When watching reactions of people who were caught in the earthquake and resulting tsunami on March 11, 2001, one cannot help to see there is wide range of expressions given. Some are relatively calm and do their best to show a strong face in the wake of a disaster, their inner gaman, telling them to endure this hardship without panic. Conversely though, most videos depict terror in the eyes of those Japanese and others who were unfortunate enough to be caught in one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory. Although there is no way to account for all the reactions of all the people involved in the earthquake and tsunami, one can make inferences based on the videos that are available. Stringing memories together to create a narrative proves to be a challenging task even when events of that particular day will never exit one’s head. When one reads and views the personal accounts of survivors after the earthquake and tsunami hit, the word “unbelievable” comes up many times. This is a word that is sometimes prefaced with hyperbole, and other times prefaced with something that is in fact, believable. It would follow that the word “unbelievable” has lost some its true meaning due to people using it incorrectly. That cannot be said for the many Japanese describing the earthquake and resulting tsunami as “unbelievable” in their accounts. The events they describe are truly unlike anything else that has ever happened in history. It is evident, however, that when memories come together they are often disjointed and the narrative that is produced is largely accurate but can be embellished at one point or another. It is important to realize the disunion between memories and narrative especially when it comes to any personal account where there are no videos or photographs. Specifically, during the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami people were faced with a true life or death situation and while it is easy to take their word as their bond, it is possible that without the use of photos or videos, accounts taken purely from memory are the most inaccurate.
The use of a video camera in a disaster situation is one of the most useful ways to ensure complete accuracy when recounting the event to whomever is asking. Although the viewer may not get to see too much of the camera operator’s face, unless the operator is particularly self centered, one can hear the operator’s tone of voice, or their breath, or the sounds of their feet hitting the ground as they run to safety. If an interviewer is lucky enough to discuss a video with the person who made it, there is a very good chance they will receive a more complete story based on the fact that the video will give visual cues to the storyteller.
Memory is notoriously unreliable at piecing together an entire story without filler that may or may not have actually happened. Although it is impossible to know what is filler and what is accurate, it should enter any interviewers head that the brain is capable of embellishing or even fabricating memories. In a study conducting by Victoria University in Wellington, England researchers found they were able to fabricate childhood photos of a person into a hot air balloon. They would show the person the photos, and eventually the person would construct a narrative based on their perceived experience in a hot air balloon.
As one can see from the video, a person’s memory is more fluid than we would like to believe. Although there is a major difference between childhood memories and the memories one has from a disaster situation, the fact remains that the human memory is untrustworthy when trying to piece together a story.
It is very enlightening to watch videos of people experiencing the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The videos provide realism to a situation that, previous to March 11, 2011 could only be thought of if someone were writing a novel about a “worst case scenario.”
This compilation documentary depicts several accounts of the earthquake and tsunami from the perspective of survivors. In the beginning, several survivors give their accounts of what took place on March 11. They tell how much the ground was shaking and at the 5:30 mark, one man, even tells of how he knew a tsunami was imminent. Although the documentary is labeled as having videos of the earthquake and tsunami from those interviewed in the documentary, I am skeptical there are not minor sync up errors with those giving their accounts and those the viewer sees when the video of the account is presented. With the exception of the local TV camera man depicted at 6:13, the documentary is edited so quickly that it is difficult to tell if the videos of the earthquake following the people speaking of their experience are actually their videos or if the videos we see were obtained by the makers of the documentary and have nothing to do with the people telling the stories. If the videos do belong to the people giving their accounts, one can infer that the story will be complete and without filler information. It is difficult to say one way or another if the videos we see in the documentary link up with those we see on camera, but seeing as there is not an explicit message saying that they do (again with the TV camera man exception), it is possible, even likely that they do not.
