John von Neumann’s Crucial Role in the Manhattan Project
While Oppenheimer largely focuses on the personal life and works of its titular lead character, the movie does find time to at least introduce us to many of the other scientists working at Los Alamos. Yet, the film doesn’t even reference one of the most significant real-life contributors to the Manhattan Project: John von Neumann.
At the risk of oversimplifying his legacy and accomplishments, Neumann is widely considered one of the most influential and intelligent mathematicians ever. In terms of the Manhattan Project, he sometimes served as the mathematical counterpart to Oppenheimer’s role (a necessary structural dynamic that the film references). In that position, Neumann came up with (or directly contributed to) many of the structural elements of the atomic bomb that ultimately made it work.
From a policy perspective, Neumann was also on the committee that chose the initial bombing sites and was a pioneer of what would eventually become the theory of mutually assured destruction. Perhaps more importantly, he was a long-time friend of (and frequent political/professional rival to) Oppenheimer himself. The two had known each other since college, and Neumann would later have a lot to say both in defense and critique of Oppenheimer when his colleague’s work and views were being heavily scrutinized during the later parts of his life.
So why isn’t Neumann in the movie? There is no official answer to that question, but it’s easy to assume that it was a simple matter of logistics. For as important as Neumann was to the Los Alamos project, he wasn’t stationed at Los Alamos full-time, which means he wouldn’t have been present quite as much as some of the other characters. The extent of his contributions may have also been much more difficult to convey in a movie that has so much more ground to cover. Nolan also seems to have decided to focus on Albert Einstein as the “other” notable genius of that era, which makes sense when you consider the cultural weight that Einstein brings into the picture with little explanation needed.
Arthur Compton’s Advice to Oppenheimer Regarding World Destruction
Much like John von Neumann, Arthur Compton was a vital contributor to the Manhattan Project who is not directly featured in Oppenheimer. What’s particularly interesting about Compton is how the movie so clearly replaces him with another historical figure in ways that ripple throughout the film.
Not only was Compton partially responsible for some of the vital research that preceded the start of the Manhattan Project, but he was essentially the person who assigned Oppenheimer to that project in the first place. In fact, the two were so close that Oppenheimer later visited Compton to get Compton’s advice on a theory that suggested the detonation of the atomic bomb could trigger an atmospheric chain reaction that may eventually destroy the world. Though that theory is prominently referenced in Oppenheimer, the movie suggests that Oppenheimer doesn’t visit Compton for advice regarding his fears but rather goes to see Albert Einstein. It’s another example of the movie essentially using Einstein as a surrogate for multiple outside advisors to expedite both the narrative and the dramatic impact of those moments.
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