Tsunami

Tsunami- The Aftermath

Summary Information about The Movie

Tsunami: The Aftermath is a television mini-series that was broadcast in two parts in 2006. It dramatizes the events following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the resulting tsunami in Thailand. Tsunami: The Aftermath is a joint production of HBO and the BBC and stars Tim Roth, Toni Collette, Sophie Okonedo, Samrit Machielsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Savannah Loney. It was filmed in Phuket and Khao Lak, Thailand from April to June 2006. Phuket and Khao Lak were two of the worst hit areas in the country in the December 26, 2004 disaster. (Tsunami:_The_Aftermath, 2010)

Summary of The Tsunami 2004

At 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday December 26, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia (With a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3) which  triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing over 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (98 ft) high. The energy released on the Earth's surface only (M_E, which is the seismic potential for damage) by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami was estimated at 1.1×10¹⁷ joules,^[23] or 26.3 megatons of TNT. This energy is equivalent to over 1502 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, but less than that of Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated.According to the U.S. Geological Survey a total of 227,898 people died, around 125 000 injured victims (2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_and_tsunami, 2011)

The movie reflects many aspects, moods, thoughts and actions during different circumstances such as people, disasters and happenings. Besides, the victims and Government must face many challenging after tsunami disaster.

Before earthquake and tsunami disaster, there are no any warnings from local authorities on the disasters. It condemns the reckless about preventing or warning on the disaster.  It is usually said that “People only care when it already happened”. The ignorance of characters about geography or characteristic of the tide reflects honestly the current situation that is most people or even government do not realize the importance of physical geography in human life. Even the locals have never ever been educated about this.

After disaster, that is a picture of loss, pains, fatigues and all sins. In the movie, we can feel that the victims look like the asylum seekers who slow moving one small dirt road connecting between disaster area- Khao Lak and safety area.

 The movie shows us the emotional suffering of the protagonist when the victims were brought to cremation. There are 2 views about this point. First, the boundary- the different culture between Western and Eastern are showed clearly in this situation. To Western people, the dead people are buried carefully as the closure. However, to Eastern people, cremation people is the culture, the Western must accept it. Secondly, cremation is urgent and must to be done at that time if they want to prevent the spread of diseases. They have no choice.

Highlight of the movie is when the protagonist meets his wife. The extreme suffering of the characters is shown through each speech, act, gesture and eye contact. We will also feel the pain of the protagonist who lost his daughter in front of him.

We can also see clearly that the people (NGOs) who had been working closely with the community seemed to be more helpful in post-disaster than the government official. This is because they were able to communicate to victims better and friendlier; they know the location and environment in Khao Lak better than government official. We can also blame Thai government and British government for their responses capabilities after disaster such as rescue, heaths…

Through the movie, we easily see the scene of separation and reunion, despair and hope…but one thing has been clearly demonstrated whether we suffering despairs, pains, loss as long as we still alive, we will keep standing up, hope and rebuild everything from scratch.

Maybe, the movie cannot reflect clearly and deeply what the victims really suffer by disaster. However, it also partly helps us understand what we have and will face. Major part of impact of disaster is negative but that is also a opportunities to help people closer together, share the same affliction situation, clear the line between Western people and Eastern people, clear away the boundaries of ethnic group and skin color . Together, we are the world.

Reference

Tsunami:_The_Aftermath. (2010, December 27). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake. (2011). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Reflection about Whale Whores ( South Park)

Whale Whores" is the eleventh episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 192nd overall episode of the series. It aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 28, 2009. In the episode, Stan joins an anti-whaling crew in order to save dolphins and whales from Japanese whalers.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_Whores)

 It is equally condemning of all sides involved in this matter, including the Japanese whalers, anti-whalers who fight against them and also the media. The episode also reflects a confusing picture where different sides only do and fight for their duty, their interests and cannot find a common voice.

Firstly, Japanese whaling is their culture. Personally, I think people cannot accuse them because they do it.  Killing chickens or cow for human foods still likes the Japanese who kill the whales or dolphins for meat. Why do people think it is two different actions? Actually, they are same, just the way people see, think and feel about it. Why do people feel guilty when watch whales or dolphins killed instead look dead chicken? For me, the answer could be included is the emotion and empathy through communication. People sympathize with whales and dolphins because their reproductive urges cycle similar to human, whales give birth to a single calf and nursing time is more than a year. On the other hand, chickens or cows grow up and breed much faster than the whales or dolphin, As a result, people do not feel bad when they kill chickens. Moreover, whales and dolphins are more intelligent than cows or chickens; they can express their feeling through their eyes and the sounds. When a dolphin or whale nearly dies, we can see a sadness and endless suffering through their eyes so we feel guilty and sad. However, chickens or cows are not, they just have the lifeless eyes which are unable to express any emotion so people hardly feel guilty when kill them. If chicken or cow can also express their emotion, maybe everything would change to the other way. In summary the main difference is observed, the Japanese observed the killing of dolphins or whales in the physical aspect which to them that dolphins, cows, chickens are the same comparing as the other one observe that in terms of soul.

Next, I want to mention about anti-whalers. With a glimpse, most people, including me will support the action of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Those people who work in the spirits of voluntary and non-profit.

