Grave of the Fireflies, Movie Review Example

Before I watched Grave of the Fireflies, I believed that war can be justified in certain circumstances. But the movie totally changed my perspectives and turned me into an absolute pacifist. The movie chronicles the story of two siblings, a young boy named Seita and his young sister, Setsuke (IMDB). The struggles of Seita and Setsuke forced me to think about aspects of war I didn’t consider before. The movie taught me that the only ones who suffer in war are people while those in the government and military leadership rarely pay any price. I also learnt that governments often use propaganda to emotionally influence their subjects and garner support through appeal to patriotism. It is apparent when Seita has a hard time believing the fact that Japan had surrendered because they all had been preached to never give up for the sake of the country. This movie made me realized that nationalism is dangerous because it is a tool that is often employed by the governments to garner support for even unjust ambitions.

Citizenship to me means the embrace of ideals and principles for which the country stands and to place loyalty to it before anything else including religion. But loyalty to the country doesn’t mean loyalty to the government but instead loyalty means to always think about the best interests of the country. One can be born in any country and no one has any control over where they are born but one does have control over the principles and values they adopt. Citizenship should allow citizens to dissent with the government though in a peaceful manner and without breaking the laws for as long as the laws are just. But even when one struggles against unjust laws, he/she should exercise his/her free speech right in a peaceful manner. A country is not defined by land but by the people and they system they build. My national background has allowed me to experience life in both U.S. and Jamaica and I have learnt that a country is always about the people first and then anything else. Instead of birth place, an individual’s loyalty to the country should be given more value.