A constant ominous theme underlies the entire documentary. Spike Lee opened Act III with the boisterous and rowdy jazz of the Hot 8 Brass Band, to give the viewers a taste of the culture of New Orleans. The band played “When the saints go marching in,” but there was no quick and competent solution that America expected from the federal government after a national disaster.
Spike Lee focused on the connection between the residents of New Orleans and their homes. Lee showed how the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina was not limited to demolished homes and a demolished city.
He gave a brief history of New Orleans. The residents of the city had strong ties to their ancestors, who all lived and died in the area. People who lost homes also lost family pictures and the family Bible.
There were residents who were disconnected from their family members sent elsewhere in the United States. It was hard for the city to entice the residents to return when the crime returned faster than the revival of the city. One resident compared New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to a disfigured friend who was barely recognizable.
These people who were relocated wanted to return to their city but were faced with financial obstacles. It did not help when the rest of the country felt that they were harboring “refugees.” Cities like Houston, where most of the evacuees were relocated, did not welcome the new residents, blaming them for the increase in crime in the city. Barbara Bush’s comment made it seem that the evacuees were from a third world country, were rescued by the United States and relieved from their poverty.
The effects of the hurricane could not be contained. Many of the evacuees needed drugs to put their lives back on track. Lee’s documentary was the other story of Hurricane Katrina, told by those who are still recovering from its damage.