Who they are?

Sea Shepherd's Mission Statement

Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. 

Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.

 (http://www.seashepherd.org/who-we-are/)     

                        

However, disrupting whale hunts by at times attacking and sinking Japanese whaling ships can be closed to crime. For me, their actions exceed their authority, which can negatively affect many different aspects surrounding whale hunt. Besides that, description about Captain Paul Watson making the watchers in doubt whether he is able to protect the whales or just bragging is wrong. Personally, his appearance may not accurately reflect the real ability of him. It is ad hominem fallacy. The following are the awards and accomplishments he has achieved in recent years of his tireless dedication.

For 31 Awards and Commendations

Watson has received many awards and commendations over the years. In 1996, Watson was awarded an honorary citizenship to the French town of St. Jean Cap Ferrat. Previous to that he was made an honorary citizen of the Florida Keys in 1989. Other awards include Toronto City TV's Environmentalist of the Year Award for 1990, the Genesis Award in 1998, and he was enrolled in the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also awarded the George H.W. Bush Daily Points of Light Award in 1999 for his volunteer efforts with conservation activism. He was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the environmental heroes of the 20th Century in the year 2000. (http://www.seashepherd.org/who-we-are/captain-watsons-biography.html)

Third of all, the last side must be also mentioned is the media, who plays an important role in the whaling war. People can easily see that, initially, the media completely ignore the whale hunting. They only begin to participate when it becomes the focus of public. It is seen clearly that the purpose of the media involve the whaling war is making the view increase and earning profit from that. They absolutely do not care about it.

In conclusion, maybe to somebody, the uses of words, images and action in South Park offers uncomfortable feeling when viewing. However, the episode plays an intermediary role and reflects a fairly realistic picture about what is happening around this problem. These really is what we want to know in 21^st centuary.

Reference

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_Whores)

 (http://www.seashepherd.org/who-we-are/)                             

 (http://www.seashepherd.org/who-we-are/captain-watsons-biography.html)

Why to study Geography

Why to study geography

Before knowing why to study geography, we need to find out what definition of geography is and where it comes from:

According to Wikipedia,

Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geographia, lit. "earth describe-write"^[1]) is the science that deals with the study of the Earthand its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena.^[2] A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes (276-194 BC). Four historical traditions in geographical research are thespatial analysis of natural and human phenomena (geography as a study of distribution), area studies (places and regions), study of man-land relationship, and research in earth sciences.^[3] Nonetheless, modern geography is an all-encompassing discipline that foremost seeks to understand the Earth and all of its human and natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but how they have changed and come to be. Geography has been called 'the world discipline'.^[4] As "the bridge between the human and physical sciences," geography is divided into two main branches—human geography and physical geography.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography, 2011)

Why to study geography?

In its 1988 publication Geography: Making Sense of Where We Are, the National Geographic Society Society makes the following statement:

Geography for its own sake offers a fascinating realm of knowledge that can enrich our lives. Conversely, a lack of geographic understanding can diminish us as individuals, blunt the success of our international economic and political ventures, and dilute our strength as a nation.

(Source: Careers in Geography, National Geographic Society, 1996.)

Physical geography:

Physical geography is a traditional and basic type of geography. Some topics of physical geography can be mentioned as examples are

n  Climatology

n  Natural Vegetation

n  Plate Tectonics & resulting landforms

n  Oceanography

Physical geography provides the knowledge and understanding of the Earth to an individual. To let people know about its systems and understand what is happening on Earth such as El Nino, La Nina, global warming, desertification…and how they affect human life.

El Niño and La Niña affect human life:

Drought in Indonesia VS Flood in Peru

Besides that, it also helps people to recognize how human interact with environment and how it relates to them.

With studying geography, people also know about the dangers that may suddenly strike on The Earth

                                                               Tsunami in Japan 2011

 Know the warning sign before the disasters happen

Animal can sense the disaster while people do not know

For that reasons, people will know how to deal with environment disasters when they happen by studying geography.

Human geography

Human geography is a social science discipline, focusing on studying human activities, understanding of the world, spatial differentiation, different culture…

What can we learn from studying Human Geography?

There are some fields of human geography:

·         Culture: is the study of cultural products and norms and their variation across and relations to spaces and places. It focuses on describing and analyzing the ways language, religion, economy, government, and other cultural phenomena vary or remain constant from one place to another and on explaining how humans function spatially.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/human-geography#ixzz1R0QUx1rd…

                Vietnamese and Korean traditional cloths

·         Development is the study of the Earth's geography with reference to the Standard of living and the Quality of life of its human inhabitants, study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities, across the Earth. The subject matter investigated is strongly influenced by the researcher's methodological approach.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/human-geography#ixzz1R0QaCE6d

                         Singapore is the country which has high quality of life in South-East Asia

·         Economic examines relationships between human economic systems, states, and other factors, and the biophysical environment.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/human-geography#ixzz1R0Q734Xt

·         Political is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/human-geography#ixzz1R0QkXt6x

Reference:

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography, 2011)

(http://www.answers.com/topic/human-geography)

(Careers in Geography, National Geographic Society, 1996.)