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• 3.11 Surviving Fukushima - Go see the documentary

  2013-02-28 3:22AM / 標準BLOG / 會員可以看
  1個評論
  
  
  In the afternoon of March 11, 2011, I sat in a room in central Kyūshū. Along with less than a handful of classmates, I was trying to master the complex choreography of polite Japanese introductions. We were concentrating on stumbling over our tongues; all we ever noticed of the earthquake that would take more than 17,500 lives was a soft shiver running through walls and tables. The true extent of the tragedy only hit us when we walked into the safety of our Okazaki home and turned on the television set.   
  
  
  While we were tucked away behind the Japanese Alps, Christopher Noland, a young American in his tiny Tokyo apartment, was much more affected by what was later termed the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. He began to record short video messages. Initially, these vids were made for his friends and family at home. A fact that should soon change. As the devastating extent of the destruction along the Northeastern coastline and the sheer number of lives lost became clearer and left the country reeling, media attention was drawn to the situation unfolding in Fukushima.
  
  
  Noland wanted to help. He joined the volunteers and relief workers in the clean-up. Soon, the short videos messages turned into interviews and recorded meetings with victims, volunteers, and officials. He collected TV footage of IHK news. After six months, he had enough material for an entire documentary. And that's what he decided to produce. In 3:11, Surviving Japan, Noland (who speaks Japanese) shares his insights, tells stories untold by the media, and gives an inside perspective on how people struggled and persevered in the aftermath of the natural disaster. We get a look at flaundering government officials, the restrictive TEPCO information policy in the nuclear crisis in Fukushima and see people's sudden realisation that nuclear power may not be as perfectly safe as they were led to believe.
  
  
  
  
  
  Noland and his co-volunteers and associates had enough footage for a documentary. What they did not have was the money for post-production and a first batch of DVDs. The aspiring filmmaker launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter  and the project succeeded.
  
  
  I don't entirely agree with Noland's conclusions. Maybe because I remember the aftermath of Tschernobyl, maybe because I'm more fatalistic. Afterall, I am sitting in energy-policy-rattled Germany with a very undaunted and nuclear-power-happy France right next to it. Being aware of the risks of nuclear power is a facet of growing up in Germany as is the continued discussion of the matter. This may be the reason that to my ear some discussions revolving around Fukushima sound off. They tend to overlook the fact that the destruction in Northeastern Japan was not wrought  by the Fukushima radiation spill but by the tsunami. In Minami-Soma, people were hit doubly hard. There are the families who had to leave their perfectly intact homes because of radiation, and there is the large second group of victims - the tsunami destroyed their homes and the radiation spill robbed them of the choice to return and rebuild. My "splitting hairs" here does not make their fates less of a tragedy. Still, I believe we need to be very clear about the actual consequences of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. 
  
  
  As I've said, my conclusions are not Noland's conclusions, but I will readily admit my view may be skewed. The truth very likely is somewhere in the middle. That's why I backed the project when I saw it on Kickstarter. I received my DVD, saw it, and knew it was the right thing to do. I strongly suggest you take a look at this very sincere, at times endearingly innocent, no-frills-documentary.
  
  
  My most vivid memory of this time in Japan? The deep respect I felt (and feel) for the restraint and the responsible and civilized way people acted under extreme duress. They were the personification of the British wartime motto "Keep calm and carry on". Companies quietly collected supplies and food and used company transports to deliver relief items to collection points further east. Wherever you went, people were organizing fundraisers or signing up to volunteer.
  
  
  
  
  Noland is now selling pre-order tickets on tugg.com for screening locations in 
  
  
  New York
  Los Angeles
  San Diego
  San Francisco
  Seattle
  Laguna Niguel
  Portland
  Chicago
  Honolulu
  
  
  Tugg is a movie house platform that will only screen a particular offering at theaters near you if pre-sales for that location are strong enough. If Noland can sell enough pre-order tickets by March 4th, 2013 screenings will take place on March 11th.
  
  
  
  
  Even if you're not going...spread the word!
  
  
  
  
  You're in good company: Yoko Ono tweeted about the screenings...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  

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  Edited to add Linkage...
  
  
  Website 3.11. Surviving Japan
  
  
  The documentary's Wikipedia entry
  
  
  Chris Noland's Facebook Page