Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke is a four-part documentary on the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city and people of New Orleans. Interspersed with intense, emotion-provoking imagery, the documentary shows the aftermath of the natural disaster from a point of view that was by and large overlooked when the events were happening directly: New Orleanians themselves. The documentary also gives a good idea of Lee’s personal views about the events that followed Hurricane Katrina.
Throughout Levees, Lee seems to be saying that the US government virtually ignored Katrina in the first few weeks after it ravaged New Orleans, and that that period of ignorance caused irreparable harm. Aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not come as immediately as was needed, and for the most part citizens were left to deal with the consequences of the disaster by themselves. And once aid did come, it was too late for many and not nearly enough for those that remained in the city.
Lee seems to feel that black citizens have been especially overlooked in the disaster. This point of view is encapsulated in the video clip of Mike Myers and Kanye West from a Katrina telethon, where West says, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” West’s statement is defended in the documentary.
Lee’s point is driven further in the clip where Barbara Bush, on a visit to the wreckage in New Orleans, implies in conversation that some New Orleanians are faring better post-Katrina then they had pre-Katrina– this while being surrounded by debris and ruins.
Overall, it seems like Lee is trying to say that the government could have done much more for the victims of Katrina and for the city of New Orleans itself– and that they can still do more. The events of Katrina are still affecting citizens on a deep and serious level, and the rebuilding process seems to be dragging on longer than it should have. When The Levees Broke depicts a New Orleans full of people that are still holding their breath, waiting for their real lives to start again.
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