August 22, 2006
-
TUESDAY POLITICSWhen the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
Tonight at 9-11 p.m. on HBO, the second segment of this film by Spike Lee will air. First segment was last night. Then it will show in its entirely at 8 p.m. August 29, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Just when it seems like we’ve all forgotten the horror of those hours and days when so much was lost and so little was done in time, it’s a chance to be reminded by watching individuals who were there tell their stories as they have lived them through this past year in their own words. Background music by trumpeter Terence Blanchard, a New Orleans native who has also been Spike Lee’s long-time score composer. Footage also hears from mayors and governors and other officials, as well as celebrities who came and went. Famous quotes like Barbara Bush saying “so many of the people in the areas here were underprivileged anyway, so this is working out quite well for them.” By the official count, more than 1,300 people lost their lives. More than 500,000 people were displaced. The reviews are saying that Spike Lee has taken a step back from the spotlight here and crafted a work of art that we all need to see. This is one time I wish I could afford HBO, so I’m envious of those of you who get to watch it and hope it comes to prime-time before this year’s hurricane season is over. Maybe it’s kind of symbolic that it’s being shown on a channel most lower-income folks don’t watch, when it should be front and center for all of us. For a little reminder here’s a Katrina timeline.
Deep Thought: “They say the mountain holds many secrets, but the biggest is this: “I am a fake mountain.”
Today I am grateful for: Orange – the color and the fruit.
Guess the Movie: “Which one of you nuts has got any guts?” Answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Winner: Eliminate_the_Impossible.
Trying to Make It Home: New Orleans One Year After Katrina
by Bill Quigley
Bernice Mosely is 82 and lives alone in New Orleans in a shotgun double. On August 29, 2005, as Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the levees constructed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers failed in five places and New Orleans filled with water.
One year ago Ms. Mosely was on the second floor of her neighborhood church. Days later, she was helicoptered out. She was so dehydrated she spent eight days in a hospital. Her next door neighbor, 89 years old, stayed behind to care for his dog. He drowned in the eight feet of floodwaters that covered their neighborhood.
Ms. Mosely now lives in her half-gutted house. She has no stove, no refrigerator, and no air-conditioning. The bottom half of her walls have been stripped of sheetrock and are bare wooden slats from the floor halfway up the wall. Her food is stored in a styrofoam cooler. Two small fans push the hot air around. (Rest of article here.)
Comments (26)
It is interesting I am sure…
I’m still so sick about New Orleans and all that wasn’t done in time to help. It’s close to my heart, I spent many a weekend down there during college, as it was an hour away. It’ll never be the same without those displaced folks. They made up a vital part of the Crescent City. I don’t get HBO either, wish I did.
The first portion was quite honest and horrific and candid in ways I cannot even begin to describe to you. This is done with Lee’s ability to get at the truth without taking any sort of artistic credit. Unfortunately, I believe they chose a cable channel due to content. This deserves to not be censored in any way. I suspect this will make it’s way to DVD very quick! Seek it out when it does!
Could that be One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?
And I’ve been wanting to see that documentary, unfortunately I don’t have access to HBO. I’ll have to wait for it to come out on dvd.
Now I wonder if we get HBO. For some reason I thought it was being shown at movie theaters. I agree; it should be front and center.
I like the deep thought.
I wish I could watch it.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest gets the blue ribbon!
i watched it last – and i’m watching part 2 now. excellent doumentary. shameful response and solutions. so sad.. all those innocent ppl being treated so poorly.
i meant – i watched it last night. even the intro was incredibly moving with louis armstrong and his horn.
New Orleans, a beloved city that was shortchanged by politicians since before I was born.
Barbara Bush – - – - ugh – - – - gave herself and her party away huh ?
I heard a wonderful review of this on NPR the other day.
If it is a fake mountain then it is a fake taratula too. Fake humans? Only atoms and empty space exist? So, I guess all three can be members of the same family.
lol
Peace, love, light
I wish I had HBO. Barbara Bush’s statement is as insightful as her husbands gestalt…wonder if she was born with such a daft perspective or if this was aquired over years of close proximity to her husband?
I too wish I had HBO. I want to see this very badly.
I don’t have HBO either. Maybe it will come out on DVD for rental like the Sopranos and other HBO shows.
Hello, thank you for your kind comment on my site, it was much appreciated.
Greetings,
~the scarred poet
Hi and thanks for stopping by. What happened in New Orleans was sad but there are so many storys-good and bad from down there.We got some of the people from down there and most of them ran off or were arrested in town selling drugs or buying drugs. I feel for the good people who lost it all but I dont feel bad for the people who took advantage of what happened.
Take care and stop by anytime
He premiered it at the New Orleans Arena; 7,000 people who may or may not get HBO saw it then.
I’ll have to wait for the DVD myself.
A DVD would be ideal for me, I can use closed caption on DVDs, can’t hear much on TV, unless it is closed caption and I doubt if that would be cc.
RYC
Strange things lurk in our town, see later.
RYC Cordie’s site: Federal law trumps state law. Federal law makes marijuana illegal, even for medical use. Therefore, the elderly woman toking to control her glaucoma is a federal offender, EVEN IF state law says otherwise. Nice, huh?
RYC: there’s a link in the post to more info on Renee Boje’s case. And a quick google search for Peter McWilliams or Todd McCormick will bring up the rest, if there’s not a link to it on Boje’s site. All an eye-opening read, imo.
Thanks, I so appreciate your feedback.
I have heard good things about this series. But we do not get HBO, so cannot see it. Hopefully it will be shown on regular networks, or on free cable channels.
I still can’t get over that Barbara Bush quote. It sort of makes one forget all about Marie Antoinette, doesn’t it?
It’s been so long since I’ve been an HBO subscriber (having no time for TV, and having a strained budget, will do that to a guy) that I try to ignore any news articles that might tell me about what I’m missing. So — I didn’t know about Spike Lee’s project. Or rather, yes I must have been dimly aware, but willed it out of my mind — but now I’m looking forward to seeing the DVD. Thanks for the heads-up.
I see someone already nailed “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” That was one incredible movie (and book). Ken Kesey, oh yeah. I loved “Sometimes a Great Notion,” too. The book and then the movie, which later got retitled “Never Give a Inch.” [sic]
I don’t think any of the networks would’ve had the courage to allow a documentary like this on air, especially 4 hours of prime time when they could be airing something such as “So you Think You can Dance?” I mean, really!
And FYI for riddiger, HBO captions all of their shows & films, unlike some DVD companies.