Name: Khalea Allen

GEOG 1700

PART ONE: Act I

Chapter 1, Miss New Orleans (16 minutes)
1. To whom does Spike Lee dedicate this documentary?
The hurricane victims in New Orleans, and Gulf States and Louisiana.
2. What do the opening scenes make you feel about the city?
It's crowded, diverse and interesting places plagued by disasters that ruin it
but the people persevere.
3. What is FEMA? What is it supposed to do? Who was director of FEMA
at the time of Katrina?
FEMA stands for The Federal Emergency Managements Agency. FEMA exists to
help the American people in times of crisies. The Director of FEMA is Mike Brown.
4. What is a blog? What was being posted on blogs about Katrina?
Blog is an online account of events that occur weather personal or global.
The blogs about Katrina talk about the potential risks that could befall the
areas within the hurricanes path if not handled properly with preparation.
5. Who was the mayor of New Orleans when Katrina struck? Who was
the governor of Louisiana?
Ray Nagin was mayor. Louisiana governor is Kathleen Blanco.
6. On what date did Hurricane Katrina make landfall?
August 29th, 2005.
7. When was the city told to evacuate? Who gave the order? Was it
voluntary or mandatory?
It was mandatory that they began on the 26 th. The Mayor Ray Nagin and the
governor Kathleen Blanco issued the order for evacuation.
8. What does Spike Lee want the viewer to think about the order to
evacuate? What makes you feel this?
I feel he wanted to show just how disjointed it was. Some people didn't want
to go, some had no where to go or a way to get to a shelter.Roads were
backed up instead of utilizing more traffic ways. Families tried to stay
together. So, if one family member wouldn't go, others wouldn't. The various
interviews and how they reacted to the mandatory evacuation.
9. What is portrayed as the significance of different wards in the
city?

1/11

Different wards or sections of the city have a highly diverse population from
each other. Some did not want to leave because they had been through it
before, some immediately packed up for the mandatory evacuation, and
some had no way to leave due to financial reasons.
10.
What category was Hurricane Katrina at maximum? What
category was it when it made landfall south of New Orleans?
Category 5.
11.

What is the Superdome? Where is it located?

The Superdome is an athletics (football) stadium located near the heart of

New Orleans where people would use it as refuge before and after the storm.
12.
How prepared were New Orleans and its residents for
evacuation?
Most were not prepared. They did not gather food, mostly had a bag with a
few changes of clothes or perhaps possessions. No one in the superdome had
food or water but the city attempted to provide. Some boarded up their
homes and windows but most were simply left before the storm.
Chapter 2, Gods Will? (7 minutes)
1. What does Phyllis LeBlanc stop to ponder in the opening scene?
Wonders if it's Gods will for her and her family to die right now.
2. How did different people prepare for the storm? Who were proactive
and who were reactive?
Some people prepared and left the city they were proactive. Others decided
to ride out the storm. Many who stayed behind took shelter in the Superdome
or in high rise hotels and apartments right before the storm hit. It is a little
proactive but mostly reactive to the storms proximity.
3. Why did people flock to the Superdome? Where was the Convention
Center? How was it used?
It is a large shelter of last resort because many people did not have places to
go. There is no other buildings in New Orleans that could sustain more than a
category 3 storm winds.
4. What happened to parts of the roof of the Superdome?
Part of the roof was peeled away by the wind and rain started coming into
part of the stadium.
5. How did the scene affect you?
It's scary to know that there is no protection for these people in the stadium
nothing to block the wind and rain in part of the stadium.

2/11

Chapter 3, Explosions (10 minutes)

1. Did Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans directly? If not, where did it
make landfall?
The storm passed just to the east of New Orleans.
2. What were the explosions that people heard?
The levees cracking and breaking.
3. Does Spike Lee think the levees were blown up? What do you think?
He includes interviews of others who do not think it was explosions in the
documentary. There were many who thought the sound of the levees
breaking or a barge knocking into one and breaking a levee.
4. What is the levee system of New Orleans?
Man-made structures built around the land to keep the ocean out.
5. When Hurricane Betsy hit in 1965, what was done to the levees?
Why?
Purposefully broke some of the levees to release water into the poorer parts
of New Orleans to protects nicer areas of New Orleans.
6. What was Hurricane Pam?
Fictitious hurricane used in storm models if a hurricane flooded New Orleans.
7. Do you think anyone is to blame for the failure of the levees to hold,
and if so, who?
Those responsible for paying for the levees and the local and national
government failed the people by building levees that were not intended to
persist through a category 5 storm.
8. Was this disaster the result of a natural event or a human failure?
A human failure. If no humans lived in the New Orleans area, it would not
have been a disaster when any
9. Why were the levees blown up in 1927?
A rumor that believed they purposefully bombed the levees to flood some
surrounding areas where black people lived. However, most were white
people and more about money than people.
Chapter 4, Day One (10 minutes)
1. How high did the water get in some areas?
It went up above some 2nd level homes balconies. Over 16 feet in the lower
city pumping stations.

