The disasters of 3/11 provoked a global outpouring of emotion towards the suffering in Japan. In many ways, this singular event seemed to refigure the meanings of community and technology by drawing attention to the fragility of human control in times of disaster. Although the long-term consequences remain uncertain, this radical recontextualization of value points to a way of thinking about broader processes of change, a contrast to cultural analysis that proceeds by directly critiquing structures of power on their own terms. Ian Condry is a cultural anthropologist who specializes on media, popular culture, and globalization with a focus contemporary Japan and the US

Image courtesy of interviewee. November 28, 2016