Movies

Oppenheimer Is Being Canceled Because Of Its Historical Facts, And It Is Ridiculous

Oppenheimer Is Being Canceled Because Of Its Historical Facts, And It Is Ridiculous
Image credit: Universal Pictures

A bombastic side eye to the critics on the couch.

The buzz around the biographical thriller written, produced and directed by mind games master Christopher Nolan seemed to change its course. While the cast recently enjoyed the film's premiere in Paris and the world eagerly awaits the world premiere, the Internet community found a way to make the wait less painful and decided to go through J. Robert Oppenheimer 's dirty laundry.

Christopher Nolan's twelfth film is a biopic based on Pulitzer Prize-winning American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer written by Martin Sherwin and Kai Bird.

The film explores the life of Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who was part of the Manhattan Project's development of the first nuclear weapons during World War II and later worked to slow the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Despite being branded a communist in 1954, Oppenheimer continued to contribute to science and was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Prior to becoming known as the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer was a Professor of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley. It was during this time that he met Jean Tatlock, the graduate student who would become a significant figure in his life and a subject of historical fascination.

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Their love story will be one of the central themes of the upcoming movie, with 47-year-old Cillian Murphy portraying Oppenheimer and 27-year-old Florence Pugh portraying Tatlock. And that's when the Internet starts to lose it.

With a 10-year gap between the real Tatlock and Oppenheimer, who were 22 and 32 when they first met, Murphy's 20-year age difference with Pugh not only adds dynamic to their onscreen relationship, but also controversial fans opinion.

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Many fans feel that the increased age difference between the characters and an R rating for sexual content, including extended full nudity and a sex scene between Murphy and Pugh, are indicative of Hollywood's longstanding problem of pairing older male actors with younger love interests.

However, there are also those who defend the casting choice on the grounds that it is an accurate representation of the historical context and the age difference between Oppenheimer and Tatlock. Furthermore, Oppenheimer's longer life span justifies the use of an older actor.

While many fans are willing to excuse Robert Oppenheimer's invention of nuclear weapons but draw the line at the problematic age difference with his girlfriend, it's important to remember that the movie depicts real historical events, and to cancel it just for the sake of telling the story is ridiculous.

Both Murphy and Florence are adult people who are doing their job as actors in the film, which we are eagerly awaiting to see on the big screen on July 21st.