3/11

2. Why would water leaving the storm drains and manholes be of such
concern?
There is no where left for the water to be drained away so it will begin
flooding above ground where the people and buildings are.
3. What is a first responder? Was FEMA designed to be a first
responder?
A first responder is an organization designed to go into places just hit by a
disaster to supply immediate aid and assistance, FEMA is not a first
responder. It addresses issues after the disaster hit after the first responder
already were working.
4. What point does Phyllis LeBlanc make about calling 911?
She called the operator because she couldn't get through to 911. When the
operator told her there was no one to call for help she felt truly left to die in
her situation and alone and that the 911 and operator were inhuman with no
compassion for human life.
5. How do images of the ruins of Pompeii compare to images of New
Orleans?
It's found ironic that the ruins of one of the worlds best preserved points of
deaths and watching one's own city at the beginning of it's ruination.
Chapter 5, The Cajun Navy (13 minutes)
1. Which agency is most responsive to the emergency? Why do you
think it was effective and how did it compare to other agencies and
response organizations?
The people most appreciated because of their expediency and assistance was
the US coiastr guard with their boats and helicopters were able to help more.
2. What point does the filmmaker seem to be making about leadership?
There seems to be little help from leaders and no one was organized ready to
go in immediately after the store winds subsided except the coast guard.
There was no leadership. The Coast guard said there were no rules they'd fly
as long as they could to assist as many as possible.
3. What extreme weather conditions affected people after the storm?
It was nearly 100 degrees after the storm during the flooding.
4. What is the Cajun Navy? Why was it needed?
The locals left behind helping others that were less fortunate.
5. Name the actor who helps with the rescue effort. Does it make a
difference when celebrities play this kind of role? Are they being
heroic?
4/11

I do not think they are being heroic they are simply being helpful human
beings and valuing human lives. In retrospect it may be viewed heroic by
those lives the actor touched or may persuade people to help their fellow
man weather you are famous or not we are all human beings.
6. How did statements by Eddie Compass, New Orleans Chief of Police,
affect media coverage of the hurricane? Did his statements have
other consequences?
Yes. He's an emotional man and when he became a media sensation he
started stretching the truth and starting rumors that simply were not true.
7. Where were Herbert Freeman and his wheelchair-bound mother
when she died?
They were outside the Superdome. A police officer told them to wait at the
end of the line for a bus to come get them.
8. How did you feel about his story?
Its absolutely heartbreaking that it took a week for the first bus to arrive after
they were told to wait outside in the heat for 7 days and people died just
standing in line. It's unhumane and irresponsible it makes me want to cry and
angry.
Chapter 6, The City That Care Forgot (10 minutes)
1. Why did the mother of the five children die? How did this scene
affect you?
She needed oxygen, but there was none to be had and she likely suffocated
and died. Its heartbreaking to know those five children watched their mother
and only parent die right in front of them. Thankfully they had a neighbor who
cared and tried to get them to safety in the reporters boat.
2. How do you evaluate President Bushs statement no one
anticipated the breach of the levees?
Everyone knew that the levees were built poorly and not able to protect the
city. That's why they issued a mandatory evacuation. His statement is a lie
that sounds like he's just trying to protect himself.
3. How does the lack of response reflect upon the local, state, and
federal governments?
It shows them all in a bad light. The lack of aide and organization is clearly
shown. Everyone else came to help us when our own government officials did
not.
4. How did you respond to the images of the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police arriving in New Orleans before the federal government?

5/11

That's incredibly strong. Every country in the world was helping us but our
own.
5. What point does Harry Belafonte make about the offers of help from
other countries?
He said many countries offered to come to our aid with supplies.
6. Which foreign president is shown offering to help the people in the
region hurt by Katrina? Why do you think he made the offer?
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offered to help the poor people of New
Orleans because they were not being taken care of by the US government.
Perhaps he was trying to shame our government into action.
7. What did a video clip show some police doing in the days following
the hurricane?
It showed groups of police officers worried about a looter in a super market
when once block down the road there was a building full of children and
families without food or water or basic necessities. The police themselves
were looting.
8. How did conditions in the Superdome deteriorate?
The Superdome had no running water, the bathrooms were backed up and
overflowing. It was humid with body heat.
9. According to Shelton, how are the senses affected by the conditions
of the Superdome?
The scene was crazy to him because the bathrooms sewage was flowing out
of the bathrooms they were deplorable situation that made no sense.
10.
How does Shelton explain people in the Superdome singing
This Little Light of Mine?
People gathered together and sang and lifted up the spirits of the peoples
suffering, they sang it inside and out. People felt better for a little while
afterwards.
11.

