Grave of the Fireflies

The Grave of the Fireflies occurs during World War II. Specifically in the times of the air raids that occurred at the time. It is about a boy name Seita and Setsuko who lose their mother to the fire bombings and air raids.  The orphaned children are then sent to a long distant aunts house who take them under her care. What had been a warm welcoming by their aunt soon turned into a regretful and unwelcome guest to her household.Seita then makes a choice to live on their own in an abandoned shack. O n their own these children face hard realities of starvation, prejudice and total warfare. 

The story starts off with the death of Seita and during the film you see him when he was alive with his younger sister. The film shows the conditions of the war and how it had affected Japan. I had expected to see a united country to help other in the time of war; however I was wrong. 

During the American bomb raids many Japanese were left homeless and other who were killed. Another factor of the war was Japan's rations were low. In this story you hear of orphan's dying of starvation and hunger. Sieta and Setsok's mother had died on the bomb aid fires and their father who was in the navy had also perished. In this time in Japan Japanese did not care for the welfare of others all they though about was the household needs. They aunt had preached about doing work for the nation for sacrificing oneself for the nation. 

The mentality of Japan at the time was to endure fore the nation but what I really though was that nation should have been taking care of its people. Children were dying of starvation, people were dying right and left and during this time the government had not aided their citizens. What little resources that were left for families of soldiers who were affected by the war had been put on the black market. So families who relied on the help of the government and been put in a even more devastating position. 

When I contrast how Japan treated each other to America at the time of the Great Depression I realized Americans had fared off better. At the time of the great depression when work and food was scarce soup kitchens and bread lines had been created. Eventually relief had been granted by the government. In the time of need American's were able to rise and help the lest unfortunate unlike Japan you though in a more selfish manner. 

This movie had been made for a Japanese audience. What made this imagery powerful was the total lack of blame on the American's bomb raids during the war. It made me realize the film was directed to a Japanese audience as a reflection. To realize they way they treated each other in the was past not the right thing to do. Just because this movie was made for a Japanese audience we can still learn the moral of the movie an to make sure and realize that helping one another even during hard times is the righteous thing to do.