Post by Hiba Rashid on Nov 11, 2015 4:14:01 GMT
For me, “Barefoot Gen” is an emotion provoking manga that allowed me to walk through the experiences of a normal Japanese family living through World World II. I like that it does not go straight to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and first brings to life the world that real, actual people lived in. It then depicts how their world falls apart with the progression of war. Gen’s family is just one of hundreds of thousands that experienced this.
I found the anti-war sentiment in this manga to be interesting, especially as portrayed through Gen’s father. Mr. Nakaoka repeatedly blames the leaders of the military dictatorship. These were the few wealthy who ate proper meals and lived comfortable lives every day, while the rest of Japan spent its blood, sweat and tears in the war effort. It was their war against the leaders of other countries, but they brainwashed and used civilians to fight their war for them, in the name of the Emperor. Even children like shown in Gen’s school were forced to believe that Japan was fighting a honorable war and that “people in other countries are worthless, that they’re demons” (pg. 73). That is why young men even volunteered to “honorably” give up their lives in war. Mr. Kumoi, the kamikaze pilot that Koji meets, brings up that “it’s young guys like us who die first... Why do the old geezers who started the war and give all the orders get to live longer than us?” (pg. 148). Like other wars in history, WWII was not a war between civilians, it was a war of the rich and old. But, the youth, the poor, the commoners were the ones forced to be the machines of war -- at home and the war front. Considering this, I question why some hold a grudge against common Japanese people for the horrors orchestrated by the wealthy and old. The Japanese government of that time is the one at blame. The commoners suffered and were victims to the abuse of the power by those at the top. Their homes, family members, dignity (ex: Eiko stripped naked by her teachers), basic necessities and human rights were taken away.
Reading about wartime Japan through a comic like "Barefoot Gen" is definitely a different experience from reading a novel. Most literary elements like imagery are substituted with actual drawings and this makes the dialogue much more simplistic than that found in a novel. This helped me to complete the entire story much quicker than a novel and stay engaged with the characters. Instead of having to read detailed descriptions, a face is given to each character and we can see how that face changes with different emotions and experiences. The drawings speak for themselves and do not have to explained in words, like when people's skin is shown melting off their bodies from the immense heat of the atomic bomb. We not only get inside the author's mind and thoughts, but also see the world as perceived through his eyes -- we walk with him past the screams of dying people. In addition to this manga, I recommend the 1983 "Barefoot Gen" animated film.
Discussion Questions:
(1) What is the significance of including Mr. Pak, their Korean neighbor, in the plot?
(2) If you have seen them, how would you compare “Barefoot Gen” to other animated wartime stories like Studio Ghibli’s “Grave of the Fireflies”?
I found the anti-war sentiment in this manga to be interesting, especially as portrayed through Gen’s father. Mr. Nakaoka repeatedly blames the leaders of the military dictatorship. These were the few wealthy who ate proper meals and lived comfortable lives every day, while the rest of Japan spent its blood, sweat and tears in the war effort. It was their war against the leaders of other countries, but they brainwashed and used civilians to fight their war for them, in the name of the Emperor. Even children like shown in Gen’s school were forced to believe that Japan was fighting a honorable war and that “people in other countries are worthless, that they’re demons” (pg. 73). That is why young men even volunteered to “honorably” give up their lives in war. Mr. Kumoi, the kamikaze pilot that Koji meets, brings up that “it’s young guys like us who die first... Why do the old geezers who started the war and give all the orders get to live longer than us?” (pg. 148). Like other wars in history, WWII was not a war between civilians, it was a war of the rich and old. But, the youth, the poor, the commoners were the ones forced to be the machines of war -- at home and the war front. Considering this, I question why some hold a grudge against common Japanese people for the horrors orchestrated by the wealthy and old. The Japanese government of that time is the one at blame. The commoners suffered and were victims to the abuse of the power by those at the top. Their homes, family members, dignity (ex: Eiko stripped naked by her teachers), basic necessities and human rights were taken away.
Reading about wartime Japan through a comic like "Barefoot Gen" is definitely a different experience from reading a novel. Most literary elements like imagery are substituted with actual drawings and this makes the dialogue much more simplistic than that found in a novel. This helped me to complete the entire story much quicker than a novel and stay engaged with the characters. Instead of having to read detailed descriptions, a face is given to each character and we can see how that face changes with different emotions and experiences. The drawings speak for themselves and do not have to explained in words, like when people's skin is shown melting off their bodies from the immense heat of the atomic bomb. We not only get inside the author's mind and thoughts, but also see the world as perceived through his eyes -- we walk with him past the screams of dying people. In addition to this manga, I recommend the 1983 "Barefoot Gen" animated film.
Discussion Questions:
(1) What is the significance of including Mr. Pak, their Korean neighbor, in the plot?
(2) If you have seen them, how would you compare “Barefoot Gen” to other animated wartime stories like Studio Ghibli’s “Grave of the Fireflies”?