What images in this act affected you the most?

The special needs and elderly people who died waiting for help or transport.
12.

What was said that affected you the most?

When the man was approached by the Mounties from Vancouver and he
asked where was the US government?
13.
13. What issues raised in this act need more clarification or
explanation?

6/11

How did they escape the Superdome? How long did they have to wait for
busses? When did the last person leave, did the government eventually help?

PART ONE: Act II

Chapter 1, Jeffersonia (9 minutes)
1. How did Hurricane Katrina affect Will Chittenden?
He swam to get to a pick up point on the interstate.
2. What happened in Jefferson Parish?
They did not allow anyone from New Orleans parish to cross parish lines with
armed police at gun point.
3. What happened on the Gretna Bridge? How were citizens portrayed?
A line of armed police kept the people from reaching the bridge to cross over
the river to Jefferson parish
4. Why might those in Jefferson Parish have felt threatened?
They were already having to deal with their own parish's flooding and taking
care of it's citizens. They wouldn't want to get swamped by people fro other
parishes because they couldn't take care of them all.
5. How is Emil armed? Why is he armed?
He has a 9mm and 2 shot guns and more at his home. He didn't know what
to expect if he'd be looted or dangerous people were running around.
6. What can we infer about Spike Lees views on gun ownership?
He's surprised by the number of guns owned by Emil. He asked if he was
armed tot ake down terrorists himself. He obviously believes the man had too
many guns and likely does not support civilian gun use.
Chapter 2, We Shoot Looters (9 minutes)
1. What happened to the person who shot Darnell Herrington? With
what was Herrington shot?
He was shot with buckshot. It doesn't say anything about the man who shot
him, so I assume nothing happened to him.
2. What explanations are given to explain why surrounding parishes
would not let people fleeing from New Orleans enter?
There were rumors of thugs and looters being the ones' fleeing the city. Other
parishes did not want looters and thugs in their cities.
3. In her speech, does Governor Blanco say that looters should be shot?

7/11

No. She states that military personal know how to shoot and likely will to aid
the local police.
4. Why is footage of helicopter rescues specific to BBC coverage?
Because other countries were there when the rescues were going on except
america. So there is no American footage.
5. Why was Police Chief Eddie Compass criticized?
Its credited that he was trying to be honest but when the whirlwind of being a
media celebrity caught up to him he started stretching facts and creating
rumors when he lost his composure.
6. Based on the views expressed by Douglas Brinkley and David Meeks,
how do you think Spike Lee feels about Compass?
That he was a good cop worried about the people but then becoming a media
sensation worked the wrong way.
7. Are you convinced that the federal government had no warning that
Hurricane Katrina would be so destructive?
There were many agencies and meteorologists tracking the storm long before
it became a hurricane
8. Why does Spike Lee include footage of the teleconference with
President Bush?
To show the things he said about how he 'cares about the situation' and his
lack of interest.
9. Why did it take the president 12 days to come to New Orleans?
He went to California and Iraq which he believed were more important.
10.
How did President Bush famously praise FEMA Director Michael
Brown? How does the filmmaker communicate his view of this
praise?
In a mocking way. Not showing it once but three times how it's belittled in his
expression.
11.
What did President Lyndon Johnson do when Hurricane Betsy
hit New Orleans?
He flew in the black of night with a flashlight in his hand and lit himself up
and put his boots on the ground to let the disaster struck know he was there
and cared about them.
Chapter 3, Brownie, Youre Doin a Heck of a Job (12 minutes)
1. Why did it take five days to get help to many of the hurricane
victims?

8/11

The president had to give a speech in California and Iraq before he address
the disaster.
2. What were the legal constraints on using the army for emergencies
like Katrina?
Most of the national guard and military were in Iraq. When they did send
guard to New Orleans they felt like they were living in an occupied city.
3. What do you think of Soledad OBriens confrontation on the
availability of intel?
She uses the word baffling and I completely agree. If they had a true
interest and investment in this disaster, people would have been out there
gathering resources of information together.
4. How does Spike Lee view the appointment of Michael Brown?
It's almost laughable. He was obviously given the job as a gift of the
president.
5. How much of New Orleans was under water?
80%
6. Why does Spike Lee feel the director of Homeland Security has
greater culpability than Michael Brown?
Michael Brown was used as a scapegoat, but the director of Homeland
Security didn't know how to do his job.
7. Is there any significance to Condoleeza Rices shoe shopping at
Ferragamo during the crisis?
It shows what is most important to her. No one cares about the disaster.
8. What point does Judith Morgan make about not being able to
evacuate?

