MovieChat Forums > White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007) Discussion > Every American person should be FORCED t...

Every American person should be FORCED to watch this movie

posted 13 years ago by bd74
10 replies | jump to latest

Some of the posts in this board are completely shocking! How anyone can think that the senseless killing of thousands upon thousands of innocent civilians was justified in any way is just appalling. But then, when you take into account the xenophobia, superiority complex, and sense of entitlement that a lot of Americans have, the posts in support of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks are no surprise. Did you know that after those two attacks, the US was planning to drop an ADDITIONAL 6 nukes on Japan? EIGHT nuclear attacks on a country in retaliation for the Pearl Harbor attack which only caused an estimated 2,500 casualties?

Also, I think that the US wanted to gauge the effect that a nuke would have on a population, and these two attacks served to provide them with that information. And hence that's why there was the presence of US scientists in post-war Japan examining the victims of the attacks who in the film described themselves as "guinea pigs".

And to think that some Americans believe that "Iraq should be nuked". Unbelievable! All Americans should be FORCED to watch this movie. Not that I think it'll do away with American arrogance.

[–] jason626 13 years ago

I love all the tree hugging, love and peace posts. They seem to have the world fit into a nice neat happy pie. The truth is Japan and Germany were trying to develop atomic weapons too. Japan and Germany though were not going to use it on enemy cities though. They were planning to shoot it up into the sky and have it shower the world with butterflys and have us forget there is a war going on. In the general chaos of all this they could then peacfully invade while causing no harm to the population. I mean really people, the US started the war with Japan in the first place. How dare America stop selling materials to Japan. We had it comming. Lets not forget the Chinese. What use are MILLIONS of Chinese? We could afford to lose a few million. We should thank Japan for killing so many. If only we gave them more time.

[–] bd74 13 years ago

Why are you dragging Germany into this? By the time these weapons were dropped on Japan in August 1945, Germany had already surrendered three months prior, and its leader Hitler had already committed suicide. It's funny how Americans who want to justify these attacks base their view on possibilities of things that they claim could have happened had the attacks not taken place.

But the fact is, hundreds of thousands of helpless civilians were killed in these attacks -- either instantly or due to the aftereffects. On top of that, those who survived and were severely injured/burned/maimed eventually faced ostracism from post-war Japanese society. Talk about adding insult to injury! All for just being mere victims of a terrible circumstance that was beyond their control. These people's lives were ruined by these attacks. How anyone can think that these people deserved for that to happen to them is beyond me.

[–] jason626 13 years ago

So who were the victims again? Was it the Chinese who were injured/burned/maimed/tortured/raped/murdered. Or was it the Japanese civilian who was working in the factory producing the weapons to make it happen. There are no innocent victims in war. Its just level are participation.

Then again you want to talk about justification right? If the atomic bombs were not dropped US forces would then have to be called in and do an invasion. The calculated losses were in the hundreds of thousands. Oh wait, they were on the verge of surrendering right? I love that line. Japan proved in multiple engagements that they were going to fight to the death. Oh wait the innocent civillians were left, and they would not dare fight. The Japanese high command had already issued plans of defense that was going to use the INNOCENT civillians against American troops. Oh wait, the would have surrendered. The Japanese code called upon them to fight to the death.

Before you try shove more peace and love in your next post try an answer this.

Why did Japan not surrender when we told them we were going to destroy their cities?

After the first atomic weapon was proved to the Japanese, why did they still not surrender?

Why should Japan be given mercy in war WHEN THEY SHOWED NONE to other surrendering INNOCENT civvilains and armies?

[–] indy_go_blue44 12 years ago

All I know is this. My father-in-law was in the Navy at Okinawa. He survived kamikaze attacks. He knew soldiers and marines who had fought on that island against Japanese who were not just willing but wanted to die for the Emporer. His ship was scheduled to provide support for the invasion force if/when it happened.

He said he fell to his knees and thanked God when word came of the atomic bombings and the Japanese surrender. For the first time in 2 years he knew he was going to live.

The A-bombs were tragic and horrible, no doubt. The immediate death of 120,000 Japanese, many women and children, and the lingering death of another 100,000 are diabolic. Compare this with the consequences of an American, and most likely Soviet invasion, and the movement of vast armies fighting across the Japanese cities and countryside. Look at pictures/videos of Manila, Warsaw, Berlin, cities destroyed by conventional weapons.

I'm glad I didn't live to fight this war (and thankfully none of those since.) I wish every nuclear weapon created was destroyed. I'm also thankful they were around so that WW3 was never fought.

2/3 of all US casualties in the PTO came from the fighting for the Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Japan had, effective 4/45, militarized its population; in essence (politically) every citizen was a soldier. If you want to blame anyone for the bomb, blame the Japanese government and military.

[–] DavidLanceRoten 11 years ago

I've watched the program a couple of times. I would have done what Harry Truman did, and dropped the bombs. The goal was unconditional surrender. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Their war mongering from that and everything else they did in the South Pacific gives the impression they asked for what happened, and the U.S. gave it to them. No regrets here, my Dad had just joined the Army in July 1945. No atomic bombs and who knows, maybe he's part of the later force that dies trying to take Japan conventionally....
Destroying Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the right thing to do, for reasons other than my own selfish ones...

..."Never do today what you can always do tomorrow. Gives you something to look forward to...

[–] bd74 11 years ago

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

You said it yourself: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Period. THAT was worth dropping 8 atomic bombs on Japan? It wouldn't have been just Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the USA was planning to drop 6 more nukes on Japan. Insane! The USA would've wantonly killed helpless Japanese civilians: men, women, children, and the elderly. Not to mention that thousands of Japanese-Americans were unjustly held in internment camps here in the USA.

This whole idea that the USA has some kind superiority over other countries is ridiculous when you think of the fact that the USA has never actually won a war. Both world wars were a coalition of countries fighting against other coalitions. All recent "wars" have just been glorified invasions.

[–] jason626 11 years ago

Please explain how the innocent Japanese never wanted a war. Were they warned that such devastation would happen?

Please explain the Japanese nuclear program. <----It would have be used for good?

How does internment camps have ANYTHING to do with dropping an bomb on Japan????
Most wars are coalitions by the way. The US did most of the fighting in the Pacific Theater. That's why it says in the history books as the ALLIES WON THE WAR. Oh wait, you don't read history text books, you make it up as you go along.

[–] omoxus 10 years ago

Those bombings were a test on live subjects.

Im the Alpha and the Omoxus. The Omoxus and the Omega

[–] rmontro 10 years ago

1945 was a different time, a different place. I don't think the people who dropped the atomic bombs realized exactly the scope of what they were doing. Now we have the example of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to learn from.

Forget Americans, every person period should watch this movie, from every country. If there was a theme from all of the survivors in telling their story, it was a wish that such a thing should not happen again. There are many people on the planet that could potentially set off a nuclear weapon, not just Americans.

I would hope that anyone seeing this movie would not want to see another nuclear weapon set off, but I imagine there are extremists in parts of the world that would find this type of death, destruction, and suffering inspirational.

[–] 10 years ago

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