COMICS JOURNAL 02: Barefoot Gen
Title: Barefoot Gen: A cartoon story of Hiroshima
Author: Keiji Nakazawa
Nakazawa experienced the atomic bomb explosion at 8:15am on Aug 6, 1945 when he was six years old. His father, sister and brother died that morning when Little Boy were dropped on top of Hiroshima. The collapsed wall next to Nakazawa protected him from the rays so that he was not hurt or burnt. However, others who were not under the shade were burnt and their skins were melting. His pregnant mother watched her husband and two kids burnt to death and then gave birth on the roadside.
He illustrated the tragic event and his trauma through the comics Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen). Gen is the protagonist representing him. The screen that Gen's mother holding the new born baby up, facing the fire, telling the baby to remember "this is war", and instructing the baby girl never let this happen again when she grow up, reminds us not only how cruel the war is, but also how unexpected violent things can happen in our lives pushing us to either fight against them or surender.
The war in the comics is like some unexpected violent winds and waves happening in our lives. We must stay strong in the waves every time they hit us. Violent winds and waves may happen unannounced, we must stay strong as Gen and his mother and fight against it when them reached us. His mother once lost sense and just wanted to die together with her husband and her kids instead of watching them dying helplessly. The tragic situation stopped her from thinking about Gen, the unborn child, or her own safety. The only thing that she wanted to do is saving her husband and two kids even the situation told her that it is impossible.
Some people give up easily even if the task can be achieved after putting more efforts on it. There are also people like Gen's mother who never give up the task even if it is obvious that it can never be achieved. I remember there is a quote similar to this: "if it is not working, do something else." Giving up is easy and insist to do something until success is hard. The "do something else" is not asking us to give up but reminds us that we have options and there are lots of ways to address the issues. No one wants to loose any of her family members but she should be aware that she still have two kids, Gen and the unborn child, would be died if she do not run. It is lucky that a neighbor passed by and brought her away so that her family was not a total loss. Sometimes when we stuck in a hard situation, asking for external help or letting others to help us is not a bad thing. The neighbor in this story is like the external help that pulling us away from the trouble center so that we can see the situation from a farther angle and learn to let go of the impossible tasks but invent new ways to our lives.
After experience the tragic event, it is better to avoid the same mistake again. So, remember what hurts us, learn from the failure, let go of the bad memories and negative emotions, then never let it happen again.
Author: Keiji Nakazawa
Remember this, my little one. This is war. ... When you grow up, you must never, ever let this happen again!
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Barefoot Gen: A cartoon story of Hiroshima
Keiji Nakazawa
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He illustrated the tragic event and his trauma through the comics Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen). Gen is the protagonist representing him. The screen that Gen's mother holding the new born baby up, facing the fire, telling the baby to remember "this is war", and instructing the baby girl never let this happen again when she grow up, reminds us not only how cruel the war is, but also how unexpected violent things can happen in our lives pushing us to either fight against them or surender.
The war in the comics is like some unexpected violent winds and waves happening in our lives. We must stay strong in the waves every time they hit us. Violent winds and waves may happen unannounced, we must stay strong as Gen and his mother and fight against it when them reached us. His mother once lost sense and just wanted to die together with her husband and her kids instead of watching them dying helplessly. The tragic situation stopped her from thinking about Gen, the unborn child, or her own safety. The only thing that she wanted to do is saving her husband and two kids even the situation told her that it is impossible.
Some people give up easily even if the task can be achieved after putting more efforts on it. There are also people like Gen's mother who never give up the task even if it is obvious that it can never be achieved. I remember there is a quote similar to this: "if it is not working, do something else." Giving up is easy and insist to do something until success is hard. The "do something else" is not asking us to give up but reminds us that we have options and there are lots of ways to address the issues. No one wants to loose any of her family members but she should be aware that she still have two kids, Gen and the unborn child, would be died if she do not run. It is lucky that a neighbor passed by and brought her away so that her family was not a total loss. Sometimes when we stuck in a hard situation, asking for external help or letting others to help us is not a bad thing. The neighbor in this story is like the external help that pulling us away from the trouble center so that we can see the situation from a farther angle and learn to let go of the impossible tasks but invent new ways to our lives.
After experience the tragic event, it is better to avoid the same mistake again. So, remember what hurts us, learn from the failure, let go of the bad memories and negative emotions, then never let it happen again.
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