9. What is the value of showing poor Whites suffering? Does this

contrast with most media images of those left behind?
It's important to see both black and white people too poor to evacuate
because it shows the disaster does not care who or what you are it affects all
people.
Chapter 4, The Mayor Calls In (10 minutes)
1. Who should have evacuated the people in New Orleans if they could
not do it themselves?

9/11

The city should have held transportation operators when it issued the
mandatory evacuation. There was no one to transport people out when they
needed to leave for days.
2. What was the main difference between the disaster of 9/11 and the
storm?
9/11 was contained in a small area where this is an entire swath of the state.
3. Why do you think it took the federal government so many days to
help?
They did not feel it was as important compared to other things like shoe
shopping and visiting California.
4. How long did President Bush wait before going to New Orleans?
5 days
5. Was there tension between Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin?
Yes. The mayor sided with the president and their aid attempts
6. Why was Garland Robinette moved to tears during the interview?
Because it was such an emotional event for him it upsets him still.
7. Why did Mayor Nagin say his business career was over? What is his
fear regarding the CIA? Do you think his fear is valid?
No. I do not think the CIA would 'take him out' with poison. He already has
enough blame for the poor execution of his city's relief after the disaster.
8. Do you think Mayor Nagin made a strategic choice to align with the
president instead of the governor? Why?
Yes, He needed stronger backing than he was currently getting from the
governor.
9. What point does Marc Morial (former mayor) make about the role of
politics in a crisis?
All political animosities must be set aside when a national disaster occurs.
10.
What story does Reverend Al Sharpton tell? Why does the man
in the story question why God didnt take him?
About how a man watched his wheelchair-bound wife be swept into the flood
and drown. It's a reminded of the tragedy some of the people faced. It was a
torturous time and some people questioned why some were taken but they
were left to suffer.
Chapter 5, General Honor (12 minutes)
1. Who sent General Honor to New Orleans? Where was he from?

10/11

A general in the US Army. He's from creole Luisiana.

2. In what way is Honor shown as an all-American hero?
He got things taken care of, he made the military stop acting like they were
occupying a war zone and got them working to help the people trapped
there.
3. How is the Convention Center evacuation portrayed?
Chaos with babies torn from the protective arms of their mothers and fathers.
I do not agree with those sentiments however the chaos is clear through the
images of the suffering.
4. What images come to mind as the convoy is shown arriving in town?
Organization...finally!
5. How does Gralen Banks describe the evacuation process?
That the 'process' was chaotic and unprepared.
6. What are the images of evacuation? What associations do you have
to those images?
It's like cattle pens. They put them in little metal lined corals and grouped
everyone into bus load sized portions.
7. Herbert Freeman describes being forced to leave his dead mother
behind in order to get on the bus. How does his dilemma make you
feel?
It's sad that he has to make a heartbreaking decision.
8. What happened at the airport?
It was used as a staging point during Katrina for evacuees.
9. Do you think the documentary presents a balanced account of the
breaching of the levees? Does Spike Lee have a point of view?
He does have his point of view. It never actually shows any of the levees
other than the explosions in 1965 footage. Most of it was from those many
who lived through it but it clearly showed certain points that the director
wanted expressed.
10.

What does Phyllis LeBlanc expect of uniformed people?

Empathy of compassion because the uniform she saw looked at her like she
was less than human.
Chapter 6, An Ancient Memory (9 minutes)
1. How does the filmmaker want you to feel about the one-way ticket
evacuation?

11/11

That it was absolute chaos and akin to slavery. They had no say in where or
when or who they went or did not get to go with.
2. How were the evacuees treated when they were shipped out on
buses and planes?
They were like slaves not told where they were going or have any choice.
Family was split apart.
3. Where did Judith Morgan end up? How long did it take her to get
there?
30 hours to get to Oklahoma
4. What is the point of the next-to-last video montage the one
containing images of children?
To show the number of children that also suffered through this time.
5. Why does Spike Lee choose to end with CNN anchor Soledad OBrien
introducing the abandonment of dead bodies?
It's clearly explained and has actual fresh images and she clearly expresses
her shock.
6. What aspect of this act had the most effect on you?
The simple unhumane treatment of these people that ended in so much
death.
7. What is the message of Shelton Shakespear Alexanders poem?
About all the death that resulted from Katrina and how it's changed him and
everyone else.
8. What other questions should be asked about this act? What other
information would you like to have? What other issues raised in this
Act need more clarification or explanation for you?
How did family reunite after being driven or flown to so many places? Why
did they go to so many places after being taken to one destination?

