Oppenheimer (2023), sebuah film biografi yang disutradarai oleh Christopher Nolan, menampilkan perjalanan Oppenheimer, Sang Bapak Bom Atom, saat ia membantu memimpin Proyek Manhattan dalam meneliti dan mengembangkan senjata nuklir selama Perang Dunia II. Rilisnya film biografi bertema perang pada tahun 2023 membuka diskursus baru mengenai peran Hollywood dan prevalensinya dalam mempertahankan American Exceptionalism. Dalam konteks film bertema perang, film-film Hollywood dulunya memiliki peran informal sebagai alat propaganda Amerika Serikat melalui glorifikasi kebijakan luar negeri, meningkatkan daya tarik internasional, serta menanamkan gagasan bahwa Amerika Serikat adalah negara adidaya yang berlandaskan pada kepercayaan terhadap American Exceptionalism. Seiring dengan perkembangan dunia menuju tatanan dunia kontemporer, intensitas dari glorifikasi Amerika Serikat dalam film-film Hollywood semakin berkurang. Namun, gagasan American Exceptionalism tetap relevan dalam diskusi modern. Diskusi ini berfokus pada bagaimana American Exceptionalism diperbandingkan dalam Oppenheimer (2023), serta mengaitkan karakter Oppenheimer dengan Cognitive Dissonance Theory yang mengungkap perilaku berlawanan dengan sikap yang ia tunjukkan selama pengembangan ciptaannya—bom atom.

---

Oppenheimer (2023), a biopic directed by Christopher Nolan, showcases the journey of Oppenheimer, the Father of the Atomic Bomb, as he helped in leading the Manhattan Project in researching and developing nuclear weapons during World War II. The release of the biopic that depicts the war setting in 2023 opened up a new discourse in regards to the role of Hollywood and its prevalence in preserving American Exceptionalism. In the context of war-related films, Hollywood movies used to have an informal purpose of being the United States’ propaganda tool—to promote the glorification of their foreign policy and international appeal and instill the idea that the U.S. is a superpower nation which lies in the belief of American Exceptionalism. As the world progresses into the contemporary state of the world order, the portrayal of the aforementioned objective in Hollywood movies has arguably subdued. However, the notion of American Exceptionalism remains relevant in modern-day discussion. This paper deconstructs how American Exceptionalism is showcased and juxtaposed in Oppenheimer (2023), as well as intertwining Oppenheimer’s character with the Cognitive Dissonance Theory that unravels the counter-attitudinal behavior he showcased in regards to the enhancement of his creation—the atomic bomb.