Introduction:
Nuclear weapons have played a sizable role in cinema since their conception in 1945. For decades, film has acted as a medium to address their morality, destructive capabilities and existential nature (Marinho et al. 2021). Moreover, how individuals perceive nuclear weapons and their destructive capabilities will depend on their personal experience and cultural exposure to said weapons (Bentley 2024). These perceptions will be heavily influenced by their countries’ nuclear ideology and the media surrounding nuclear weaponry prevalent within their region.
However, because of the worldwide influence of American cinema (Sparks 2007, pp. 97-98), which has framed global narratives surrounding the nuclear question, many recurring themes and images used within the Hollywood film industry, have americanised global perceptions of nuclear weapons.
Therefore, it is important to analyse how popular Hollywood films visually frame nuclear explosions, as through this, much can be learned surrounding the underlying cultural perspectives of said films. By contrasting recent Hollywood depictions of historical nuclear detonations with portrayals produced by Japan, a nation directly harmed by nuclear devastation, this can help to highlight alternate americanised frames which may go unnoticed.
Literature Review:
Ambirajan states that mass media allows the public to create closer ties within their social groups by the ‘sharing of common experiences’ (2000, pp. 2144), as the media people consume inevitably shapes their perceptions. This, coupled with the realities of cultural imperialism, where the hegemonic dominance of American culture, including not only media, but also ‘educational and cultural systems’, (Golding 1977, pp. 291-2) has resulted in a worldwide normalisation of americanised cultural conventions.
Boyd-Barrett agrees that this American media influence is typically accepted worldwide, while alternative influences struggle for recognition, reflecting the largely one-way flow of international media from the US towards other nations (1977, pp. 117). He states that this one-way influence may be intentionally exported as part of US commercial and political strategies or spread unintentionally by becoming the ‘usual way of going about things’ (1977, pp. 125).
Furthermore, Hollywood’s worldwide impact is important to examine, as Gao believes film production and consumption play a crucial role in ‘negotiating cultural identity and articulating social consciousness’ (2009, pp. 423). Crane agrees (2013, pp. 366) and cites Scott’s (2002, pp. 957-975) ideas that the Los Angeles region has served as a global hub for economic resources dedicated to film production and the concentration of creative talent. Moreover, Van Elteren (2003, pp. 173) claims the ‘huge American market offers economies of scale’ and therefore, the scholarly consensus here demonstrates how American cinematic norms dominate worldwide.
With this context of Hollywood’s worldwide cultural dominance in mind, it is important to discuss the theories surrounding how atomic bombs have been presented within cinema. In 2021, a study by Marinho et al. examined the IMDb database and found 4862 films with plots including the keywords ‘nuclear’ or ‘atomic’ (2021, pp. 2), demonstrating the immense cultural role the bomb has played within mass media.
Masco et al.’s ideas support this, believing that the ‘visual culture of the nuclear age’ has provided a select few recurring images on film which make up the core American ‘cultural memory’ of the bomb (2013, pp. 163). These recurring themes often demonstrate a framing of nuclear destruction within the American ‘paranoia’ (Mathis 2013, pp. 118) of the Cold War. However, the presence of contemporary examples, such as Nolan’s Oppenheimer, highlights the continuing resonance of nuclear dread still present in society according to Stevenson (2023, pp. 153).
Many scholars such as Newman (2000, pp. 78) and Sontag (2016, pp. 194) highlight how many American and Japanese disaster films are allegorical of the atomic bomb, despite never directly referencing it. Sontag states that this represents a ‘mass trauma’ over nuclear weapons and the possibility of future nuclear wars (2016, pp. 194). For the Japanese specifically, Richie states that much can be learned from such examples regarding their ‘attitudes and social relations’ towards the bomb (2004, pp. 104), arguing that while western critics of the bombings often present them as atrocities, the Japanese surprisingly perceive them as more akin to earthquakes and other uncontrollable natural calamities (1996, pp. 22). Thus, rather than focusing on the horror and suffering of the event, many Japanese films surrounding the bombings emphasise the tenacity and bravery of the affected (1996, pp. 20-22).
Research Questions and Aims:
How do Hollywood portrayals of nuclear detonations illustrate theories of americanisation when contrasted with Japanese cinematic depictions?
What symbolic elements and visual motifs appear within Hollywood nuclear detonation scenes and how do they differ to those found in Japanese films?
How do these symbolic elements and visual motifs reveal each country’s cultural and ideological perspectives of nuclear weapons?
The aim of this media report is to contrast two Hollywood and Japanese cinematic depictions of historical nuclear detonations, analysing how each cinematic depiction frames and visualises nuclear destruction, including what recurring themes are highlighted or omitted. From this, the underlying americanisation of Hollywood depictions will be contrasted with the opposed cultural and ideological frames found within the Japanese depictions.
Methodology:
This media report will use visual frame analysis, with Bock’s three-part model (2020) as the foundation. This three-part model can be broken down into: contingency (2020, pp. 7), which will help to examine how external factors are used to frame the bomb depending on its visual presentation, materiality (pp. 7), which refers to how technical aspects and aesthetic choices within each film affect viewers’ interpretation and cultural memory of the devastation, and finally, ideology (pp. 9), which considers the underlying cultural and political messages that are embedded within the visuals.
