Cheap When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (DVD) (Spike Lee) Price

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Brilliantly bears witness to the Katrina tragedy. You'll be saddened. But see it anyway!
Directed by Spike Lee, this documentary bears witness to the tragedy of Katrina, the ineptitude of the U.S. government, and the very human drama that affected so many people in the city of New Orleans. Using images that will tear at your heartstrings, archival footage, music and lots of individual stories, this is a full exploration of exactly what happened. <
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>There's lots of anger here, and lots of sadness. Death and horror seem to be everywhere There's a man who tells the story of how his elderly mother died while they were seeking immediate shelter in the Superdome and how, four days later when he was finally evacuated he had to leave her body. People were herded like animals into the Superdome for days and days. There was no water, no food, no working bathrooms. It was hot and humid. There was no escape. Other people were left on ramps above the highways and when they tried to walk off, they were met with guns from residents who didn't want them in their neighborhood. Reports of looting were everywhere. And the mayor and governor were arguing about what had to be done. Where was the U.S. government? Why were they able to send help to victims of the Tsunami the year before in Indonesia and could not send troops to help their own people. <
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>Every single aspect of the Katrina story is horrible. There's even a segment when the cameras focused on the bloated bodies found in the aftermath. Later, even after the worst was over, the trailers that people were promised took six months to get. And families were split up when they were evacuated to other states. Then, the insurance companies reneged on paying insurance claims. It was just one awful thing after another. <
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>Some of it can be blamed on the endemic racism that has always been present in New Orleans. Most of the people in the film who were affected the worst were African Americans, although there certainly were many whites with equally horrible stories. Mostly, though, all of these people were poor. They didn't have the means to run from the city as they didn't own cars. All of them had been through hurricanes before. They had sat them out then. They had survived. But Katrina was different. <
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>Applause to Spike Lee for making this film! He doesn't appear in it but it certainly shows his unique view of the world. Of course I had seen news footage in the past and I remember following the story as it was happening. But this film took not only summed it all up, it added historical perspective and introduced individuals who, by the end of the program, I could identify with. <
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>Yes, this documentary will haunt your dreams. You will be saddened. But see it anyway. Just be prepared for the worst. <
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