To kill one man is to be guilty of a capital crime, to kill ten men is to increase the guilt tenfold, to kill a hundred men is to increase it a hundredfold. This the rulers of the earth all recognize, and yet when it comes to the greatest crime — waging war on another state — they praise it!… If a man on seeing a little black were to say it is black, but on seeing a lot of black were to say it is white, it would be clear that such a man could not distinguish black and white… So those who recognize a small crime as such, but do not recognize the wickedness of the greatest crime of all… cannot distinguish right and wrong.
– Mozi (470–391 B.C.), Condemnation of Offensive War I, Book V
‘The Iron Giant’ and Generational Militarism
Among the films that formed my childhood, the Iron Giant is a black sheep. From its loving treatment of classic sci-fi horror to its somber handling of nuclear holocaust, the film is deeper than any of us realized as kids. Of course now, as adults, and especially as...