PART TWO: Act III

Chapter 1, By Way of Katrina (10 minutes)
1. The scene opens with Mother Audrey Mason giving thanks for
deliverance from the water. The prayer is juxtaposed with a video
montage of devastation. What are you meant to feel? What do you
feel from the image of Phyllis LeBlanc on the stoop of her FEMA
trailer? How does she look? Is there irony in the prayer of thanks?
What images follow?

12/11

She is thankful to be alive but what she's left to, the way she must now live is
sadly lacking the things of comfort a person usually has.
2. There is a shot of a statue of Jesus crucified outside St. Bernard
Parish. What does this image suggest?
The people of St Bernard Parish were 'sacrificed' and risen again after Katrina
when they rebuilt like the story of Jesus when he was crucified by the people
and after being buried rose again after 3 days.
3. The opening video montage is contrasted with the Hot 8 New
Orleans Jazz Band in New York City on Halloween. What sentiment
is conveyed by When the Saints Go Marching In?
Jovality. Almost party like atmosphere with the usual New Orleans style.
4. What city in Texas took in the largest number of evacuees?
Houston
5. How many people were evacuated from New Orleans?
As many as 232,000
6. Do other cities blame New Orleans evacuees for increases in crime?
Yes. There is an increase in violent crimes People trying to set things up in
their new residences.
7. How does the closing video montage of families looking for each
other affect you?
It is very sad that they were kept in the dark like military prisone3rs. They
nearly make the situation worse rather than better.
Chapter 2, Polarized (10 minutes)
1. What celebrity says George Bush doesnt care about Black people?
Kanye West
2. How does Michael Eric Dyson portray the responses of Mike Myers
and Rev. Sharpton to Wests act?
Like a deer in the headlights, afraid, unable to formulate an articulate
response. Black people were happy about what he said Because all Katrina
victims felt that way.
3. What other Gulf state had very bad damage from Katrina?
Mississippi
4. What does Dr. Ben Marble say to Vice President Cheney? Whom does
he say he is quoting and why?

13/11

He quotes Cheney to Cheney Go fuck yourself. Because that's what the

people feel like.
5. How long did it take President Bush to venture into the center of
New Orleans?
2 weeks because he decided to stay on holiday.
6. Why is use of the word refugee to describe the evacuees from
New Orleans so controversial?
Refugees are running from a war zone, not a natural disaster.
7. What is Joseph Brunos disappointment about the photo-op for
President Bush?
They made it look like the city was coming back together with electricity but
it was only a
publicity stunt for the presidents press release.
Chapter 3, American Citizens (14 minutes)
1. Why wont Phyllis LeBlanc, Wendell Pierce, Joseph Melancon, or
Glenn Hall leave New Orleans?
They have a lifestyle of being born, raised, and die in New Orleans. Even if
the city is destroyed they will still live there.
2. Why are citizens outraged by the way the ABC news team described
the evacuees?
They are insulted by not being called evacuees but refugees. Refugees is
considered a term for people who flee their country for political or war
reasons. They question if their US citizenship was stripped from them when
Katrina destroyed their city.
3. What did Barbara Bush, the presidents mother, say about the
people in the Astrodome?
She said These people are looking better than probably were in New Orleans.
They were all underprivileged anyway and so were profiting off the charity of
Houston while seeking refuge in the Astrodome.
4. What does Rev. Sharpton say is the problem with the president?
Whom does he hold responsible?
The president's slowness in respoinding to the victims of Katrina is because
he was taught by this unfeeling mother Barbra Bush.
5. How did Kathy end up in Utah? How does she portray it? What do
you think Spike Lees view is? What is your view of this?
She didnb't know she was going to Utah. She was on a bus that just drove her
there and dropped the people off. He children were in a shelter in Texas. The
director wants to point out how poorly they were treated, families torn apart
14/11

and scattered all over the country. I agree that they had no choice in where
they ended up with their families disjointed. It was unfeeling and a callous
way to deal with the victim situation.
6. Phyllis LeBlanc describes the dispersal of her own family. Why are
some members hesitant to come back?
Her family is in Texas. Her family with medical issues cannot come back
because there is no facilities for him. There's nothing for them in New Orleans
to help them survive there.
7. Why doesnt Mother Mason want to go back?
She says, If they wanted us here they wouldn't try to drown us and kill us.
So, I'm not going back so they can finish the job.
8. Why were people given only one-way tickets by FEMA?
They do not want to pay for the problems of those 'refugees' to come back
to0 New Orleans while they are building. So, those that cannot afford to go
back to New Orleans are stuck where FEMA left them.
9. How was the crime rate affected by the storm/disaster? What did
Mayor Nagin do to combat crime?
It went from a low number of deaths to 4-5 in a single night. High poverty
rates, below national average wages cause people to resort to crimes to
survive. Mayor Nagin got several hundred of national guards and new
additional police officers to help stem to rise in crime.
10.

