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/