Oppenheimer After Trinity

That the military highjacked the ultimate purpose of the atomic bomb from its creators is a little-known subtext to the Oppenheimer epic. The scientists were of the understanding that it would be used to threaten rather than kill. Aerial bombardment of civilian populations is now against the rules of engagement but back then, the nationalistic thirst for revenge overwhelmed their more refined sensibilities. Oppenheimer told Truman that he felt that he had blood on his hands and Truman responded by calling him a crybaby. Sound familiar? Unable to descend to that abysmal level of insensitivity, Oppenheimer spent the rest of his days advocating for peace at the risk of losing his security clearance and professional status. In the end, he realized that, in building a weapon of mass destruction, he'd irrevocably compromised himself. He often talked of colleagues who'd turned down his invitation to join the Manhatten Project by citing exactly that reason. One simply cannot build peace with weapons of war. He once told a friend that, "I was paid well to instantly kill as many noncombatants as technically possible. There are no excuses for that."

The writing is grating. It has the feel of a high school student writing an essay that has only 500 words, when 2000 is required. There is so much padding, so much tautology. The writer seems to have over-used his thesaurus, and thrown in unnecessary adjectives.

Some examples: "4am in the morning", bombs were loaded "early in the morning before dawn", "local neighbour", "a witness that watched". I can't imagine being the voice-over artist reading this drivel. It's unwatchable.