Acts 3 and 4 of Spike Lee’s masterly Katrina documentary “When the Levees Broke” did not disappoint. The emphasis in this half was the political economy of disaster and the long-term impact of the government’s outright negligence.
Act 3 begins with harrowing images of destruction and grief, set against a breathtaking piece of music by trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard. Last year, after hearing his sextet at Joe’s Pub, I became convinced that Blanchard is one of the most consequential musicians of this decade.
A few other details stand out: local radio host Garland Robinette breaking down and sobbing during an interview; Terence Blanchard doing the same; an interview with the young New Orleans physician who crashed a Dick Cheney photo op and said “Go fuck yourself, Mr. Cheney” not once, but twice; and Al Sharpton’s take on the infamous remarks of Barbara Bush — “the president’s mama of America,” as he put it. I’m far from Sharpton’s biggest fan, but this was a moment to savor.
I do have one complaint, and it’s a big one, though it involves less than a minute of film. At some point during Act 2 (if memory serves), Harry Belafonte appears on screen to laud Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez for stepping up and pledging assistance when the U.S. government was failing so miserably. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Chavez is a populist demagogue; he’s expressed unqualified admiration for just about every ruthless dictator on this planet. That, however, is not the most galling thing about this moment in the film.
Think about it: Could Hugo Chavez have been the only foreign leader who pledged support during the Katrina crisis? Of course not. It took me about five seconds to locate this information, dated September 2, 2005:
As of Thursday the countries and international organizations willing to help include – Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Honduras, Germany, Venezuela, the Organization of American States, Jamaica, NATO, Australia, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, China, South Korea, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
The list of countries offering assistance is “growing literally by the hour,” [State Department spokesman Sean] McCormack said.
The Australian government today announced a donation of A$10 million to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Needless to say, there’s no mention of Australia in Spike Lee’s film.
To single out Hugo Chavez for praise in this context is sheer propaganda, marring an otherwise extraordinary piece of work.
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