we've freely used the atomic bomb...Oppenheimer · 2023 — Chapter 28 of 28 · 3'04" · C1
Oppenheimer Is Cross-Examined, Explained: moral scruples
At the security hearing, Oppenheimer is walked through his own decisions: yes, he helped pick the target; yes, he knew civilians would die. The prosecutor keeps pressing on whether he supported the bombing, and the answer stays narrow: "I did my job." He insists he was not in a policy-making position.
What happens
At the security hearing, Oppenheimer is cross-examined about the atomic bomb: whether he helped select the target, whether he knew civilians would be killed, and whether he had moral scruples. Then the question shifts to the hydrogen bomb. He answers that he did his job and was not in a policy-making position at Los Alamos.
Listen for
working night and dayWhat do you meanit became clear to memoral scruples
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Now
Phrase of the scene
moral scruples
道德上的顾虑；良心上的不安
检察官追问奥本海默，明知有大量平民伤亡，参与其中时有没有道德上的不安。
She had no moral scruples about walking away from the deal.
Also in this scene
- working night and day
夜以继日地干；不分昼夜地投入
- What do you mean
你这话是什么意思（要求对方解释用词）
- it became clear to me
我开始清楚地意识到
Everything marked in this scene
38 notes across 60 lines
In fact, Doctor, you assisted in selecting the target to drop the atomic bomb on Japan,tag question
Well, then you knew, did you not, that by dropping that atomic bomb on the target you selected,Oh. Well, how many were killed or injured?On the day of each bombing?And in the weeks and years that followed?Any moral scruples about that?liaison
Any moral scruples about that?-Technically successful. -Oh!And it is also alleged to have helped end the war.Would you have been in support of the dropping of a hydrogen bomb on Hiroshima?That would make no sense at all.This was not a problem with which I was confronted...relative clause
This was not a problem with which I was confronted...Well, I'm confronting you with it now, sir.It was all part of his plan.He wanted the glorious, insincere guilt of the self-important to wear like a fuckin' crown.He wanted the glorious, insincere guilt of the self-important to wear like a fuckin' crown.We set forth our arguments......our arguments against dropping it, but I did not endorse them.You mean after working night and day for three years building the bomb,liaison
You mean after working night and day for three years building the bomb,you then argued against the use of it?I was asked by the Secretary of War what the views of scientists were.-What do you mean "support"? -Didn't you?I did my job.I was not in a policy-making position at Los Alamos.I would have done anything I was asked to do.conditional
Well, then you would have built the H-bomb too,I didn't ask you that, Doctor!And the GAC report which you co-authored after the Soviet atomic test saidAnd wouldn't the Russians do anything to increase their strength?If we did it, they would have to do it.Our efforts would only fuel their efforts, just as it had with the atomic bomb....when did your strong moral convictions develop with respect to the hydrogen bomb?When it became clear to methat we would tend to use any weapon we had.elision
that we would tend to use any weapon we had.Oppenheimer Is Cross-Examined, explained
What's really going on
The hearing turns biography into a trap. Every answer Oppenheimer gives about the past is used to build a case about his present judgment: he helped choose the target, he knew civilians would die, so why did his conscience arrive so late? His defense is procedural rather than moral. "I did my job," he says, and "I was not in a policy-making position at Los Alamos," which lets him separate the scientist from the state that used the weapon. The most revealing exchange is about escalation: "Our efforts would only fuel their efforts, just as it had with the atomic bomb." The prosecutor seizes on the phrase, and the trap closes — the man who built the first bomb has explained exactly why the second one will be built, and is asked when his convictions finally showed up.
Theme
DutyOppenheimer separates doing his job from making policy, a line the hearing refuses to accept.
PowerThe state turns a scientist's past work into evidence against his present judgment.
Listen for
- moral scruples about — liaison
- night and day — liaison
- tend to use — elision
I would have done anything I was asked to do.A statement of obedience that the prosecutor will immediately turn against him.
If we did it, they would have to do it.The logic of a nuclear arms race stated plainly, as a warning.
Our efforts would only fuel their efforts, just as it had with the atomic bomb.The escalation argument, offered as proof that building the Super cannot be contained.
Well, I'm confronting you with it now, sir.The prosecutor insisting on a direct answer instead of a discussion of policy.
Questions about this scene
What is the hearing trying to prove?
That Oppenheimer supported using the bomb and is now inconsistent or dishonest. The questions move from his role in choosing the target to his later moral objections.
Why does Oppenheimer say he only did his job?
He argues he was not in a policy-making position at Los Alamos, so his role was to carry out the work rather than decide how the weapon would be used.
What does he say about the arms race?
He says if they build the bomb, the Russians will have to do the same, and that their efforts would only fuel the other side's, just as happened with the atomic bomb.
When did his moral convictions develop?
He says they became clear to him when he realized that people tend to use any weapon they have, which is why he came to oppose the hydrogen bomb.
What does the prosecutor do with his answer?
He seizes on the phrase about fueling the other side's efforts, using it to show that Oppenheimer predicted the arms race and yet still helped start it.
Oppenheimer · 28 chapters
All chapters →
Chapter 1leaves a little to be desiredBohr Sends Oppenheimer to Göttingen
Chapter 2the man for the jobStrauss Offers Oppenheimer a Job
Chapter 3seek outRabi Meets Oppenheimer on a Train
Chapter 4a vicious cycleOppenheimer Starts His Quantum Seminar
Chapter 5wiggle roomPolitical Debate at a Party
Chapter 6wring your neckOppenheimer Names Los Alamos
Chapter 7from moneyOppenheimer Explains Empty Space
Chapter 8herd intoLawrence Shuts Down the Union
Chapter 9point takenGroves Offers Oppenheimer the Job
Chapter 10a point of no returnOppenheimer Asks Einstein About Doomsday
Chapter 11pass onChevalier Suggests Passing Secrets
Chapter 12the business at handTeller Pitches the H-Bomb
Chapter 13Thanks for nothingCondon Quits Los Alamos
Chapter 14drop in and outOppenheimer's Last Night With Jean
Chapter 15a cock-and-bull storyOppenheimer's Cock-and-Bull Story
Chapter 16took a wrong turnBohr Warns of the Aftermath
Chapter 17go down this roadThe GAC Debates the H-Bomb
Chapter 18a lot of latitudeThe Target Committee Debates the Bomb
Chapter 19gallows humorWaiting Out the Storm at Trinity
Chapter 20blood on my handsOppenheimer Meets President Truman
Chapter 21A man of convictionThe Fuchs Spy Case Comes Up
Chapter 22curse the name ofOppenheimer Refuses the Super Bomb
Chapter 23how the game is playedPlanning Oppenheimer's Downfall
Chapter 24MermaidsRabi Defends Oppenheimer
Chapter 25cuts both waysBorden Reads the Accusation Letter
Chapter 26made mincemeat out ofHill Blames Strauss at the Hearing
Chapter 27Haven't the slightest ideaKitty Testifies Before the Board
Watching · Chapter 28moral scruplesOppenheimer Is Cross-ExaminedThat's all 28 chapters of this film