Japanese dislike Barefoot Gen because its critical of the Japanese government, which more or less insists it did nothing wrong. Americans dislike Barefoot Gen, not because they feel anything for the characters, but the implication that they are in fact guilty makes them extremely uncomfortable. When you fear for your life, you call the police. You intuitively turn to the government and, in that moment, you feel they will sort it all out, that they know what they are doing, and things will be ok. Similarly, people now get their moral values from the state. This habit of finding comfort in authority is what Takahata was trying to criticize in Graveyard of the Fireflies. We even get our moral values from the government. “I am not breaking any laws” is a phrase we hear may times its meaning is simple: I am not violating the laws of the king, so you can’t disagree with me or criticize my actions. Barefoot Gen tells us this authority we seek comfort in, this coddling mommy figure, is actually psychopathic and utterly uncaring. Humans are nothing but statistics and commodities that can be sacrificed or murdered to further national ambitions. It is like this horrible Goya painting of a god eating his own son. Barefoot Gen is essential viewing because it points out this out. But there is a stronger moral message about overcoming suffering and growing stronger. Real strength is moral courage. Since the 2000s, young people have not shown this strength and the world has slowly drifted towards tragedy.
>>3726I watched it and yeah I think the first film is a great classic. The second I respect too but it gets a bit suffocating. They were adapted by pretty good directors, Mori Masaki and Toshio Hirata respectively, and I guess this is Masaki's best work.
I don't really watch the streams.