when the levees broke

[Ag Au]

so i don't have HBO, but i am really interested in seeing spike lee's documentary on katrina. anyone else on here been hearing about this?

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/whentheleveesbroke/

i listened to an interview the other day, and numerous other reviews, and it sounds really good. and not heavy on spike either. i don't think he ever appears, and i think you only hear his voice twice off camera when he asks follow up questions. so it really is about the people of new orleans. some of the musicians featured in the film have worked with spike in the past, and they contribute to the soundtrack, which i think could only add to the depth and overall quality of the film. i really want to see it. so if someone could watch it for me and report back i would appreciate it.

[Soul Queen]

My parents watched this. My mom didn't say too much about it. I'll ask her how it was next time I talk to her.

I'm interested in seeing this too. I think I read that HBO will be airing the complete documenatary sometime in the future. All in one night instead of breaking it up in segments again.

[Ag Au]

they are running the entire 4 hours on the 1 year anniversary of katrina, which is tuesday, august 29.

[slam]

yeah, there was a good article in newsweek about it. i'm very interested in seeing it.

[slam]

for anyone who missed it, or would like to read it again, here's the original katrina thread:

http://www.boardtopieces.com/showthread.php?t=197

looks we started talking about it as it was gearing up to hit miami...

[JVO]

I saw Spike Lee on the Bill Mahr show on HBO and they talked quite a bit about this documentary. Apparently Spike believes that Pres. Bush hates all black people and that he intentionally told FEMA to drag their feet in hopes that as many black people would die as possible. Even Bill Mahr (who obviously is not a Bush supporter) refused to take any of this seriously and cross examined Spike to the point that he got up and left the show. Needless to say I am not taking it very seriously. It is clear that Spike had an agenda even before he started to do research. When the research didn't support his agenda he just manipulated it so that it would. Pure propaganda.

After saying that, I am sure that I will watch it.

[Ag Au]

yeah jvo, spike's a political guy. that's why i like him, even when i don't agree with him. i heard him speak on KU's campus when i was in school there and i was disappointed at how much angry rhetoric he spouted. (though if i were a black man in the u.s. i would be seriously pissed off too. in fact, i get pissed off enough about their situation as is.) i was expecting to hear about film topics, or at least to have him offer some solutions to the problems he presented. and this is precisely why i really want to see this documentary. i find it interesting that it has been a main point of commentary about this film that spike as himself is quite absent from it. i want to see how his always present agenda finds its way around this extreme situation, one that is in itself a glaring example of what he's been shouting about all these years.

[cuscus]

I watched the last fifteen minutes the other night. It was the end, with very little commentary, just really powerful imagery. I would like to see the rest, but it's just very difficult to see.

[JVO]

yeah jvo, spike's a political guy. that's why i like him, even when i don't agree with him. i heard him speak on KU's campus when i was in school there and i was disappointed at how much angry rhetoric he spouted. (though if i were a black man in the u.s. i would be seriously pissed off too. in fact, i get pissed off enough about their situation as is.) i was expecting to hear about film topics, or at least to have him offer some solutions to the problems he presented. and this is precisely why i really want to see this documentary. i find it interesting that it has been a main point of commentary about this film that spike as himself is quite absent from it. i want to see how his always present agenda finds its way around this extreme situation, one that is in itself a glaring example of what he's been shouting about all these years.

I agree with all of that. Like I said, I will definitely want to check it out. Also I absolutely love Spike Lee. I think I have seen all of his movies and there hasn't been a single one that I didn't like (alright Jungle Fever wasn’t all that great). Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X are two of my favorite all time movies.

