Oppenheimer's Sex Scene Triggers A Woman's Husband & A Viral Conversation
"Oppenheimer" has been largely celebrated by fans and critics alike since its release in mid-July, but it's been stirring up some controversy recently thanks to one audience member's reaction.
TikTok user @thatsanaddiction posted a response to a commenter asking for "advice" regarding "Oppenheimer," who wrote, "Any advice for my husband and I wanting to watch Oppenheimer but being fully afraid of the Florence Pugh scene everyone is talking about?" The scene — or rather, very small handful of scenes — in question involves Pugh, who plays J. Robert Oppenheimer's (Cillian Murphy) on-again, off-again lover Jean Tatlock, and Pugh is topless in pretty much all of her scenes.
"Okay, so I researched — I research everything before we watch it," @thatsnotlove said. She said she didn't know when or how the scene would happen and assumed that it was just a long stretch of full-frontal nudity. As she put it, she didn't want either of them to get "triggered," so when Pugh was nude on screen, he closed his eyes and put his head on his shoulder and she told him when it was over.
So why has this proven to be so controversial? Well, at face value, it seems... a bit much for a grown man to be so afraid of nudity in a movie. On the other hand, there are some reasons why viewers might not want to be confronted with nudity in movies, but this case might not fit the usual criteria when it comes to that.
Social media thought this one Oppenheimer viewer might be going a bit overboard
A big part of why this post even went viral in the first place is thanks to Twitter user @fiImgal, who posted the video with a simple caption: "this actually makes me feel like i'm losing my mind." She followed it up with another Tweet, writing, "'have a plan and talk about it before you go' and it's just florence pugh's boobs. these people have fully lost the plot (literally)."
Though one user pointed out the original TikToker could possibly be referring to the brief glimpses of Jean Tatlock after she dies by suicide in the film, @fiImgal responds, "her entire account is dedicated to her husband betraying her by watching porn. it's not about the suicide scene." It's also notable that the TikToker mouthes the word "sex," making it entirely clear that the scenes they wanted to avoid were Pugh's nude scenes, not her (frankly) more disturbing ones depicting suicide.
Other users pointed out that "Oppenheimer" is about one of the most atrocious acts ever committed by humankind: the dropping of the atomic bomb. As @RafaSemTattoo put it, "If they don't have the maturity to understand the dramatic function of nudity in that scene, I don't even want to know what they took away from the rest of the movie." Culture writer Roxana Hadidi was far more blunt: "we are really living in the stupidest time."
Some viewers do need content warnings for movies — is Oppenheimer one of them?
Certainly, there are plenty of valid reasons why somebody wouldn't want to be confronted with sexual imagery on-screen; if somebody is the victim of sexual assault, for example, it can be a startling sight. Because the original TikToker has repeatedly revealed that her husband was addicted to pornography, some Twitter users rushed to their defense.
As @_n0irr wrote, "Yeah now it makes sense. I wouldn't want my partner watching porn either and if he had a history of addiction I'd be concerned too. That's straight up trauma-related and she doesn't want it to happen again." @Crugcrypto agreed: "OK but if he had a porn addiction? Would you feel the same way about an alcoholic getting through a tough situation? Porn is not healthy. I'm.not sure why you would have an issue about this with a married couple?"
The bottom line is that even Oppenheimer's sex scenes simply aren't sexy
With all of this said, there's something else to consider here: while there's been a lot of hullabaloo about the content of these scenes in "Oppenheimer," it shouldn't be overlooked that the tone of the intimate scenes in the film is... really, really unsexy. (They're not quite as atrocious as "The Idol," but, still.) In the first scene where Oppenheimer and Jean sleep together, she interrupts him partway through the act so that he can read "I am death, destroyer of worlds" from Bhagavad Gita in the original Sanskrit. In another scene where Pugh is nude, she and Oppenheimer are, sure, both naked... and sitting in armchairs on opposite sides of the room having a deep philosophical discussion.
Addiction issues aside, Christopher Nolan has long omitted sex scenes from his films — and perhaps "Oppenheimer" is showing us exactly why the auteur usually avoids them. If you think you need to have a frank discussion with your partner before seeing "Oppenheimer," that's honestly your business, but this movie isn't exactly a steamy romp — if that eases your worries.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues or sexual assault, contact the relevant resources below:
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
- The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).