hidden stories
Sophie, Quincy & Luke
Embedded Files
Censorship
/ˈsɛnsəʃɪp/
The act of constraining certain information being delivered to the public in the forms of speech, public communication, or other ways. Censorship is usually done to material considered 'offensive, untrue or exaggerated '.
Focusing on the Hiroshima incident, there were countless stories and experiences that were covered up and censored for hibakusha. We cannot display everything that had been hidden, but we will try our best to convey hibakusha thoughts and perspectives as any human being should have this right.
Is there a Hidden Side?
Censorship on hibakusha/survivor stories and reports
Our group looked at survivor story excerpts including what the hibakusha considered as a haunting nightmare, but in reality were cruelly hidden away by the American government, and even with the support of the Japanese government. The hibakusha suffered horribly but were strictly prevented from sharing their stories. After the bomb was dropped, the Japanese government was more concerned about losing the will of the Japanese people to continue fighting the war, therefore hibakusha stories were not printed. In fact, it became a taboo subject as hibakusha experienced social isolation and financial hardship during the same time. It was almost as if the world tried to shape them as the ones that were at fault for experiencing this tragedy.
Why didn't the Japanese government lend a helping hand to the hibakusha? Why did they make the hibakusha feel like they were the ones that were at fault? Why, when it only came to censorship did all opponents work together to establish something evil?
We hope that through viewing our project, you can process a new attitude and prospect regarding the impacts of censorship and how unfair the world was at that time. We wish you to have the motive to ask: “What is the hidden side?" It is up to our generation to reveal these buried truths and have them no longer be concealed.
In our project, we decided to create a fictional story that took place during these events in order to combine the horror hibakusha experienced and the despair of them not being able to have freedom of speech. We added storyline and background sound effects to make the soundscape more realistic.
Soundscape & Poetry
Our final project combines a narration of poetry and soundscape focusing on what took place on the day of the bombing, and the after story of people seeking help but was harshly rejected.
The soundscape works as a way of having the audience understand and emphasize the impact and despair censorship brings. We brought the emotions of the hibakusha and what they've gone through on that disastrous day through the form of a recorded audio regarding the poetry.
"After the _______________" -Censored
3 little boys went out the door,
Dressed from head to toe in uniform.
First day of school, there was much to explore,
They were so delighted, ever more than before.
Out the door they go,
It would be a happy day, they know.
And then,
As _______ came,
Bright _______,
There _______.
They saw a bulb _______,
The light ______ it should have _______.
They heard _______,
In the wind _______,
Their _______ could no longer _______.
They heard _______,
More ______________ came.
They witnessed many people ___,
_____ their friends _______.
___ little boys _______,
_______ started walking ____________.
20 years later _ men sat,
Reflecting on the _______ memories ______.
_________________,
They would no longer _______.
_______ newspaper ___ journals,
The ___ men __________,
_____ radio ___ commercials,
They found themselves _________.
_______________,
Their ___________ project.
No matter how _________ they were _______,
_____________________.
_______ the world
worked together __________.
____________________
_______ their __________ glory
_____________ country
________________ their own voices.
This was how the world was;
__________________________________
_________ they walked out the door.
~ Luke, Sophie, and Quincy
"After the Bulb Burned Out"
3 little boys went out the door,
Dressed from head to toe in uniform.
First day of school, there was much to explore,
They were so delighted, ever more than before.
Out the door they go,
It would be a happy day, they know.
And then,
As fast as it came,
Bright as it was,
There was a flash.
They saw a bulb floating down,
The light so bright it should have burned out.
They heard the deafening roar,
In the wind more debris soared,
Their tears could no longer hold anymore.
They heard the wrath of flames,
More frightened screams then came.
They witnessed many people fall,
One of their friends was amongst them all.
2 little boys stood amongst devastation,
Then started walking with slight hesitation.
20 years later 2 men sat,
Reflecting on the scarring memories they had.
At that moment they decided,
They would no longer be misguided.
From newspaper to journals,
The two men tried reaching out,
From radio to commercials,
They found themselves working in circles.
No matter how hard they tried,
Their voice would not project.
No matter how desperate they were on the inside,
Their stories were always wrecked.
It was as if the world
worked together to ban their stories.
It was as if their opponent
worked to justify their undeserved glory
It was as if their own country
All worked together to bury their own voices.
This was how the world was;
But the 3 little boys were never
the same as before they walked out the door.
~ Luke, Sophie, and Quincy
References
References
Brodie, J. (2015). Radiation secrecy and censorship after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Journal Of Social History, 48(4), 842-864. doi: 10.1093/jsh/shu150
Heath, C. (1992). The children of atomic bomb survivors: A genetic study. JAMA: The Journal Of The American Medical Association, 268(5), 661. doi: 10.1001/jama.1992.03490050109039
Hibakusha - Wikipedia. (2021). Retrieved 10 April 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibakusha#:~:text=Hibakusha%20and%20their%20children%20were,be%20hereditary%20or%20even%20contagious
Hook, G. D. (2021). Censorship and reportage of atomic damage and casualties in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Retrieved 10 April 2021, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14672715.1991.10413159
Naono, A. (2021). The origins of ‘hibakusha’ as a scientific and political classification of the survivor. Japanese Studies. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10371397.2019.1654854
Shintomi, T. (2015). Nagasaki hibakusha recalls struggle to dodge discrimination. Japan Times. Retrieved 10 April 2021, from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/16/national/nagasaki-hibakusha-recalls-struggle-to-dodge-discrimination/
Sink, B. (2021). Who are the hibakusha? | Hibakusha Stories. Hibakusha Stories. Retrieved 10 April 2021, from https://hibakushastories.org/who-are-the-hibakusha/
Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2021). Atomic Heritage. Retrieved 10 April 2021, from https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/survivors-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
The little-known history of secrecy and censorship in wake of atomic bombings (2015). The Conversation. Retrieved 10 April 2021, from https://theconversation.com/the-little-known-history-of-secrecy-and-censorship-in-wake-of-atomic-bombings-45213
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