The Atomic Bombings of Japan

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The Atomic Bombings of Japan

Question 3:

In my answer, I plan to evaluate the reliability of Source K, which is a film. I will have to look at why it was made, who made it, the date of the film, and its tone. This answer will show the strengths and weaknesses of the films content through this I will determine if the source is biased or not and how it can be trusted.

Source K is a British production made by the BBC in 1995. It was part of a series called “Fallout” and it focused on the Atom Bomb and its effects. The fact that the source is a British production made in 1995 after the Cold war had ended; it has no reason to be biased.

Source K was made at the end of the Cold War and reviewed the second half of the 20th century. The video focused on the experiences of the people who were affected by the bomb and the people who worked with nuclear arms and nuclear power. The video considered different perspectives and opinions from the Russians, Americans, Japanese and Americans.

This film also showed primary footage of the Cold War between 1950-1980 that was suppressed by the government and not shown up until 40 years later. The information that was given was one sided and reassured the American people. The films that were suppressed by the government, if released would have made people sympathetic to the victims.

The USA government controlled what people saw and what people were told about the bomb, and this affected the reliability of the source as the government did not show the whole picture and many films were not shown. By interviewing people in 1995 and then being shown footage from the time of the Atom Bomb we can see how opinions have changed over time. An example of this is Sheldon Johnson who at the time had a very positive opinion on the Atom bomb demonstrations. In 1995 his opinion had changed vastly, he blames the nuclear fallout for his baby being born with Down syndrome.

This source is based on people’s personal human experiences. Source K is made up of primary, visual material to show the different reactions to the Atom Bomb. This source is set during the Cold War; the majority of the videos shown were made by the government, so we can’t expect what is shown to be fair to both sides. The Americans and Russians despised each other but never went to war.

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Both countries’ attitudes to the Cold War were polarised. The President of the USA called the Russians “The enemy of freedom”. These sources can be biased but are useful as primary sources; they give you insights into how people thought at the time and how countries felt about each other. Sources were purposely suppressed to stop people seeing the other viewpoint. The effects of the victims of the Hiroshima bombing are an example of this. Sometimes films were deliberately made to let everyone see it, e.g. a reconstructed film of the founding of plutonium. Actors and actresses were used in ...

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