"White Light/Black Rain" on HBO tonight

On the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, HBO presents a look at the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Japan. I know there's a separate topic on the events themselves, but I thought it would be good to have a thread about the program. I suspect some might see that other thread and avoid it based on certain clues or a quick glance.

I'm curious to see this program, despite my friend's insistence that any "sympathy" for the Japanese equates to being "soft." He has no interest in hearing about Iraqi civilians who've suffered because of the war, and he's even more adamant that this HBO special is misguided. I fear we have many people in our country who think that way, and I wonder why they can't be more open-minded. I have no reason to think the show will be "biased."

Anyway, anyone else interested in this HBO special?

 

This is the first I've heard of it. It sounds interesting.

 

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/45282/

Johnny, this ties in with the anniversary.

 

When that other thread gets locked, I hope this one remains civil and functioning.

 

Jesus Christ.
It's like watching a blind dog try to fetch a stick.

 

I just laughed louder than I have in weeks.

 

This is powerful. Anybody watching?

 

heartbreaking. :'( :'( :'(

 

I found it very moving - particularly the one woman who'd lost her mother and her sister. I liked her figuration on "two kinds of courage." While a lot of the post-blast American footage was familiar, there was quite a bit of Japanese archival stuff that I'd never seen before.

 

You guys aren't talking about the Michael Douglas movie. Makes more sense now. The part where the guy cut off his own finger, that was heartbreaking, in a way.

 

I'm sure the thread was confusing at first, considering "White Light/Black Rain" and "Black Rain" are indistinguishable to the untrained eye, and the first post was painfully vague about the subject matter.

Oh, wait, I get it. You were being funny, in a way.

I agree with jgmacg. It was very moving.