Japanese Critics Angry About Nuclear Blast in 'Indiana Jones'
Filed under: Action, Paramount, Celebrities and Controversy, Steven Spielberg, Remakes and Sequels
A lot of us totally lost it while watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull when our hero hides inside of a refrigerator and survives government testing of a nuclear bomb. Some people went so far as to coin a new term, "nuke the fridge", which is akin to the now-well-known "jump the shark" term, only specifically for film series. It makes sense, though, that they'd be having even bigger issues with the scene over in Japan, where the movie opened mid-June. After all, the country did experience two atomic attacks at the end of WWII and probably understands the ramifications of such a blast better than any other part of the world. According to the website Japan Today, film critics Ken Terawaki and Hiroo Otaka have been the most outspoken. Otaka wrote against the use of the scene in the movie magazine Kinema Junpo, noting that the scene narratively serves no real purpose and complaining that Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) goes about his adventures unscathed. He also points out that children today -- in both Japan and the U.S. -- are unaware of the real damage caused by a nuclear blast. Other people have been expressing their disapproval on message boards, including one on the film's Japanese website. Not everyone is upset, however, and apparently some people are coming back with the "it's only a movie" retort.
Just to be accommodating, I think Steven Spielberg should include the short documentary Hiroshima Nagasaki August, 1945, which graphically shows the effects of at least an atomic bomb, as a supplement on the Japanese version of the DVD.
[via Fark.com]
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Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. Jack, the nuking of two cities full of innocent civilians was just collateral damage in your estimation? Fuck you.
Posted at 6:20PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Mike De Luca
3. No...the nuking of two cities full of innocent civilians was more agreeable than a land invasion that would cost untold more lives on both sides. The sad part about war is no one wins...you only lose less than the other guy.
Posted at 6:40PM on Aug 4th 2008 by dukrous
4. More people died during the fire bombings of the UK and Germany then died in Japan. You're also looking at the event given what we know about nuclear weapons today. You can't judge the ethics or morality of the past given modern sensibilities.
Given what we knew about nuclear weapons and their effects, given the ENORMOUS casualties (both military and civillian) a traditional war would have meant, given that Japan was the AGGRESSOR in the pacific theater, not just in attacking the United States but the attacking of her neighbors, the brutal treatment that those occupied territories were subjected to (everyone knows about what the Nazis and the Soviets did, but what the Japanese did was easily equal to anything done in Europe)... I think the Americans were justified in dropping the bombs.
And given the fact that the political and industrial leaders responsible for the war were let off by MacArthur... I really don't think the Japanese have anything to complain about.
If you want to know about the horrors of the effects of the nuclear blasts, ask the surviving Japanese and Koreans (Yes, there were Koreans living in Japan who were victims of the bombs) still living in Japan who are social outcasts and who are even abandoned by the Japanese government.
Posted at 8:49PM on Aug 4th 2008 by eugene
5. I don't think you even bothered to read my post. But that's okay. It's the internet and people usually don't get past the 3rd sentence before they make sweeping conclusions.
Posted at 9:58PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Jack
6. Tell you guys what, when Japan formerly (as in the emperor) apologizes for the occupation and attempted cultural destruction of Korea, apologizes for the forced protstitution of thousands of Korean, Chinese and Philipino women, apologizes for the plunder of countless religous and historical artifacts, when they apologize for all the war crimes, including "medical" experimentation on prisoners... when they do this, maybe I'll give a shit what the japanese think about WWII.
Posted at 6:50PM on Aug 4th 2008 by eugene
7. Exactly. The Rape of Nanking should be read by all who think they have an informed opinion about what happened in the Pacific during WWII. What the Japanese did is disgusting, horrible, perverted, and inhuman.
Posted at 8:13PM on Aug 4th 2008 by automagV
8. Go ahead and check out The Nanjing Massacre by Konda Katsuichi and A Plague Upon Humanity by Daniel Barenblatt. If you're not the reading type, check out that documentary 'Nanking' on DVD. If you're really up for a challenge, try and get a hold of 'Japanese Devils,' a Japanese-made documentary from 2001 that Japan has actively tried to muffle. Want a more cinematic flare to it all? Check out 'Devils at the Doorstep,' (it's a black comedy, YOU'LL LOVE IT)!
Let me paint it out for you. What Japan is doing now is the equivalent of Germany, as a country, publicly denying the Holocaust and the Hitler's decree for mass genocide. How would you feel if Germany erected a shrine to celebrate the bravery of Hitler? Hm? Well, Japan has a shrine celebrating their war heroes that were guilty of war crimes.
So yea, until Japan apologizes, who gives a shit what they have to say about refrigerators in Indy 4? Bringing up the monkey scene is a whole different story, though...
Posted at 10:08PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Jack
9. why do people hate the refrigerator scene do much? i love it
Posted at 7:03PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Rod
10. >>as a supplement on the Japanese version of the DVD
Riiiiiight. Because it's the Japanese that need to learn about the effects of nuclear warfare.
Posted at 7:46PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Ryan
11. Because it was totally Wily E. Coyote.
Posted at 10:05PM on Aug 4th 2008 by YouFaceTheTick
12. I see where I erred in that suggestion, though I guess I meant it because of the guy who said Japanese kids don't know the reality of nuclear bombs either.
Posted at 11:28PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Christopher Campbell
13. The Japanese are just mad that they didn't think of the refrigerator idea as a way of saving themselves.
Posted at 7:59PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Eric D. Snider
14. That's terrible and hilarious.
Posted at 9:25PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Jonathan Kuhn
15. ^ what he said ^
Posted at 10:26PM on Aug 4th 2008 by William Goss
16. I mentioned this article to my wife. She just said about the scene: "I don't blame them. That scene was insultingly stupid. They acted like a refrigerator and bath is all he'd need."
Posted at 10:05PM on Aug 4th 2008 by YouFaceTheTick
17. Yes, that's the point. The world was very cavalier about the effects of radiation back then. They had x-ray machines in shoe stores you could stick your feet in to see how the shoe fit. People would sit on rooftops and watch nuclear tests with little more than sunglasses to protect themselves.
The whole POINT of that scene was to mock how naive and preposterous our notions of the atom were back then.
Posted at 1:13AM on Aug 5th 2008 by eugene
19. i pretty much agree with the whole Japan can shut the fuck up r.e. WW2, they where the aggressors and a right savage bunch at that, heck if i was in charge back then i would've nuked the whole island back to the dark ages seeing as that was the mentality displayed by the majority of their armed forces!
different state of affairs now, afterall they give us Akira :) but, they dont get a say in matters concerning the war.
Posted at 8:22AM on Aug 5th 2008 by bongo123
20. I totally agree with the majority opinion here about the things the Japanese need to recognize and apologize for before they have a right to complain about scenes in American films involving warfare and destruction. Having said that, they do have every right to complain about how stupid the scene was in general. One of the most ridiculous scenes in a movie I've ever witnessed, I was pretty embarrassed that Speilberg would resort to that crap. What a way to ruin a franchise.
Posted at 9:17AM on Aug 5th 2008 by Kevin
1. Awesome! Maybe the Japanese could also include a documentary on the Nanking Massacre as a bonus in every film they release over there. OH WAIT! According to their diet, that never happened! Silly me!
Posted at 6:00PM on Aug 4th 2008 by Jack