I have often said that if I were Black I would be pissed off all the time too. I feel the same way about being a woman. It seems like women are the last universally oppressed group of people in the world, yet for some reason they don't really seem do to anything about it. In America, women are more educated, live longer, and are more numerous than men, yet we continue to have almost no women of note that are elected to political office. Also when you look at the situation in the Middle East, women are oppressed more than even African Americans were in the U.S. during slavery or Native Africans during Apartheid. Yet nobody seems to care. If this was Africans or Hispanics or men or any other group of people who were being oppressed to the extent that woman are in the middle east, we would be going crazy, yet nobody seems to even mention it with women.

Sorry that is a little off topic.

The only thing that potentially bothers me (I can't say for sure since I haven't seen it) about this documentary is that it minimized what the true disaster was. The fact is that Pres. Bush hired one of his old buddies, who had absolutely no experience or qualifications, as the head of one of the most important agencies in the Federal Government (particularly in this day and age). And then in our country’s moment of need, they were completely unprepared to do any of things that they are supposed to do. I think to accuse the Administration of being racist is to take the focus away from the fact that the Administration is totally incompetent. Also it is important to recognize the state of poverty and homelessness that existed/exists in Louisiana. I would imagine the documentary goes into that also. Hopefully it doesn’t try to pin the blame on the Federal Government since; it really has nothing to do with it. The problem is that the people of LA apparently love corruption. The more corrupt and inept and candidate is the more likely they are to succeed in LA politics. Why that is true, is a question that I would like to have answered.

[slam]

I think to accuse the Administration of being racist is to take the focus away from the fact that the Administration is totally incompetent.

i think that pretty much sums up the whole disaster right there.

[MsAnthrope]

He showed some of the film on Martha's Vinyard yesterday (or the day before, I can't remember).
For some reason, I thought that was funny.
He has a house there, so I guess it's not that funny. But still...

[larryhead]

I watched a couple of hours of this the other day, it was good, and it really brings to the surface the plight of the people of New Orleans who have lost everything and now have nothing. They had lots of interviews with survivors going back to their old neighborhoods and walking around the devestation that is still not cleaned up. One guy talked about the markings on the outside of houses and explained all the symbols, he had lived with his mom and the house was marked "0" bodies found inside, and he described how the house was still locked (and never even searched), well he found his mother's body inside... after six months.

Another 80 year old woman returned with her family to the house she's lived in all her life and you get to watch her break down... very sad.

That had some doctors talking about the long term effects of the post traumatic shock and how it will take most of these people years to function at a normal level again (if ever).

They also interviewed some Marine engineers who explained how the levee system is supposed to work, and then spoke to other engineer professionals that basically explain why it's terrible design that they wouldn't even use to put a fence around their dog house (it is really appalling once you see what they did).

The parts I saw were very informative, tragic and reminds you that there is still a long way to go to recovery down there.

[Talking Sandwich]

I saw Spike Lee on the Bill Mahr show on HBO and they talked quite a bit about this documentary. Apparently Spike believes that Pres. Bush hates all black people and that he intentionally told FEMA to drag their feet in hopes that as many black people would die as possible. Even Bill Mahr (who obviously is not a Bush supporter) refused to take any of this seriously and cross examined Spike to the point that he got up and left the show. Needless to say I am not taking it very seriously. It is clear that Spike had an agenda even before he started to do research. When the research didn't support his agenda he just manipulated it so that it would. Pure propaganda.

After saying that, I am sure that I will watch it.


What Bill Mawr is that? I have the one here with Spike Lee . .and good lord it is nothing like you descbribed. He doesn't say bush hates all black people. There is no cross examination. He doesn't walk off the show . . .am i watching the right bill mawr? (the one from 8/25/06 with spike lee)

Anyways . i'll upload it to my server and post the link so you can verify that this is the right episode.


-- Edit --
I just watched it again, and jesus christ man, i hope im watching the wrong episode because your summary is explicit bs.

Anyone wants to see it, you can watch it HERE (http://www.independent-web.com/08-25-2006_MHR.asf)

[Ag Au]

thanks for the bill mahr link TS, i watched it last night. and you're right, its pretty tame. the whole bit with bill hitchens was way more lively.