OPPENHEIMER Ending Explained, Deeper Meaning, and Nolan Connections.

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Written by Colton Ogburn (  / coltonogburn  )
Hosted by Ryan Arey (  / ryanarey  )
Edited by Harriet Lengel-Enright and Brianna McLarty

This movie was heavy–and it is jam packed with symbolism that combines philosophy, mythology, physics, and politics into a story of aspiration, fear, betrayal, and regret. And while it's a period piece taking place in the 1940’s, I gotta say I can't remember the last time a film was so relevant.

And if you didn’t feel a shiver go down your spine in the final moments of the film, then you probably weren’t paying attention.

Doug: Or you’re psychotic.

Yeah or that.

So J. Robert Oppeheimer, the father of the atomic bomb–or as he would call himself, Death, the destroyer of worlds.

Doug: Hey what what's that about? The destroyer of worlds thing?

Well the full line is “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” It’s a line from Hindu scripture, the Bog-Vod Gita. In the story, Vishnu, the god of preservation. He’s trying to persuade the prince to do his duty. So he takes on this multi armed form and utters that very line.

Now the obvious part of the quote is that Oppenheimer felt responsible for the hundred of thousands of deaths his bomb was responsible for. As well its potential to destroy the entire world. But I found it even more interesting that the father of the atomic bomb quotes the god of preservation.

One could argue that the atomic bomb never coming into existence is the best way to preserve life on this planet. But as we’ll discuss, Oppenheimer struggled with the question if the very existence of such a bomb would be the true key to preservation. Using its existence as a deterrent to itself.

Now speaking of gods, Oppenhimer is often compared to the Greek god, Prometheus. The film opens with text that reads “Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, for this he was chained to a mountain and tortured for an eternity.”

This perfectly parallels how Oppenhimer gave the world the atomic bomb, setting us on a path of complete self destruction.

Prometheus was a being of great intellect, just like Oppenhimer. Now the name “Prometheus” means “forethinker”, someone who thinks far ahead. This parallels perfectly to Oppenheimer’s forethought regarding the death of stars; which of course led to his creation of the atomic bomb. Following the creation of the bomb, Oppenhimer had another forethought far more terrifying–his realization of how the world would use it. That painted a clear picture in his mind's eye of what was to come.

And when you think about the current situation we find ourselves in on what some would call the brink of World War 3 between multiple nuclear powers–it makes this movie all the more terrifying.