Fog of War for WWII

[Anonymous]

Elopez I love the Fog of War. As citizens we often ask ourselves, what were they thinking? And this film gives us some insight into what they were thinking. I like the fact you bring up the issue of proportionality. When is enough enough. The Japanese surprised attacked Pearl Harbor and used suicide as a form of warfare during World War II, so we fire bomb them and use an unspeakable weapon, an atomic bomb to even the score. Are we even? Is that the purpose of war? The Fog of War is about another war in Asia, Vietnam and watching McNamara apologize for the Vietnam War is a priceless since we rarely hear leaders apologize for anything they do wrong.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

When Covarrubias referenced Fog of War when speaking about the war in the pacific it reminded me of how I have used the same film in my class. In U.S. History, when I teach WWII I bring into the classroom lots of media. Students are familiar with films such as Saving Private Ryan, Schlinder’s List, and Pearl Harbor. The documentary that is unfamiliar is Fog of War. When looking at the U.S. role in the Pacific there is no better documentary. Robert McNamara goes into intensive details on firebombing and the extent to which the US had devastated most Japanese cities prior to the dropping of the A-bomb. The film also gives students a new perspective on the question of proportionality, how many people should you kill to win a war or should there be no limit until one side is “victorious”?. These questions are usually not mentioned/asked in the history textbook. I highly recommend Fog of War and you can stream it on YouTube.

[Anonymous]

I love the Fog of War and think it is a critical movie for students to see. I did not see it until college and I feel I was cheated in high school for not seeing it, so good for you for using it! A friend of mine was just in Japan helping out the red cross for the aftermaths of the earthquake (almost a full 9 months later), and she said they celebrate December 7th as a holiday. Does anyone have any idea why? I found that very interesting, as they set off fire works at night...

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