Christopher Nolan’s latest feature film, which retraces the life of late physicist Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, has been the trending topic of conversation in recent weeks. Since its anticipated release on Jul.19, the historical biopic has been met with consensual critical acclaim and overwhelming public interest, despite its lengthy runtime and sensitive subject matter.
Bringing one of the world’s most controversial contributions to the weapons industry to the very forefront of popular culture, the realm of hard science, which requires verifiable facts in order for the narrative to be responsibly portrayed, has found itself flawed by one tiny historical inaccuracy noticeable in one of the scenes during the three-hour-long epic.
The anachronism, although minor, was spotted by recent viewers who took to Twitter (or X?) en masse in the days following the film’s release to point out the historical blunder. In the scene in question, Oppenheimer, portrayed by the illustrious Cillian Murphy, is welcomed by a crowd waving the American flag with vigor and patriotic fervor— except it was not the correct flag for the time period depicted in the film.
In the context in which the scene is taking place, in 1945, the flag appears to be showing 50 stars, when in reality, the United States was only constituted by 48 states at that time, as both Alaska and Hawaii were only recognized as official states of the USA in 1959 by president Eisenhower.
aint no way people are complaining there was a flag present in Oppenheimer with 50 stars on it (only had 48 in 1945) how is this enough to make you dislike the entire 3 hour masterpiece
— dank tank (@BluesDank) July 26, 2023
The minor flaw, although negligible in the grand scheme of the film’s overall impact, served as a valuable reminder of the complexity and responsibility that comes with portraying historical events on the big screen, although it will probably just serve as a quirky trivia question next time you find yourself discussing the film with friends. Far from detracting from the movie’s critical and commercial success, it did highlight the level of scrutiny that historical biopics often face, as directors navigate the delicate balance between artistic storytelling and historical truthfulness.
