Released in 1988, Grave of the Fireflies is the story of Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, who lost their mother and father through different events of World War II. As a result they are forced to try to survive, any way they can, though their efforts are finally lost when Setsuko dies of malnutrition, and Seita dies not long after. It’s based on a semi-autobiographic book by the same name, whose author lost his sister due to malnutrition in 1945 during the war. The main value shown throughout the film is the endorsement of family, illustrated through the ever-growing relationship of Seita and Setsuko. The film provides an insight into Japanese culture, by showing the battle between those who subvert traditional roles in families and community, and those who fight to maintain them, such as Seitas aunty. There is also the question of moral ambiguity.
In the film, family is viewed as the most crucial relationship people could have, as it provided necessities such as love, support and survival in body and spirit in a time of crisis. One could not survive during the war without the support of others, and the bonds between family members were very strong. Traditionally, Japan emphasised lineal and instrumental ties within a family, rather then emotional, which explains Seita taking complete responsibility for Setsuko. But the movie also pulls on the heart strings, showing the growing relationship between Seita and Setsuko, and how much they love each other. The dying words of Setsuko: “Seita. Thank you”, shows just how strong their connection is, and their love for one another, in those simple words.
The value of certain traditional roles in family and society, in the film, are undermined during the time of crisis. We see the desire to maintain traditional roles. However, these roles become irrelevant during times of crisis and others must step up to fill the holes. Examples throughout the film are things like some of the first scenes, when, after an air raid, the injured are taken to the school, which is set up as a hospital. Education is moved aside, to deal with more important things. Also, when Seita asks the farmer if he could sell him some of his food. The farmer, traditionally one of the main providers of food for the community, can’t even afford to give food to two children. He barely has enough for himself.
WWII Japan had high hopes for a new country, but soon, their greed and misfortune lead them down a path of grief and despair. This is when Japan falls apart. The movie Grave of the Fireflies is accurate due to the depiction of the degrading society, wartime strategy, and conflict between U.S. and Japan. Seita and Setsuko, brother and sister, live through the difficult times, witnessing how their once caring community turned into an “every man for himself” scenario. They also suffer from the countries attempt on continuing to fight in the lost war and giving rations from their decreasing food supply. As well as inside threats, the terror of U.S. fire bombings was constant and had brutal effects on Japan.
Monday morning, Sally, a twelve-year-old American girl, is woken up by her father. As she gets ready to go to school, her mother hands her a backpack and lunch with a quick kiss goodbye. Meanwhile, Zarina, a twelve-year-old Sierra Leone girl, wakes herself up to get ready for work. Her aunt says good morning as they both head from their home to the cassava fields. Both of these girls have a traditional family setting. In America children in a traditional family grow up with both biological parents and any siblings they have. In Sierra Leone, the setting for both The Bite of the Mango and A Long Way Gone, children of traditional families live with aunts and uncles as well as many children from different parents. These different views of what is traditional create uniqe children in many ways. Children who grow up in Sierra Leone are more self-reliant than American children.
ideologies of the women 's roles in society because it represents a typical housewife. On the
While their health falls partially on what they do extracurricularly, a majority of the responsibility falls on their family situation. In Barbie’s situation, she is an only mother of two working one job. Tremonica lives alone with only her mother. Rosie has the most complex family with seven members living in one trailer (yet only two are shown.) So what bonds these three stories together? They are all lacking some sort of patriarch (as far as the viewer is shown) and they are all living in “food deserts.” These areas are “parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers” (American Nutrition Association [ANA], 2015). Food deserts seem to be the key issue here. Almost every child in Tremonica’s class has never seen a honeydew. If the family can barely afford food, moving to a place that is plentiful in food will never cross their minds. So what do the social paradigms say about social problems involving family? To start, functionalism believes that family is the root of one’s stability. Family can be seen as the anchor to a person’s balance in society. Men are seen as the provider for the household, while the women are the masters of the abode. If there is no two parent household (such as Barbie), there is no balance. If Barbie has to be
There is no doubt that wealth and love is a luxury not everyone is able to afford and this can create a tremendous advantage for those fortunate enough to have both. People are intrinsically eager and hungry for affluence or love and they will stop at no point until their satisfaction is fully achieved. This story unravels the importance of family and camaraderie because when there is no supply of money, friendship is all one has left in times of war and this bond will ultimately have a greater effect on an individual than any materialistic luxury good. Through Fukunaga 's story, I learned that love within a family creates feelings that can never be obtained through money alone and even though the rich seem to have more power than the poor, it will be those that live a struggling life, who prevail in the
...spair at the mortal separation between a parent and child, especially at the loss of the child. In this manner, Sumidagawa’s lack of literary tie-in serves its own purpose.
...ns that when these characters die in the film we feel a heavier and more personal sense of loss when they perish. This is a direct attempt to make the viewer understand the personal nature of the violent manner through which Shoshanna lost her parents early in the film. This is an attempt to get viewers see through the Jewish lens of violence in World War II instead of the glorified violence of major battles that composes the American lens.
Napier, Susan. “No More Words: Barefoot Gen, Grave of the Fireflies, and ‘Victim’s History.’” In Napier, Anime, pp. 161-173.
