WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS {PART 3 OF 4} (TV)
Summary
The third installment in this four-part documentary series focuses on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and surrounding areas in August 2005. The act begins as the Hot 8 Brass Band of New Orleans plays in the streets of New York, with one of the members describing how the band was separated from one another in the storm and struggled to play together again. Reporter Brian Williams reports on the massive relocation of the many survivors to different states, including Texas, where violence erupted in Houston between local criminals and newcomers. Many people could not find their family members, having been separated from them, and resentment towards the government’s poor handling of the situation rose. During NBC’s “A Concert for Hurricane Relief” on September 2, rapper Kanye West went off-script and bluntly declared that President George Bush “[did] not care about black people.” He admits that he did not plan to say it, although he “spoke from the heart,” and Reverend Al Sharpton commends his candor. Another man explains that the area along the Mississippi gulf coast was also hit hard by the storm, but was largely ignored by the media, and when he is prevented from reaching his home due to the presence of the Vice-President in what he feels is a “photo op,” he memorably and profanely vents his anger at Cheney on camera. Bush arrived in the heart of New Orleans two full weeks after the hurricane, which many felt was too late, and gave a speech. In November, many survivors learned that they would be moved yet again, but that FEMA would no longer pay for their hotel rooms, leading to further anger and protests, particularly in light of the holiday season. The media’s repeated reference to the displaced hurricane victims as “refugees” also upset many people, and Sharpton speaks out against the word, saying that the people in question are still American citizens.
The situation was further inflamed by comments made by former First Lady Barbara Bush when she visited a Houston relief center with former Presidents Bush and Clinton and said that many survivors there were “underprivileged anyway” and were better off in the shelters. Others, including Sharpton, comment that the United States is a wealthy country that spends money only on what is “important,” and that the victims of the hurricane were simply not seen as a “priority.” A woman sent to Utah after the storm is reunited with her children, who were sent to Texas, and chooses to stay in Utah rather than return to Louisiana, and it is explained that many in the scattered “underclass” of New Orleans have chosen to remain in their new locations, seeing more opportunities outside of the city. Several interviewees voice the opinion that the government has done a poor job of getting citizens back to New Orleans once the city was inhabitable again, saying that they were given only a one-way ticket out. The crime rate is discussed, including the “period of calm” immediately following the storm, which eventually gave way to further violence, leading to the arrival of the National Guard. The city’s “dysfunctional” educational system is blamed for much of the crime; the schools lost a large percentage of their student body in the storm, as the children had nowhere to live, and so the schools were unable to get additional funding due to the reduced class sizes.
The distinct culture of New Orleans, “the Paris of the South,” is then explored, including its Creole population and its both positive and negative history. Musicians Donald Harrison and Wynton Marsalis comment on the city’s close relationship with music, particularly jazz, “born” in Congo Square in the Tremé neighborhood, and how music is an integral part of happy and sad occasions alike. Several survivors then describe returning to the city and being shocked at its devastation, comparing it to seeing a familiar land destroyed by war or a “disfigured” friend, and musician Terence Blanchard and his family are deeply saddened when they return to their home for the first time and see its ruin. Despite efforts to clean up and rebuild, residents say that they “came back to nothing,” leading in many cases to feelings of depression and anxiety. A doctor reports that he has seen a surge in obesity and behavioral problems in children who lived through Katrina, and residents comment on their need for medication to sleep and otherwise function. The term “hurricane-related death” soon came to include those who died after the storm as a result of lack of access to medication or a loss of their records and inability to get “back into the system,” including the mentally ill who committed suicide in response to the stress. One woman describes losing her young daughter, whose body was not identified for some time, and the act concludes as she finally holds a funeral for her child, away from the city that killed her. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: August 22, 2006 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:18
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:90774
- GENRE: Documentary
- SUBJECT HEADING: Documentary; Natural disasters; New Orleans, Louisiana; African-American Collection - News/Talk
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2006
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Sheila Nevins … Executive Producer
- Jacqueline Glover … Supervising Producer
- Sam Pollard … Producer
- Spike Lee … Producer, Director
- Tyra Hanshaw … Graphics Producer
- Butch Robinson … Line Producer
- Terence Blanchard … Music by
- Barbara Bush
- George H.W. Bush
- George W. Bush
- Dick Cheney
- Bill Clinton
- Donald Harrison
- Hot 8 Brass Band
- Wynton Marsalis
- Al Sharpton
- Kanye West
- Brian Williams