A heads-up that 2023's overachiever movie Oppenheimer airs on M-Net this Sunday 5 May at 20h00.
It begins in 1926 and tells the story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan in 1945, after Germany's surrender in World War II.
It was distributed by Universal and won seven Oscars and BAFTAs, eight Critics’ Choice Awards, five Golden Globes and too many others to list here.
Let's see if it deserved them or if it was hype.
Did you know?
There's been controversy around the film in Japan where it only premiered eight months after its worldwide release.
First there was criticism of the Barbie movie distributor Warner Bros who supported internet "Barbenheimer" memes which angered people in Japan who started the hashtag #NoBarbenheimer.
At the time
The New York Times reported that Warner Bros' Japanese division had criticised the studio's American headquarters for supporting and promoting the memes.
To quote:
"In one such instance, the official “Barbie” movie account responded to a fan-made image depicting Barbie with an atom bomb bouffant with the comment, “This Ken is a stylist.
In another, it replied with a kissy-face emoji to a movie poster showing Barbie and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, against the backdrop of a nuclear explosion. “It’s going to be a summer to remember,” the studio’s tweet said.”
A link to the article:
‘Barbenheimer’ Isn’t Funny in Nuclear-Scarred Japan
There was also criticism of the movie itself by influential Japanese people when it arrived in the country in March this year.
According to Japanese publication
The Mainichi, there was a preview event held in Hiroshima before its premiere with talks by various people including former Hirishima Mayor Takashi Hiraoka who had this to say about the film:
"It had the process of creating the atomic bomb, but from Hiroshima's standpoint, the horror of nuclear weapons was not sufficiently depicted."
Here's a link to the interesting article with other perspectives:
Hiroshima ex-mayor, A-bomb survivor say 'Oppenheimer' fails to depict horror, damage
And the trailer: