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)
Conclusion: Overall, the movie does raise the very basic questions of our definitions of right and wrong. It is a good piece of meta ethics' related work. And as they say, it keeps asking, "Is RIGHT really RIGHT"?
