Message from cseman

[Anonymous]

Just like you, after watching "Grave of the Fireflies," felt extremely grateful for being born and raised in the United States. However, I also felt shame that the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities. I was horrified and embarrassed every time I heard "the Americans" throughout the movie.

I liked your idea about purchasing the Sakuma Drops and having students try them. I found them on Amazon. However, at some point during the movie, I think students would feel guilty eating them while watching the film. I know that I would start sobbing in wanting to give some drops to Setsuko. I plan to give it to them after seeing the film. Definitely a tearjerker. In the end, the scene that made an impact on me was when Seita was being released from jail after stealing food from the farmer and saw Setsuko. I can't even imagine such a young boy and little girl going through what they went through in the story. I did some research and learned that the story is based on the autobiography of Akiyuki Nosaka as mentioned by ladams (see comment below) and that one of his sisters died of illness and another sister died of malnutrition during the war. I also purchased his book The Whale that Fell in Love with a Submarine. I purchased this book on Amazon as well. Since I teach 2nd grade, I used it by teaching my students an introduction to war. Unfortunately, I will not be showing them the movie as I feel it's not age appropriate.
edited by cseman on 5/16/2016
edited by cseman on 5/16/2016