I found Trouble the Water to be an incredibly shocking and moving documentary. I remember hearing of the hurricane that devastated New Orleans but never learned of the true damage it left behind. I am not sure whether my lack of knowledge was due to my young age and inability to grasp how tragic the storm really was, or just that people around me ignored the issue because it was so far away. To be completely honest the storm fell from my mind a few months after it occurred. I never sought out more information concerning the storm or New Orleans' attempt to rebuild the city. The storm never made an impression on me until seeing this documentary. I guess I never really understood the extent of the damage or the lack of help provided for the citizens affected by the hurricane.
Like I said before, I have not seen any documentaries about Hurricane Katrina prior to Trouble the Water, but I believe Kim's footage was a good representation of what really happened. I remember seeing news programs with reporters standing in the powerful winds, but they always took cover when conditions became too dangerous. Kim's home videos showed the struggles of people unable to get out of harms way. What appalled me most of all was the lack of aid provided by the U.S. government. The saying "too little too late" definitely came to mind. This shortage of help led to many deaths. Some of which were left dead in their homes weeks after the storm ended. I didn't think things like that even happened in the U.S.
In The Onion Noel Murray said that the film lacked focus and I couldn't disagree with him more. I believe the directors wanted to focus on the effect the hurricane had on the people of New Orleans. They brought us into their lives, showed us their hardships and I believe they were trying to elicit strong emotion from the viewers. The film may have jumped around between shots of before, during, and after the storm, but I think they successfully made the viewer feel compassion for these people.
Even though the bulk of the film takes place after the storm I felt that I saw plenty of what went on during it. We witnessed scenes in the attic they were forced to take cover in, the rising floor waters and their fight to stay alive. The shots shown were very effective and I don't believe that more needed to be added to the documentary. While seeing the storm from the eyes of Kim and her family was incredibly captivating, the aftermath showed the true effect it had on them.
Overall I thought that Trouble the Water was extremely effective in showing the reality of Hurricane Katrina. Noel Murray supported his or her opinion but I guess I just disagree!
-Hannah Knechtel
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I completely agree with you. I thought that this needs to be looked at for what it is: a nearly untouched home video. It is with that attitude that the bulk and core of the documentary gets its strength. I felt pretty disgusted as well at the lethargic and unmotivated approach of the U.S. government to help those in need. It makes me feel naively fortunate to not have to suffer from being ignored by the country.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, Hannah... so, do you think that the fact that this documentary will show some aspects of Katrina that surprise you is something to fault the 'news media' for? Should Americans have been offered a better view of what was happening at the time? Or is it just that we're apathetic?
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