Although I am skeptical of the sync up between account and video, this particular documentary does a great job of providing the viewer with a sense of panic with rapid cuts to pictures and videos of destruction. During the course of the above video, there are several intense scenes of violent shaking and objects that would normally be stationary moving in ways that suggest danger is imminent. What may get lost in the images of violent shaking are the reactions of the people to the imminent danger. Take for example the scene between about 5:39 and 5:49 where a man is declaring a tsunami is coming and there is a woman in front of the camera looking relatively calm for the amount of shaking that was actually taking place. She has her hands out on a partition, bracing herself from the violent shaking. Her reaction seems to be out of the ordinary but if one thinks about the frequency in which earthquakes in Japan occur, it would seem that her mindset is to remain calm and wait for the shaking to subside. The Japanese people are no strangers to earthquakes and it is likely that this woman believed the quake was going to subside at any minute and all there would be left to do is pick up the objects that fell on the floor.
In the testimonies of the March 2011 disaster compiled by the Higashi- Matushima City Library, one can see that most of them follow the same format. First, the person writing the testimony was doing something normal, like sitting at home watching television, shopping, or working. The key is that, most were going about a normal day when the quake occurred. From the testimonies given, one can infer, that while the moments before the quake occurred were normal, nothing about the moments after the quake was. Everyone branches off from doing something normal to trying to locate loved ones, or get to the nearest rescue shelter. One woman, named Toshi Abe, a municipal assemblywoman, recounts a tale in which she had to help her great grandfather: “Pi Chan came out of the room soaked in blood, from the broken glass” (Abe, 12). Aiding the elderly was very common in the testimonies written. Due to a large population of elderly individuals, aiding them was necessary to their survival. Toshie also uses two key words in her testimony: “panic” and “unbelievable.” Her use of the word “panic” comes after the quake had subsided and people were taking refuge at the local school. She tells of how there was enough rice, but they were too panicked to realize how to use the “cooking bar.” It is important to note, that even several days after the quake and tsunami had occurred panic was still a common feeling amongst survivors.
Toshie’s story and others similar to it, reveal several very brief snapshots into a very long and harrowing experience. Her testimony is complete in that it covers the major plot points necessary to constructing a narrative but in the middle of Toshie’s story she says the phrase: “three to five days later.” Although a person reading her testimony would breeze right over that phrase and find nothing wrong with it, that phrase represents a very large gap of time in which her memory may have failed her. Furthermore, the fact that she must give a range rather than a set number of days could signify one of two things. First, it could mean that those days were a complete blur and she completely forgot what happened. Or it could mean that those three days do not fit into the story she gives and brushes over it because she felt it did not matter to the reader.
In a story told by Nanao Takahashi:
http://recorder311-e.smt.jp/movies/4704/
The viewer sees him go through photographs of the tsunami. He talks about each one as if the tsunami had just occurred. His narrative is strengthened by visual clues that work to jog his memory and the viewer gets to see exactly what he is talking about because they are able to see the photographs on screen as well. His reaction to the photographs he is showing is the most striking aspect of the video. He is remarkably calm during the interview process and speaks in a tone more appropriate for a business meeting. This video provides the viewer with a more complete story in the way Takahashi is able to piece together his story with the aid of photographs. The viewer learns not only what happened to Takahashi but also his motivations for doing what he did.
Constructing narrative from memory is often a very difficult task. More often than not memories reveal themselves to be untrustworthy when trying to recount a complete story. The use of photos and videos aids that process tremendously because it can jog the storyteller’s memory and their story will be more complete with detail. Although having a complete narrative is desirable for histories sake, accounts and testimonies that have holes also have their place. Reading testimonies with minor lapses is a great way to get a basic understanding of what happened to that particular person. The end goal is not to be completely accurate but to get a sense of how that person felt and feels about what happened to them. In the end, the most important thing is to remember that all of these people went through an ordeal that history has never seen before. In an age where everyone has a camera and the ability to film anything at a second’s notice is commonplace; testimonies of disasters will be more complete than they ever were in the past. Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection is able to transport themselves to Japan on March 11, 2011 and safely relive the terror these people felt. This aspect of life gives people a virtual walk in other people’s shoes and may even provide a guideline to anyone who may in the future be caught in the midst of a catastrophe.
By James Barrrett