Cake or fake?
Oppenheimer by Seb Smith, Year 9
We gave baking enthusiast, Sammy Marra (Year 9) a challenging brief: to replicate the college in dough and icing
T he art of bak- ing is a com- plicated skill to master. It takes time and determination as well as courage. How- ever, it is a skill that can be very useful in life. You can bake to relax your mind and reduce stress. You can bake whenever you want to improve your culinary skills. But most importantly, you
I n 2023 the film Oppenheimer hit the big screen. It was an instant success thanks to the actors, writing and the directing, and so won Oscars in many categories. It was directed by Christopher Nolan and displays some of his recurring themes, such as the changing and moving around of time. (It was also different to his previous works in nature and concept.) Many of his previous films, like Memento and Tenet, play around with time, the former having its plot play backwards and the latter being a story with two oppositely moving timelines. So, it’s safe to say (and anyone who’s watched Nolan’s films would agree) Christopher Nolan enjoys meddling with time. Oppenheimer is no different as it has, at one point, three separate timelines showing pre-World War Two Oppenheimer, mid-Manhattan Project Oppenheimer and the post- war-trials Oppenheimer when he was accused of being pro-Communist. The story unfurls as we watch all of these timelines at once. Though similar in this aspect, Oppenheimer also had some solid diff- erences to Nolan’s previous works. Unlike most of his other pieces it is based upon a true story. This gave Nolan less freedom when it came to
messing around with time and structure as he had to follow a pathway set out by Oppenheimer’s life. Yet Nolan still managed to find a way to insert his signature complicated storytelling style into this film, making it as mentally stimulating as his other pieces. It on paper sounds like a reasonably simple drama/biopic, yet Nolan manages to make it an exciting, complex and thrilling story while mostly keeping true to the story he was given. A similarity with his previous films is the depth and complexity of the phycological themes explored. In this film it’s the guilt Robert Oppenheimer feels. The film plays with morals and looks in depth at remorse. Thanks to the score by Ludwig Göransson and Nolan’s screenwriting it’s thrilling and exciting. Oppenheimer is one of Nolan’s only films needing to be accurate. Compared to previous films, Nolan had to make sure his scenes were historically accurate. (The scene where Oppenheimer attem- pts to poison his teacher was a true story). There also is a lot less constant action and, while still thrilling and exciting, it has fewer explosions (even though there is one crucial explosion) and more conversations and psychological dilemmas. Overall, this film is a great one for Nolan to add to his collection. His next piece (Homer’s The Odyssey ) shall also be an interpretation of an already-set story. ◎
can bake whenever you feel hungry, such as if you fancy a chocolate cake, or a pain au chocolat. One may think baking only helps you achieve a deli- cious product, however, there is a lot more to bak- ing than meets the eye. Baking is one of my hobbies, and it’s something I like to do in my free time alongside my dad. When I was presented with the challenge of baking a cake of the College, I was thrilled. I asked my dad how he felt about it, and he was equally excited! I found a photo of the College online — to use as a refer- ence — to start constructing the cake. I was really pleased with how it turned out. It took a lot of time and effort, and a lot of practice too, but by the end, we were both really happy. It was also really nice afterwards to sit down and eat the cake with great pride. I’ve also been involved with many other baking-related activities that go on in the College. For example, last year, some of my friends and I
gathered round my house to bake a Hobbit hole cake, for the Charity Bake Sale, inspired by The Hobbit . Some of my other friends decided to bake some cupcakes and cookies with me as well. It was really fun baking with some of my closest friends, and I’d love to do it again some time. ◎
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OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
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