New Oppenheimer Movie Memory Holes Hanford

We're full swing into the summer movies season. Although this year's summer cinema offerings have been more than a disappointment, with classic franchises (Indiana Jones), as well as typical heavy hitters (Pixar, Disney & DC) not only failing to grab audience attention, but also managing to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in the meantime.

It's so bad that even a small studio (Angel Studios) managed to grab more attention and headlines than the big boys and even managed to dethrone the latest Indiana Jones movie. That production, Sound of Freedom, has already taken in over $100 million. Not bad for a movie with a budget a fraction of that size.

But now, as we move into the latter days of the summer releases, we are about to see the release of "Oppenheimer." Initial reviews are looking solid for this movie, with sites like IMDB and IGN giving it a 10 out of 10. Being a near-life long resident of the Tri-Cities I have a profound appreciation of the role that the Hanford Nuclear Reservation played in the construction of the bomb that ended World War Two, the obvious subject matter of said film.

That being said, early screeners of the movie have been saying that the Oppenheimer movie essentially ignores the contributions of the Hanford site and many employees who helped secure the necessary nuclear material for the bomb in secret.

Apparently in Oppenheimer, the nuclear material just shows up. No mention of Hanford is made.

It could possibly be that any part of the film dealing with the Hanford area could have met the cutting room floor. The Oppenheimer movie does run for 3 hours as it is, and the first cut was more than likely beyond the four hour mark.

It is also entirely possible that Christopher Nolan (the director) simply felt that the addition of the Hanford portion of the story could have diluted the movie too far, or slowed the pace, or any number of other facets that could have made it not fit.

However, it does feel like a bit of a disservice to all the hard work and sacrifice this community put forth in the war effort. Many names associated with the Manhattan Project are represented across the Tri-City are, including Hanford.

That being said, I will hold full judgement until I have an opportunity to see the movie for myself. Although it initially seems like a bit of a finger in the eye of the men and women who worked at Hanford on this critical project.

Without their work and sacrifice, the Manhattan Project would have never come to fruition, and World War Two may have taken a drastically different course.