What is revealed about the school system in New Orleans?

School system is one of worst in the nation. They would drop out as early as
14. a 55% drop out rate. They learn poorly and have no way to work their
way out of the local areas issues.
11.
What does one person say New Orleans would be without Black
people?
It'd be a bad version of disney land. It would be to have nothing.
12.
Where does Karen Carter place blame for the cycle of crime in
New Orleans?
She says the financial viability as lacking to do the huge reduction in state
funds because of Katrina. Because they drop out of school they resort to gang
and violence related crimes. And then their children continue the cycle with
no advantage to their education.
13.

What does David Meeks say we have to do for New Orleans?

He says the black people who lived in New Orleans need to come back. And
offer a chance to come back and something to come back to.

15/11

Chapter 4, The Roots Run Deep (7 minutes)

1. In New Orleans, what term is used to describe Blacks who
intermarried with the French?
Creoles.
2. What is your feeling about the French permitting slaves to
participate in cultural events?
It created amazing traditions and a culture that is all their own. It was
progressive in the US at those times.
3. What ceremony in New Orleans is celebrated very differently than in
other places?
Mardi Gras.
4. To what city does Wynton Marsalis liken New Orleans?
Paris of the South.
5. Wynton Marsalis describes the jazz funeral as a combination of a
dirge (mourning) and a happy parade (celebration). In what ways
does the jazz funeral combine African and Christian tradition?
Christians mourn the loss and that life is a trial, where Africans believe the
afterlife is rich and they are celebrating their friend is moving on to
something rich and great.
Chapter 5, Coming Back (7 minutes)
1. What does Harris mean by describing her old neighborhood as a
friend who has been disfigured?
It feels the same but looks different because of the destruction.
2. Terence Blanchard is shown taking his mother back to her house.
How does she respond? What does his mom mean when she says
the china closet doesnt have any business being over there?
She's upset things aren't were they were supposed to be and the loss of
everything and the destruction in her home.
3. Did people coming back anticipate the level of devastation they
found?
No. They feel at a loss of words to describe how they feel about the
devestation.
4. What happened to nature in the city?
There was no grass, no animals, no trees.

16/11

5. Damon Hewitt talks about not being able to return home. What is
the irony of having a brick-fronted house?
The outside still exists but the inside is gutted. Those things that made it a
home are all gone.
6. What does Cheryl say she came back to?
Devastation.
Chapter 6, Despair, Depression, Anxiety (10 minutes)
1. To what does Wynton Marsalis liken the unpredictable feelings
people have?
Like someone just violated your momma.
2. What are the health and psychological effects Drs. Corey and
Cataldie describe?
Like they have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
3. 3. How are Will Chittenden and Phyllis LeBlanc trying to cope? What
is Phyllis contemplating? What stops her?
Taking medications and going to doctors to help them. LeBlanc has to take
sleeping pills, Chittenden needs anxiety pills. She considered killing herself
but
4. What other questions should be asked about this act of the film?
What other information would you like to have? What other issues
raised in this act need more clarification or explanation for you?
The results of those that are strewn across the country. How many passed
away from being away from home.

PART TWO: Act IV

Chapter 1, Mardi Gras 2006 (7 minutes)
1. What is the significance of holding a jazz funeral for Katrina?
Its proper respect for the things, places and people lost during Katrina. It's a
personal New Orleans goodbye.
2. What impression do you get from the image of the church with the
American flag on it?
It's derelict, but still standing and people likely still use the building for
worship.
3. Do you think coming back to celebrate Mardi Gras 2006 was the
right choice? Do you think Spike Lee thinks so?

