The recent 9.0‑magnitude Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and subsequent Fukushima nuclear accidents were among the most devastating environmental disasters in recorded history. The immediate consequences are frightening, but their full, long-term impact remains an unsettling mystery.
This, of course, isn’t the first time Japan has faced a nuclear emergency. After the World War II atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the U.S. government recorded the raw aftermath of Hiroshima in candid, grim detail (while Hollywood was busy lampooning America’s nuclear obsession). Filmed in the spring of 1946 by the Department of Defense, Way of Life documents how the people of Hiroshima adapted to life after the atomic bomb. Though the archival footage lacks sound, its imagery — moving, heartbreaking, deeply human — speaks volumes about the delicate duality of despair and resilience.
Maria Popova is the founder and editor in chief of Brain Pickings, a curated inventory of cross-disciplinary interestingness. She writes for Wired UK, The Atlantic and DesignObserver, and spends a great deal of time on Twitter.
Tetemeko la ardhi la hivi karibuni la 9.0 na tsunami ya Tōhoku, na ajali za nyuklia za Fukushima zilizofuata zilikuwa kati ya majanga makubwa zaidi ya mazingira katika historia. Matokeo ya papo hapo ni yenye kuogopesha, lakini athari yao kamili, ya muda mrefu inabaki kuwa fumbo lenye kusumbua. Hii, bila shaka, si mara ya kwanza kwa Japani kukabili hali ya dharura ya nyuklia. Baada ya mashambulizi ya nyuklia ya Hiroshima na Nagasaki, serikali ya Marekani ilirekodi athari za Hiroshima kwa undani na kwa uchungu (wakati Hollywood ilikuwa na shughuli nyingi za kuchekesha obsession ya nyuklia ya Marekani). Filamu ya mwaka 1946 iliyochorwa na Wizara ya Ulinzi, 'Ways of Life' inaonyesha jinsi watu wa Hiroshima walivyojipatanisha na maisha baada ya bomu la atomu. Ingawa picha za kumbukumbu hazina sauti, picha zake - zenye kusisimua, zenye kuvunja moyo, zenye ubinadamu wa kina - huzungumza sana juu ya utata wa utata na uvumilivu. Maria Popova ni mwanzilishi na mhariri mkuu wa Brain Pickings, orodha ya kuhifadhiwa ya kuvutia kwa taaluma mbalimbali. Anaandika kwa Wired UK, The Atlantic na DesignObserver, na hutumia muda mwingi kwenye Twitter.