-This film did change the way I see Hurricane Katrina as I believe I have received a more holistic interpretation of its damage of New Orleans. I saw many parallels between Kim's neighborhood and the poorer neighborhood from Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon" (can't find underline...). Both neighborhoods have a very close knit community where each member is treated as an extended family. Both neighborhoods also do not have much in the way of things and finance (Kim stating that she was not able to leave New Orleans because she could not afford the bus). This small community mindset is almost entirely alien to me and the most likely reason that I did not initially anticipate what kind of damage Katrina was doing.
-When I saw the news I thought of the damages in dollars and manpower to restore New Orleans but never did I consider the implications of a community being torn. I remember about halfway through the film upon reflection I considered the potential for a similar response in my hometown Naperville. To my disappointment I realized that I am much too attuned to the general Naperville mindset as I concluded the town would have a very similar response to such a disaster as I--a concern for possessions and things over the general survival of the community.
-I find it interesting how community is both the very thing being attacked by Katrina but also what ultimately keeps each member alive during the storm. During the film I was surprised over and over again by the general lack of concern for the condition of Kim's house as it flooded. Just yesterday my dorm room was threatened by not even an inch of water and I probably was more stressed than Kim over the well being of my possessions. I think this sets up an interesting transcendental-esque anecdote. It is both the possessions and the community that are threatened by Katrina, but it is the community that not only survives, but thrives and strengthens as a result of its being challenged. This is probably one of the only positive spins I've seen on Hurricane Katrina but due to my upbringing it is one that I would have never been able to understand without watching "Trouble the Waters".
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I like the comment you make about considering what this event would be like if it were to happen to my own hometown. I do not know what the overall concern would be for Evanston, but I do have to take a moment to simply consider what the event would be like; to think what the city would be like after the hurricane and how my life would be forever changed. Thinking about it in such a personal way, seeing my own home as many others found theirs after the hurricane, I have even more difficulty understanding how anyone manages to cope through such difficulties -- perhaps giving even greater precedence to the strength of community you go on to discuss.
ReplyDeleteFascinating reflections, Brendan. To go a step further, sometimes I get really upset if I lose my keys or what-have-you; it is hard to fathom losing, say, all of one's possessions! And regarding the community: I do think that the film offers some hope, but overall allows itself to be grimmer than many documentaries might be (even about Katrina). After all, even most of Kim's neighborhood had not returned, 3 years later. If a community *can* survive such devastation -- and maybe it will -- can it also be destroyed no matter how strong it starts out as, if it's neglected enough? Even Kim & Scott, remember, would likely not have returned to N.O. if they had not struggled in other towns.
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