[125 years ago this coming weekend, the first name in earthquakes, Charles Richter, was born. So in his honor I’ll AmericanStudy a handful of seismic quakes, leading up to a special post on Richter himself!]
On three
cultural works that can help us remember one of the most devastating natural disasters
in recorded human history.
1)
Paint the Sky with
Stars (2005): This poetry collection, edited by British author Stephen Robert Kuta, brought together the voices
of those directly affected by the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami alongside
many other poets and artists. All proceeds from the book’s publication went to
the Tsunami
Relief Fund, making it a worthwhile project to support in any case. But I
would add that, while some of the poems do represent a frustratingly external
(ie, Western) view of the tragedy, many were indeed authored by folks from the
countries most affected, offering a vital view into those communities and experiences.
2)
“12/26” (2006): Speaking
of complicatedly Western perspectives, the idea of a white American
singer-songwriter writing a song which features (in part) the point of view of
a non-white young woman whose family and community were destroyed by the tsunami
is, to say the least, a fraught starting point. But I think Kimya Dawson walked
that line pretty effectively, balancing that distinct perspective with her own
point of view, details of the tragedy and its effects with critiques of the US
government and response, first-hand experiences with second-hand but still related
issues, and more. I was glad to learn about this song while researching this
post, and plan to return to it.
3)
The Impossible (2012): A
Hollywood film featuring two current mega-stars (Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts)
and a young actor who would soon become one (Tom Holland in his first on-screen
role) was bound to come down on a particular side of that aforementioned
cultural line, and there’s no doubt that a good bit of this film focuses on the
experiences of the white tourist family at its center. But as I remember it (I
saw it not long after it came out), it did both depict the tsunami with
striking realism and portray its effects on local communities with depth and
pathos—and since the film likely wouldn’t have been made without the initial
star power, it’s fair to say that it represents at least a better-case scenario
for how global cultural works can engage with this tragic quake and its aftermaths.
Next quake
tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What
do you think? Famous quakes or other natural disasters you’d analyze?
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