In Spike Lee’s documentary When the Levees Broke, Lee depicts a story of the ultimate devastation that Hurricane Katrina caused to all of its victims in New Orleans. Through the lens of the camera, the director is trying to make us feel as close as possible to the people living there and to make us resonate with the unfair treatment they have been put through at the hands of the unresponsive government, along with the sadness felt by all those who have lost not only their homes, but also their livelihood. Lee is representing how the government is supposed to protect and aid its people and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency did nothing in the way of helping all those effected, white or black, in the realest form of film expression possible, a documentary.
In what is almost an ongoing display of emotion throughout the film, from anger to sadness to helplessness, Lee does not hide anything or downplay the sheer devastation that is New Orleans right after the hurricane. The whole film shows a great deal of turmoil, and exemplifies the notion that because many of the victims are African American and many are living along the poverty line, the government response was slow to help all due to this.
In one scene where Vice President Dick Cheney is present to survey the destruction in one town, the aggravation that is conveyed by one of the victims is nothing less than powerful in him cursing at the Vice President, and the viewer can definitely sense the frustration felt by not only that person, but by everyone collectively. It conveys the general message of anger between the people of New Orleans and the government that is supposed to help them.
Toward the end of that section of the documentary, Lee also demonstrates the strength of the people and how they can still come together to find happiness when he films Mardi gras. With all of the chaos and destruction around them, they can still find hope and a way to express themselves through art and shows just how even in going through such trauma; everyone can still come together in celebration.