17/11

Yes because even though they were 'down' the city is not out and everyone
loves it. It surely lifted the residents morale and the influx of money would
benefit the rebuilding.
4. What do the T-shirts signify about the people of New Orleans? What
are their sentiments about FEMA? Spike Lee bought those T-shirts
and asked the people in the film to wear them. Does that make you
feel differently about the scene?
Yes. If people had chosen to wear them of their own decision it would mean
more than to wear it for the film. That seems very two-faced.
5. How did people feel when Mardi Gras ended? How is this significant?
It was only a temporary reprieve because after the party and they began
cleaning up the city, residents returned to their homes in worse condition
than than the city streets had been.
Chapter 2, The Markings (8 minutes)
1. How long did it take the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove
debris?
Took them 4 months to get to work on the disaster.
2. What does the content of the graffiti signify? Do you think graffiti is
a form of self-expression or of vandalism?
Most of the graffiti is expression especially about the upset residents of the
city. I feel actual graffiti to be somewhat artistic but simply writing a mark or
name is pointless and wasteful.
3. What do Kenneth Kirsch and Ruel Douvillier explain about the FEMA
markings? What is the 6:00 position?
The 'X' separates the date the house was searched (12 o'clock), the number
of hazards found(3 o'clock) the number of bodies found(6 o'clock) and the
team that searched(9 o'clock).
4. According to Calvin, why werent the houses actually searched?
Many of the houses had metal bars on the doors and windows, so though
they had markings they had not been searched.
5. What point does Wendell Pierce make about the deaths? Did people
have to die?
He says that so many people were left dead in their homes. If they had been
taken care of quickly... they did not have to die.
6. How does Paris Ervin describe finding his mom? What is the impact
of going into his house? How long did it take him to get his moms
body back?

18/11

It had been searched and gave him hope, but no one had been in the house
because the doors were barred and it hurt when he found his mother. He's
visually in pain and speachless. He was there in October he wasn't able to get
her body until January 10th
7. According to Dr. Cataldie, how did people die, aside from drowning?
People were dieing because electricity was out, heat stroke, dehydration, lack
of medication.
Chapter 3, Engineers, Oil & Money (13 minutes)
1. Who built the levees in New Orleans? What does Cynthia HedgeMorrell say was wrong with the levees?
The Army Corp of Engineers who poorly built levees they did not build the
levees to Category 3.
2. Why werent the levees built to withstand a Category 3 hurricane?
What does Robert Bea say caused the levees to break?
The levee walls were not properly seated 17 feet below sea level as they
should have been.
3. To what level did Colonel Lewis Setliff expect the levees to be
restored by June 1st?
4. Did you believe Setliffs claim that they didnt know why the levees
failed?
No. clearly many people explain the failures. But he believed they had been
built to code with standards. So if they had been, they should not have failed.
5. What is the irony of restoring the levees to pre-Katrina safety?
Because they were not built to quality standards before the hurricane.
6. What does Brian Hall say is the result of the report on the Army
Corps of Engineers?
He says it's the most tragic failure of a civil engineered system in the history
of the US.
7. Terence Blanchard and Joseph Bruno think someone should go to jail.
Who? Do you agree?
I do not agree, There is too many at fault to blame a single person.
8. What is the ratio for a proper levee (width to height)?
13 ft by 25 ft slabs
9. Why cant you sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? Should you be
able to?

19/11

Because they are immune. No, because their purpose is there to aid the
people. It's politicians who should be held accountable keeping money from
expensive preventative works to be built properly.
10.
What is the name of the lake that borders New Orleans? What
river runs through the city?Lake Pontchartrain
11.
What does Ivor van Heerden mean when he says the wetlands
are being starved? Why is this important to understand?
The sand that used to built the wetlands up are being bypassed by a chute to
keep the shipping lanes clear of sand and natural marsh lands.
12.
What is global warming? How will this impact other coastal
cities?
Heating of the earth through human intervention. Causing sealevels to rise,
making coastal cities more vulnerable to storm surges and flooding when
storms do come.
13.
What revenue does Garland Robinette think should be used to
rebuild the wetlands?
The oil rigs where the wetlands used to be,m but the government takes all
the product.
Chapter 4, Where Is My Government? (9 minutes)
1. What does the town hall meeting reveal about life after the disaster?
Though things are being done the people are still suffering and needing of
help and still receive nothing from the government.
2. What did people need so badly that FEMA did not supply quickly
enough?
Houses.
3. Why is Phyllis LeBlanc so frustrated?
They told her they had a trailer for her, but she had no place to put it so they
listed her to wait until she had a place to put it.
4. What message is given to those anticipating help from the
government? Why did Mississippi get more trailers?
Their information is 'pending'. No one is getting anywhere. You go back and
forth with no information.
5. What is the problem Judith Morgan is having in proving her property
is hers? How long has she been waiting?
She's been waiting 6 months trying to prove she owned her home before
Katrina by obtaining documents through the city to send to FEMA.

