Lomanitz, what do you get paid a month?Oppenheimer · 2023 — Chapter 8 of 28 · 1'51" · C1
Lawrence Shuts Down the Union, Explained: herd into
Lawrence corners a young colleague over his ties to a union full of Communists and tells him it is why he cannot be brought onto the project. The argument turns personal: "It's not your people they're herding into camps." It ends less with agreement than with a warning to wake up.
What happens
Lawrence clears the room and confronts Lomanitz about the union, which he says is full of Communists, saying it is why he cannot be brought onto the project. The two men argue about politics and about who is really at risk, and Lawrence warns him to check his rearview mirror and stop being naive. Lomanitz agrees to settle things, and Lawrence welcomes him to the war.
Listen for
have in common withherd intorearview mirrorself-important
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Phrase of the scene
herd into
把（人）像牲口一样驱赶、集中到某处
劳伦斯对奥本海默说，被赶进集中营的不是你这类人，而是我这类人，一句话把两人的身份处境摆到台面上。
The guards herded the prisoners into a single hall.
Also in this scene
- have in common with
和某人或某物有共同之处
- rearview mirror
（汽车）后视镜；引申为回头审视自己的处境
- self-important
自视甚高的；把自己看得太重要的
Everything marked in this scene
19 notes across 35 lines
flap
Lomanitz, what do you get paid a month?That's not the point, Lawrence.What do any of you have in common with farm laborers and dock workers?have in common with
What do any of you have in common with farm laborers and dock workers?liaison
Filled with Communists.So? I haven't joined the Party.They won't let me bring you onto the project because of this shit.let someone do
They won't let me bring you onto the project because of this shit.They won't let me bring you onto the project because of this shit.Oh. I know what the project is.present participle
We've all heard about Einstein and Szilard's letter to Roosevelt warning him the Germans could make a bomb,and I know what it means for the Nazis to have a bomb.It's not your people they're herding into camps.The next time you're coming home from a meeting, why don't you take a look in the rearview mirror?Listen to the sounds on your phone line and stop being so goddamn naive.stop doing
Listen to the sounds on your phone line and stop being so goddamn naive.flap
Okay. I get it.you don't have to worry. It's done.Lawrence Shuts Down the Union, explained
What's really going on
The scene is a friendship being tested by the machinery of security. Lawrence has just thrown a meeting out of the room, and the fight that follows is not really about politics but about access: the union makes Lomanitz a liability, so Lawrence cannot bring him onto the secret project. Their exchange keeps cutting to something rawer - whose people are being rounded up - and the line "It's not your people they're herding into camps" shows how personal the political has become. Lawrence's answer is both a defense and a warning: he tells Lomanitz to check the rearview mirror and stop being naive, as if the surveillance were simply weather. The scene ends in a truce rather than a resolution, with the friend reluctantly welcomed to the war.
Theme
IdentityA physicist's political ties make him a security risk, splitting his public and private self.
TrustTwo colleagues test whether friendship can survive suspicion and surveillance.
Listen for
- get paid — flap
- Filled with — liaison
- I get it — flap
What do any of you have in common with farm laborers and dock workers?A jab meant to deflate the union's claims of solidarity with ordinary workers.
Listen to the sounds on your phone line and stop being so goddamn naive.A blunt warning that he is being watched, and that his idealism is dangerous.
It's not your people they're herding into camps.A reminder, charged with personal stake, that the persecution is aimed at people like him.
They won't even let me tell you what the project is.The concrete consequence of the political suspicion: secrecy now stands between them.
Questions about this scene
Why can't Lomanitz work on the project?
Because of his ties to a union that is full of Communists. The people running the project treat that as a security risk, which is why Lawrence cannot bring him on.
What is the union they are arguing about?
A federation of architects, engineers, chemists, and technicians that Lomanitz belongs to. Lawrence says it is full of Communists, which makes membership dangerous for his career.
What does Lawrence tell Lomanitz to do?
He tells him to look in his rearview mirror and listen to the noises on his phone line, meaning he is likely being watched, and to stop being naive about the danger.
Why does the argument turn personal?
Because Lawrence notes that the people being herded into camps are his people, not Lomanitz's, which makes the political dispute a question of identity and survival.
How does the scene end?
Lomanitz agrees to talk to the others and says the matter will be handled, and Lawrence answers, "Then welcome to the war."
Oppenheimer · 28 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 9point takenGroves Offers Oppenheimer the Job
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
Watching · 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
Chapter 28moral scruplesOppenheimer Is Cross-ExaminedChapter 8 of 28 · about 53 min to go