Structural Violence and Social Ignorance in Grave of the Fireflies

Abstract

This study discusses structural violence and social ignorance in Isao Takahata's film Grave of the Fireflies, released in Japan in 1988. This analysis explains the structural violence and social ignorance experienced by the main characters Seita and Setsuko during the war in Kobe. Seita and Setsuko are victims of the war, and the state's failure to protect them, coupled with the apathy of society, makes their situation particularly distressing. This research employs a qualitative descriptive method, as the process and results are described in a descriptive manner. The researcher utilizes Johan Galtung's theory of structural violence and Emile Durkheim's theory of social ignorance. The results of the study show that the film script depicts structural violence through the inability of the state and social institutions to guarantee the basic rights of civilians, such as: mother’s death, loss of access to education, starvation and homelessness. Additionally, the phenomenon of social ignorance is reflected in the attitudes of society, such as: aunt’s ignorance, the civil authorities’ ignorance, society’s ignorance and Setsuko’s death.