'Oppenheimer' viewers are divided, with many criticizing the lack of Japanese representation as the erasure of the hundreds of thousands victims of Oppenheimer's creation.
Kimmy Yam
Experts say that the issue of representation is more nuanced. They emphasized that while no one film has the responsibility to illustrate Japanese victims’ perspective, “Oppenheimer” does little to challenge the long history of glorifying the work of white men, and risks perpetuating the persistent, often reductive, portrayals of Japanese victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Oppenheimer’s work led to the deaths of more than 200,000 people by some estimates, as well as a generation of “hibakusha,” or survivors of the blast — many of whom continue to contend with the impacts of the bomb to this day. And the movie has largely been billed as a contemplation over the moral dilemmas facing the scientists.
“He learned about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the radio — the same as the rest of the world,” Nolan said. “That, to me, was a shock … Everything is his experience, or my interpretation of his experience. Because as I keep reminding everyone, it’s not a documentary. It is an interpretation. That’s my job.”
Shimoda said that while the Japanese civilians and citizens are not included in the film, their absence makes a dangerous statement. “I understand how showrooms and Hollywood cannot be all-encompassing. … But I think it also points societally to the lack of nonwhite, non-U.S. initiatives or perspectives,” said Stan Shikuma, co-president of the Seattle Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. “That lack of more of a global perspective allows atrocities to continue to happen because we still dehumanize other people that we don’t know.
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