The sample will consist of the nuclear detonation scenes from two recent Hollywood films, Oppenheimer (2023) and The Wolverine (2013), as well as two Japanese films, Hiroshima (1953) and Children of Hiroshima (1952). Each film selected depicts a historical nuclear detonation, rather than a fictitious one, and together constitute some of the best cinematic examples (Chapman 2020, pp. 452) to compare each nation’s visual reimagining of America’s historical nuclear attacks on Japan, despite having been produced within different historical periods.
Discussion of Findings:
Oppenheimer (2023) depicts the Trinity test of July 1945. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, the perspective is of those who are miles away from the destruction. The characters have protection from the adverse effects because of distance, bunkers and protective goggles, which mirrors the US’s global protection as the sole wielders of the bomb. Each character is depicted with the blinding light of the blast on their face, with an open-mouthed expression of awe and astonishment as they look upon their creation. The lingering shots on Oppenheimer’s face, juxtaposed with the fireball, reinforce the ideological tension between this scientific creation and its moral consequences.
As for the bomb itself, seen in Figures 3, 4 and 5, the use of practical effects such as miniatures, chemical reactions, and forced perspective recreates the fireball in great detail. However, these features and motifs only ever frame the bomb from an onlooker’s perspective, omitting the external destruction of the surrounding area and thus, depict the bomb itself without depicting its ruinous consequences. Therefore, this americanised framing of the bomb focuses on the internal moral quandary of one American individual, rather than the external consequences such a weapon has on human lives.
Figure 1
Figure 4
Figure 2
Figure 5
Figure 3
The Wolverine (2013), depicts the bombing of Nagasaki, viewed from an onlooking Japanese soldier’s perspective. Despite this American film framing the detonation from the opposing side’s viewpoint, the shot composition closely resembles Oppenheimer’s, including the same visual motifs of the onlooker’s shock and awe, the blinding flash on their face (Figures 7 and 8), and the towering mushroom cloud blanketing the city, viewed only from a distance (Figures 9 and 10). This shows how the americanised symbolic elements and visual motifs prevalent throughout Hollywood representations of nuclear detonations are consistent, even despite the attempt to convey said detonation from the perspective of a Japanese individual.
Figure 6 Figure 8
Figure 7 Figure 9
Near-contemporary Japanese films, however, depict a different visuality to nuclear detonations. Hiroshima (1953) and Children of Hiroshima (1952) share striking similarities within their scenes of the 1945 bombing of said city. Rather than the emphasis of the sequence being placed upon the mushroom cloud, as in the Hollywood depictions, the focus is instead placed on the initial flash, showing how the Japanese perspective affects each scene’s positioning in relation to the bomb. Where American films present it from a distance, the Japanese films were placed in the middle of the chaos.
Moreover, where the Hollywood films used longer shots to emphasise the enormity of the explosion, the Japanese films use rapid cuts, darting between human faces (Figures 11 and 16), the jarring flash and initial fireball (Figure 10 and 17), to the destruction of buildings (Figure 13) and so forth. These rapid cuts keep changing the focus, acting as montages of destruction, which overwhelm the viewer with distressing imagery. This helps to create a sense that all of these horrifying events are happening simultaneously, emphasising the chaos and harrowing destruction of the moment.
Figure 10 Figure 13
Figure 11 Figure 14
Figure 12 Figure 15
Within both films there is also the recurring motif of nature wilting, as Hiroshima depicts a horse toppling to the floor (Figure 14) and Children of Hiroshima depicts a flower withering (Figure 18). Each film uses these more symbolic metaphors alongside realistic visuals to highlight the bombing as a moment of profound human tragedy, rather than one of spectacle or awe.
Figure 16 Figure 19
Figure 17 Figure 20
Figure 18 Figure 21
Conclusion:
This media report shows how Hollywood depictions of historic nuclear detonations reflect an americanised perspective when compared with near-contemporary Japanese depictions. Within the Hollywood depictions analysed, similar elements and visual motifs were consistent, with the emphasis placed on visualising the raw power and immense scale of the explosion, contrasted with human onlookers and their reactions of shock and awe. However, the Japanese depictions showed a different emphasis placed on the immense chaos, loss and human tragedy of nuclear explosions. These reveal interesting historical and ideological differences between the two producing nations, with their cinematic representations mirroring each nation’s historical experiences with nuclear destruction. However, due to their film industry’s cultural hegemony, the recurring americanised motifs and symbols found within this Hollywood sample also reflects the prominent iconography of nuclear weaponry found in media worldwide (Sagan and Valentino 2025, pp. 12-13). Thus, creating a deeper understanding into how these visual motifs and symbols influence worldwide audience perceptions of nuclear weaponry should be a task for future research.
Appendix:
Children of
Hiroshima. 1952. Directed by Kaneto ShindÅ. [YouTube]. Japan Teachers Union.
Hiroshima. 1953. Directed
by Hideo Sekigawa. [YouTube]. Japan Teachers Union and Shochiku.
Oppenheimer. 2023. Directed
by Christopher Nolan. [Blu-ray]. Universal Pictures.
The
Wolverine. 2013. Directed by James Mangold.
[Blu-ray]. 20th Century Studios.
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