So I ordered HBO the other day to watch “When The Levees Broke.” After I TiVo a few episodes of “The Wire” and a couple of comedy specials, I’m gonna cut that shit right back off. I figure if I’m willing to pay a dub to treat someone to a movie, it’s worth 11 bucks to treat this like Netflix. Wouldn’t you agree?
Anyway, Spike did a bang-up job with this one. The greatest compliment I can give Spike’s work right now is that he’s finally gotten a handle on how to explore his passions on film. He’s fairer than he’s ever been, but he’s still able to get his points across. It’s like he argues now with passionate logic instead of just unfocused passion. To him, I tip my hat. So does that woman that one time called him a nigger on the set of Jungle Fever.
But watching that left me with the Katrina conundrum I just can’t get past–what to do about rebuilding.
I admit I haven’t kept close watch lately of rebuilding plans. Last time I checked, it looked like a significant proportion of the black population would not be able to move back. It was heartbreaking to hear, but I understood. Sorry, but I just can’t advocate moving people back to an unsafe area.
Now, after watching “When The Levees Broke,” I’m in a worse position than I started in. I’m more heartbroken but probably surer that rebuilding isn’t really the best idea.
Why heartbroken? Because New Orleans was the most vibrant city in the country. I don’t know if there’s another place on Earth that stands out from everything around it like New Orleans. Visiting the 504 is really like visiting another country, if not another world. The folks had those gorgeous accents. They tend to speak with some of the most interesting diction. They partied like no other and cooked like no other, incorporating African traditions with European culture to make a special, special place.
To lose black people is to lose that. A culture has been dispersed across the country. Will it be able to sustain itself? Maybe in places like Houston. But I’m pretty damn sure there will be no second lines in Salt Lake City.
But goodness gracious, those black folks had it bad in the city. While I say New Orleans was the most vibrant city in the country, it was also the dreariest. Centuries of crooked governments and racism left New Orleans as a scary place in many ways. Its projects had a national reputation for being the worst in America. The heroin problem was atrocious. Public schools were laughably bad (I promise, out of all the people I went to college with from New Orleans, maybe 2 went to public school).
The city needed rebuilding before the storm. Now? I just don’t know if it can be done properly. In fact, I’m pretty sure it can’t be.
That point kills me when I think about how much those folks love that city, man. What’d that lady say in the doc?
“I was born here and this is where-the-fuck-I’m-gon’-die.”
That wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that one. And to be honest, I understand it. If that singular place is what you know, I can see it being a mutha to head somewhere else out the blue. I’m not moving to Mexico, shit.
But we’ll see how this goes. If you haven’t seen the doc, call HBO and get a couple days from ’em. It’s worth it.
August 24, 2006
Comments