TOW #11 - Aftermath of Japan's 2011 earthquake

Yuriko Nakao / Reuters

I chose to analyze a visual text this week because I stumbled upon this photograph while wasting time on the internet, and I wanted to know more about it. After some brief research, I found out this was taken shortly after the earthquake/tsunami that hit Japan in early 2011. Because the disaster led to a nuclear meltdown, the girl behind the glass is one of the many Japanese citizens who had to be isolated for radiation screening. There are many aspects to this photo I find interesting. The first thing that caught my eye was the the dog's tail--it's sort of blurry, which means he was wagging it when the photo was captured; he was happy to see his human, even though he was unaware of her situation. I think this highlights what I consider to be the eighth wonder of the world: how animals, especially dogs, can love so unconditionally. Another aspect I noticed was the fog on the glass. The screening facilities erected in the cities of Japan were makeshift enclosures, meaning they probably weren't very big. The foggy glass means there were most likely a lot of people inside, showing the extent of the disaster. Lastly, I wanted to talk about the fact that the person on the side of the glass with the dog is dressed like they would any other day they would take him/her for a walk. Despite the catastrophe around them, they are still intent on nurturing their dog in this way. I find that to be bittersweet because if you think about it, they might not have a home to walk back to anymore, and going for a walk with their dog is the only mundane thing left for him/her.