Opening the door to abolition of nuclear war

Karl Grossman, professor of journalism and Beyond Nuclear board member, has examined movie critics’ reviews of Oppenheimer. He states “We are at a highly perilous time in regard to nuclear war. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (1/24/23) moved its “Doomsday Clock,” which it says represents the risk of “nuclear annihilation,” forward to 90 seconds to midnight—the closest it’s been since it was set up in 1947.”

Grossman asks the question: “To what extent did media either take advantage of or drop the ball on the opportunity the movie gave them to examine the pressing issue of nuclear war?”

His answer? “My review of the reviews would conclude that most media didn’t drop the ball, only a few did—and that to me is quite a surprise.”

Grossman concludes “Oppenheimer can provide—especially with the (astonishing for me, long a media critic) widely positive media reaction—the opening of a window that can help new generations of people learn about nuclear weapons, and move for an abolition that can prevent a nuclear apocalypse.”