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The movie Black Rain, presented in class, portrayed the sufferings of some of the people who had to deal with the effects of radiation sickness they acquired by being in the city of Hiroshima when an atomic bomb was dropped on the city by America in World War II. The main characters were Shigematsu Shizuka, a man who was working in a factory in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped, his wife Shigeko, and their niece Yasuko. Both Shigematsu and his wife were in the city when the bomb was dropped, but Yasuko was approaching the city by boat and was rained on by the black rain, which was caused by the dropping of the bomb. All three spent a great deal of time in the city, though, where they sought refuge in the factory that Shigematsu was working in. The movie deals with the human suffering that is caused by the aftereffects of the bomb on these three people and their friends who were also in the city during the time of the atomic bomb dropping. Yasuko is not able to find a proper husband because all suitors are turned away by a rumor that she is suffering from radiation sickness and was actually inside the city at the time the bomb was dropped. Yasuko actually was not in the city when the bomb is dropped, but in the later stages of the movie she falls victim to the effects of serious radiation poisoning. Shigeko and the family’s friends also fall victim to the radiation sickness and in the end of the movie the only one left alive and healthy is Shigematsu. This movie represents the power of human suffering that was caused by the war in general, and by the atomic bomb for the case of Shigematsu, Yasuko and Shigeko.
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