politics

Foreign minister says Indiana Jones movie trivializes nuke threat

30 Comments

Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on Monday took a swipe at last year's Indiana Jones sequel for trivializing the devastation of a nuclear bomb blast. "There was a scene in a hit movie last year in which the famous hero, facing a blast from a nuclear test, hid in a refrigerator," Nakasone said in a speech against nuclear weapons.

"I was surprised by the movie's lack of awareness of a nuclear bomb blast. A nuclear explosion destroys everything in an instant. I felt concern that this kind of easy-going image might spread around the world."

While Nakasone didn't name the movie, a foreign ministry official confirmed Tuesday that it was "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," the fourth in the hit series directed by Steven Spielberg.

Two U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities in August 1945 killed more than 210,000 people, instantly or in the following weeks. Japan surrendered less than a week later, ending World War II.

© Wire reports

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30 Comments
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A nuclear explosion destroys everything in an instant.

Maybe his point was that the movie should have ended at that moment - since the camera crew was vaporized.

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um, I believe in the movie the camera zoomed in on a "lead lined" label, and as we all know lead can stop anything. even superman. Also, the USA is already very easy going about nukes, look at how many images, video, stickers, expressions we have that reference nukes.

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I bet they are happy someone actually watched it.

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It's only a movie. I think if the foreign minister has nothing better to do with his time, that he should seek other employment, and stop wasting my tax yen!

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I can't think of too many other countries (N. Korea, maybe) that would have a F.M. make such a ridiculous point. He has enough time on his hands that he's screening Hollywood films, now?

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“I was surprised by the movie’s lack of awareness of a nuclear bomb blast. A nuclear explosion destroys everything in an instant. I felt concern that this kind of easy-going image might spread around the world.”

Yes, yes Mr Nakasone - that's why the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima doesn't exist, as it was destroyed in an instant.

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The point made by starviking was my first thought too....

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Nice one, Nakasone! Making a ridiculous point about a movie from last year is surely a great way for a foreign minister to pass the time. Nope, no big problems in the world right now, Indy Jones' nuke scene trumps it all. The sheer buffoonery of the Aso administration continues to astound me. He must have borrowed some cough medicine from Nakagawa.

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I thought it was very dangerous to hide in refigerators. What kind of message does this send to children playing hide from the nuclear blast?

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Quick, call last year and tell them!

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Poor blighter must not get out to the movies much if he's bringing this up now.

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@Sebarashii

That one deserves a prize!

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And another thing...

I felt concern that this kind of easy-going image might spread around the world

Dateline 2010: With North Korea threatening it's immediate neighbours with 'Atomic Annihilation' package tours to the area are booming, aided in part by the provision of free refrigerators - but mainly because nuclear explosions are seen as 'cool' by most of the <i>easy-going</i> people of the free world.

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LOL. Harrison Ford is a persona non-grata in the Ware-Ware Surbaibor, Hiroshima Branch. And he will have even his toes fingerprinted from now on. Second, and most important, we should be careful with bats and spiders - because as we last saw on the screen, neither Batman nor Spiderman didn´t behave properly in some scenes, according to the Prime Minister. LOLOL.

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Hollywood has been defying the laws of physics (and the land, in a lot of cases) for years. If you think it's possible to dodge all those bullets play paintball once. There are a couple of websites dedicated to Hollywood gaffes as well.

http://www.neatorama.com/2007/03/06/9-laws-of-physics-that-dont-apply-in-hollywood/

Of course since the LDP seems to defy a few things as well maybe they are in good company in Hollywood...

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It is SOOO refreshing to see Japanese politicians commenting on such important international issues (lots of sarcasm intended!) Does this moron have nothing better to occupy his time or does he have wet dreams of becoming a Hollywood film critic when he grows up?

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I would have to agree it was a little over the top when Jones did that. Just hollywood milking all the franchises it has.

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I was surprised by the movie’s lack of awareness of a nuclear bomb blast.

Yeah, it's almost as if the movie was a work of fiction.

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People, he mentioned the movie in a speech. The speech was not about or centered on the movie. So get over it.

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Perhaps in the next film we'll learn that Dr. Jones died an agonizing protracted death from radiation poisoning. That should set the scales of justice in alignment once again, and well please Mr. Nakasone.

The Indiana Jones films (up until the fourth one) always did a great job of presenting ludicrous stunts in such a way that they seemed just a hair's breadth away from plausible. To this day, I believe that if I ever have to jump out of a plane without a parachute, but I do have an inflatable raft, I'm in with a decent chance of making it through.

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This is a bit silly.

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Was this guy even elected or did he just inherit his position ?? Surely there are more important issues,well maybe not in Japan.

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Japanese polis seem obsessed with anything American these last few days. First they're off bemoaning US immigration policies now this. Don't these clowns have anything better to do ? Like take care of their imploding economy ?

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Actually it was a former LDP Japanese Foreign Minister, just two years ago, who trivialized the bombing of Nagasaki as a "couldn't be helped" kinda thing. Pot, Kettle, Black!

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Is it really that farfetched to believe that someone in a lead lined refrigerator could survive? Despite what this idiot says "Everything" is not destroyed. There were survivors of the bombs within very short distances of the blast after all. One guy was merely 100 meters away from it when the bomb went off and survived. So again, is it really so unreasonable to assume that hiding in the fridge you wouldn't survive? Personally though, after watching the show, I thought the shockwave should have killed him myself.

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I hadc a bigger issue with th aliens than the A-bomb blast, which is really funny if you've ever seen "Atomic Cafe".

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I know, there were so many other more seriously unbelievable things in that show, that being able to survive an A-bomb seems trivial in comparison.

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One guy was merely 100 meters away from it when the bomb went off and survived.

I seriosuly doubth this. Didn't the bomb explode far above the ground? Was this guy levitating?

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japan needs to calm down. it's just a jones nuke in america.

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Rule #1 when public officials comment on pop culture they look stupid without exception. Hmmm seems Nakosone just proved my point.

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