...herefore the choice we make as individuals, such as how we spend our earnings, etc. creates the class society place us in. We all desire to keep our family members safe, protected, educated, healthy and happy. The decrease in income may suggest other family members to interrupt their education and seek employment. Income decrease may also separate your family unity, because adjusting to change for some people is unthinkable. If small mid age children are in the family, this may cause them to commit crimes due to materialistic desires. Overall poverty may exist, and there is help for people, but people are in control to their destiny.
For instance, the family decline perspective basically say how the culture and moral of the family is breaking down or weak (Newman and Grauerholz, 2002, p. 20). The culture of family has not decline because of caregivers being employed. MacDonald did a great job illustrating that a woman can actually have it all even if it requires help. In addition, this family decline perspective promotes this atmosphere how women are not as value as men when it comes to the public sphere and private sphere of the family. For instance, why did not the public feel like the father neglected this duties to protect the family through any endangerment. Many in society have this ideology of a separate sphere, that oppresses women. The separate sphere is surrounded around this notion that a woman place in society is in the private sphere which can be referred as the home ( Newman and Grauerholz, 2002, p.284). While the man is able to explore in the public sphere which is anywhere outside the home. In order to be a “good mother”, a woman should make sure that she is taking care of the home and responsibility for her maternal duties. However, that notion of women being located in this private sphere has changed because McDonald has reported that “seventy percent of all mothers in the United States work outside the home” (MacDonald, 2010, p.1). There, only thirty percent of mothers are staying at home. However, that goes with the notion that if a woman can afford to stay home that she should. According to MacDonald’s, she conceptualizes women that work as a “Volvo- Class”, “Women who presumably were married to high earning husbands and also presumably could afford to stay home”. These women that might be apart of the Volvo-class are assume to stay home and raise their children instead of hiring a caregiver. However, women who are not apart of the Volvo-class that collect government checks are not allowed
Having a good income liberates some extra stress from people’s lives. In the film, the narrator compares people with different income status, the narrator interviews these two different families in order to observe how income can influence people’s health. According to the narrator, “In some areas, people die twice, and five, even ten years sooner than in others. Cancer and heart disease are almost twice the rate in some areas as in others.” (Page 2) Unnatural Cause-the narrator observes two districts in Louisiana; one area is populated of low income working class, and the other one the contrary. The narrator is interviewing Jim Taylor a sixty year old man who is CEO of a hospital. During the interview Taylor opinions about the benefits of living in a community of effluents. Such as, having less stress, being able to exercise without being afraid of being assaulted. In contrast, to a person who lives in working class community is harder to have a healthy lifestyle because of the lack of time, security and desires. Pertaining to desire, working class people have to work long hours in factory to earn at least 20,000.00 per year, so they end their days extremely tired. Furthermore, wealthy peoples can afford a better quality of nutrition. Thus, people with a low income prefer to buy foods according to the quantity instead of quality. In fact, social stress is the more common
The centre of economy and the focus of many lives, the power of money is punctuated by the difference in wealth in Bhima and Sera’s lives in The Space Between Us. The importance of money is stressed in A Thousand Splendid Suns with the contrast between Mariam’s father’s prosperity and her mother’s poverty and the difference in Laila and Mariam’s lives before and after war. Centred on the newly abolished caste system, the distinction between Bhima and Sera’s financial situations underlines the difference money makes in their society. While Bhima is forced to live in a slum, Sera enjoys the luxury of her home and the employment of Bhima. Another luxury Bhima can’t afford is to welcome Maya’s baby. Instead she is forced to watch her granddaughter suffer from the emotional effects of an abortion. While Sera eagerly awaits the birth of her own grandchild she is the one who financially facilitates the abortion of Bhima’s great-grandchild. Furthermore, because of the pre-existing social constraints of the caste system, Bhima is not permitted to sit on the same furniture or use the same dishes as Sera. Similarly, Mariam’s life is also restricted by her mother’s pove...
will soon turn into a leader of savages. On the mountain, Jack hunts but does
Poverty on social conditions affects everyone in every part of the world, no matter if they are rich or poor. First of all, everyone is divided into some sort of social class. The most known classes are the economic classes- the lower class, the middle class, and the higher class. The lower class goes through arduous labor all day and night to earn decent amounts of money to provide for themselves and their families. Most likely, they are the only source of income for the entire family. The higher class works hard to keep up or raise their high social status. They also work hard so they don’t loss their social rank, which permits them to hold a higher power over the middle and lower classes. Similarities of decisions made by characters in these two literary works will analyzed to understand the meaning behind the actions and influences of the social classes on each other.
...e dysfunctional families we are all familiar with -- the overcrowded, meddling, abusive, alcoholic, substance controlled individuals that can make family life miserable and destroy the self esteem of the children they control. These families become encapsulated unable to function within the norm of the general population. Their children face the same trouble dealing with peers and finding their place in the world – because they haven’t been given the tools with which to work out their problems within their own family much less the rest of the world. In essence, it does take a village to raise a child – but it also helps if all of the tribe members have the child’s best interest at heart.