Trouble the Water - More Than Katrina, It's About America

When Black Voices first asked me to consider writing a Katrina piece anchored to the third anniversary of the catastrophe, I initially said, "no." I said "no" because I've been talking with some Houston natives recently and listened to their complaints about how they felt crime had spiked, that it was connected to some of the Katrina victims, and had impacted their neighborhoods.

Oh I know it's the few that ruin it for everyone, but still I just wasn't feeling the urgent sense of compassion and empathy I once felt for those caught in the storm.

Leave it to cinema to transport me out of my misplaced nonchalance. "Trouble the Water," which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, is a soul tugging excursion into what it's like to be submerged in water, in grief, in sadness and to emerge if not triumphant, then whole. Mostly.

From Indiewire.com:

In the film, the filmmakers (who worked with Michael Moore on "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11") team up with native New Orleans filmmaker and musician Kimberly Rivers and her husband to create an account of the effects of Katrina has had on the city's population. "'Trouble the Water' makes unapologetically clear that Hurricane Katrina rages on as an unnatural disaster of governmental and journalistic failure," writes Sundance's Shari Frilot of the film in the '08 Sundance catalog. "What is also truly amazing is that the levee protecting Kimberly's humanity against this devastating storm remains firmly grounded in her deep-rooted love for New Orleans, her family, and her art, and her enduring faith in her fellow human beings."

I thought I knew everything about Katrina, but with every chronicle, with every expose, I learn about how city, state and Federal government failed to protect the people who had the least means and defense against an unprecedented natural disaster.

More Katrina Coverage
+ Katrina Aftermath, Three Years Later
+ Interview: Mayor Nagin Calls New Orleans "Tale of Two Cities"
+ Nervous New Orleans Eyes Killer Storm
+ Katrina Memorial Taking Shape

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