“The Roots Run Deep Here”

The Analysis of Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke
         Although we were unable to hear Spike Lee’s commentary directly through the film, the development of the piece reveals his point-of-view and how he interprets the ‘resulting views’ of this tragedy. In a nutshell, When the Levees Broke is the reflection of the people during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The film brought out many of the emotional aspects as well and demonstrative expressions from the victims and the people who spoke on their behalf.
       Throughout part three of the film, there is a great emphasis on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the idea that they failed to assist the people after the hurricane took its course. According to fema.gov, the mission of FEMA is to “support our citizens and first responder to ensure that a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.” Based on the documentary this federal agency failed to do its job during the aftermath, leaving people to question the concern of the government, and from the interviewees we learn that FEMA had become a ‘long lost support system.’
       Another profound concern raised in the film was the media’s interpretation of the victims, and it is not how they reported the victims, but it is what they called them that is so compelling. The people were considered “refugees” and under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is an individual residing outside of their native country and is unwilling to avail himself protection of the country in which he/she is residing. The media has given them the title of ‘refugee’ even though the victims, according to Al Sharpton, are American citizens who pay their taxes. “Did the storm come and blow away our citizenship too?” stated one of the Hurricane Katrina victim interviewees.
       What I found to be intriguing difficult to understand was the comment made by the former First Lady Barbara Bush. She stated her opinion that many of the people in the domes were better off because they were receiving treatment and aid that was what she considered better than what they had back in New Orleans. The fact that this political figure has said something so bizarre reveals the fact that the government is greatly responsible for the lack of appropriate aid received for the people, because if this is what they are thinking about, it is highly expected that they will not do the best job in helping the victims. The film also brings up an important point, the fact the former President George Bush did not visit the state of New Orleans until two weeks after the storm.
       If any person was unsure about what really happened in New Orleans and the aftermath of the hurricane, Spike Lee’s film provides an anecdotal sense of the experiences of the victims and what the political system failed to do during the aftermath. It is also a display of how the media jointly gave a misrepresentation of the people who suffered after the storm.