20/11

6. Freddy Hicks and Michael Knight describe the quality of the trailers.
What is their perspective?
They have plenty of room for a trailer but they have never come yet. There is
a person next to them that have a trailer but not for him or his street.
7. How does Cheryl Livaudis say she will get her FEMA trailer? Why is
she so cynical?
She has a trailer with sewer and water, but no electricity. She's very jaded by
how people treat them.
8. What is problematic in setting up the trailers? What does the tour of
the trailer show about their quality?
People say only 1% of the trailers supplied by FEMA are usable. There is no
electricity.
9. What does Phyllis LeBlanc say about the effects of rain and thunder?
The trailer is unstable and sways in light wind and rain.
10.
From the portrayal of local, state, and federal government
responses, what is your impression of governments ability to
respond to disasters?
There is absolute idiocy and no response from any parts of the government.
11.
What does Fred Johnson say? What triggers it? Why does the
video crew laugh?
He says politicians think their jobs are for themselves, when they should be
working for the
people who elected them. He started saying how messed up the
government was and asked to move on because this line of thought was messing
him up.
Chapter 5, A Signature Moment (13 minutes)
1. Why does Wynton Marsalis say Katrina events represent a
signature moment in American history?
Because they were provided a moment to see what was wrong with the US
people.
2. How have insurance companies avoided paying for much of the
housing losses?
Most of the housing did not have flood insurance.
3. What does Louella Givens explain about her insurance dilemma?
They are not believing anything the insurance agencies say because they've
gone back on their word as the worst offenders to not help the victims of
Katrina.

21/11

4. What is happening to the houses in the Ninth Ward? Why? Who

predominantly lives in the Ninth Ward?
They are bulldozing the whole ninth ward. Mostly poor black people. They are
being told there's nothing salvageable, and what they own is worthless, and
then land grabbers come along and purchase large pieces of land to make
money off of it.
5. Why do some people have to walk away from their homes?
They never were ever able to rebuild or get paid to help them fix their homes.
6. How would you describe the attitude of the three generations of
Harris women?
They are tough and willing to work to repair and rebuild, but they are are
many forces working against them.
7. According to Wendell Pierce, who is trying to get control of the land
in the Ninth Ward?
Corporations and land grabbers want to buy the properties in the 9 th ward to
gentrify it and make a profit.
8. What point do Freddy Hicks and Michael Knight make about keeping
their houses?
He will not be run off from his home or property. He will build as slowly as he
must but never give up on his home.
Chapter 6, I Am Mending (9 minutes)
1. Who is rebuilding the levees? Why does Colonel Setliff say they are
building the levees stronger?
The Army Corp of Engineers is building the levees and they are following the
code that should have been done in the first place.
2. Which country has an exemplary levee system? How does that
countrys view of risk management contrast with the view in the
United States?
The Netherlands. The united states engineers were embarrassed by their
previous attempts because they built levees in this tiny country to withstand
a one-in-ten thousand-year storm to protect their people. They also maintain
and armor their levees.
3. What does Bruno say is the reason they are not rebuilding the levees
adequately?
Because the president doesn't see why he should spend so much money on
building proper levees since New Orleans is not a threat.

22/11

4. What contrast does Calvin Mackie say about the lack of preparation
since Hurricane Betsy and the June 1st deadline?
He doesn't believe they can repair or rebuild in 8 months what they could not
build in 40 years.
5. Why havent the pumps begun working again?
Waiting on the army corp of engineers who say there was not enough working
space and many bouts of rain keeping them from working on getting the
pumps operational.
6. Would people interviewed in the documentary evacuate in the face
of another storm event?
Everyone is scared of another return of a storm and they will flee and then
return.
7. What does Fred Johnson caution others to do? Does Phyllis LeBlanc
agree?
8. When the civil engineer is asked by Spike Lee if it is safe to move
back, what does he say?
He says it is not safe to live in New Orleans.
9. What feeling are you left with as Setliff fades and there is a
transition to the eroding flood walls?
The fate of so many is resting on this man and his ideals and then they will
fade away and hope for the best in the end. Eventually people will forget
about them and they fade into obscurity.
10.

What is the message of Phyllis LeBlancs poem

How everything was changed and how people died and everyone else left.
How amid the trauma she will mend.
11.
The final scene is of the celebratory dimension of the New
Orleans funeral (vs. the dirge), and the sunset on Lake
Pontchartrain. What sentiment do you think the director wishes to
convey? Is there hope?
The threat is ever present but it hasn't been forgotten and it will not win.
They are survivors of Katrina and they are back to rebuild and be strong.
12.
What other questions should be asked about this act of the
film? What other information would you like to have? What other
issues raised in this act need more clarification or explanation for
you?
Did -anybody- end up in a good situation after the storm. Did a family of 5 get
their trailor super fast? What happened to the People in Louisiana. How did

23/11

the people in Jefferson County mend their breach with the people of New
Orleans?

24/11