WEEK 7: Barefoot Gen Response

Today I experienced the animated film Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa. This heart wrenching film handled dark subject matter that had me hanging on to each moment in the film, just looking for a glimpse of hope. In the telling of this traumatic event, we most often times don't see another side or perspective of the story. Through the choice of animation, we see the power that this medium truly holds. I observed that you can tell a powerful story through any medium. Seeing the story through animation allow us to watch this horrific journey while still having a distant perspective. I feel it would have been impossible to show if this were a live action film.

This anime style connects us greatly to the innocent little boy and puts the viewer in his shoes. While knowing that the writer used this film to combat his real life struggles of the event, I feel he is also preserving a piece of history and presenting the audience with different perspective of the a raw, heartbreaking, truth of Hiroshima.

-Abigail