Having just come from Germany, a country still severely haunted by the memory and guilt of its atrocities, I am embarrassed to realize how much more in denial America is about its own atrocities. Looking back at my history classes, I can hardly remember spending any time on the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It's not censorship, but some national urge not to dwell on what we did. And perhaps the lack of an emotional reaction to White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Sundance shows that we're not prepared to deal with the emotional consequences of it -- we believe that we're above guilt.
The navigator of the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima responded to the film, "The story about the survivors of this has been told many, many times. It doesn't change. And this is just another story about survivors. I don't think there will be much reaction to it at all." But according to the filmmaker, survivors have hardly been heard from at all. And many refuse to share their stories with the public.
"Okazaki also found a plaque where the Nagasaki bomb detonated that said everyone within a one kilometer area was killed instantly -- except an 8-year-old girl who had fallen asleep in a bomb shelter." He tracked her down, but she refused to talk. Can you imagine waking up when you were 8 and emerging to find that your entire world was in ruins? I can understand not wanting to dwell on it. But the American people need to hear these stories. We're not above guilt, yet we feel none.
No comments:
Post a Comment