By: Phil Sitter
Five Year Anniversary Special of Meet the Press, hosted by Brian Williams and featuring various
important community figures in New Orleans today, from Mayor Landrieu to Brad
Pitt and Garland Robinette.
I also HIGHLY recommend viewing Spike Lee's dual
documentaries, When the Levees Broke,
and If God is Willing and Da Creek Don't
Rise. When the Levees Broke
documents the immediate aftermath of Katrina, up until about mid-2006, and If God is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise
covers the five years after Katrina, highlighting the progress of the city and
its residents in rebuilding, and the major issues that remain, including
education, crime, housing, mental health, hospitals, wetland restoration, and
the BP Gulf oil spill. The Saints' Superbowl win is also featured.
There are plenty of other documentaries, articles, and books on Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. I recommend a few in particular, from firsthand experience and/or word of mouth: Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers (a true story of a Muslim resident of New Orleans – an American citizen – who helped his neighbors during the flood despite having his own home and business flooded, but then was arrested and held without due process on trumped-up terrorism charges); The Great Deluge, by Douglas Brinkley (an epic, comprehensive look at Katrina, the aftermath, and the response, written by a historian); Coming Back Stronger, by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees; 1 Dead in Attic, by Chris Rose (a collection of articles, testimonies, and creative works, some of them published in the Times-Picayune New Orleans newspaper); Why New Orleans Matters, by Tom Piazza. Trouble the Water is a good firsthand Katrina documentary by Lower Ninth Ward residents.
There are plenty of other documentaries, articles, and books on Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. I recommend a few in particular, from firsthand experience and/or word of mouth: Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers (a true story of a Muslim resident of New Orleans – an American citizen – who helped his neighbors during the flood despite having his own home and business flooded, but then was arrested and held without due process on trumped-up terrorism charges); The Great Deluge, by Douglas Brinkley (an epic, comprehensive look at Katrina, the aftermath, and the response, written by a historian); Coming Back Stronger, by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees; 1 Dead in Attic, by Chris Rose (a collection of articles, testimonies, and creative works, some of them published in the Times-Picayune New Orleans newspaper); Why New Orleans Matters, by Tom Piazza. Trouble the Water is a good firsthand Katrina documentary by Lower Ninth Ward residents.
FRONTLINE has some great hour-long (typically) documentaries
that are free to watch online, and the ones listed here specifically deal with
Hurricane Katrina, its aftermath, or issues that are relevant to New Orleans (bolded titles specifically deal with
New Orleans):
Poor Kids, Dropout Nation (not about kids in New Orleans explicitly, but this
one was so good it had me tearing up), ENDGAME:
AIDS in Black America, The
Interrupters, The Spill, Law and Disorder (this is one I
recommend the most, being the most legal-oriented, focusing on corruption and
human rights abuses by the New Orleans Police Department in the immediate
aftermath of Katrina), The Released, The
Old Man and the Storm (another good following the years-long story of a
man trying to reclaim and rebuild his home, in the Lower Ninth Ward if I
remember right), The Storm, When Kids Get
Life
Here are the links to the respective parts on YouTube of another special hosted by Brian Williams, in which he describes his own personal experiences and observations in the immediate aftermath of Katrina while reporting in New Orleans:
Here are the links to the respective parts on YouTube of another special hosted by Brian Williams, in which he describes his own personal experiences and observations in the immediate aftermath of Katrina while reporting in New Orleans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2JUAbJocQI
There is a growing literature and multimedia collection on the BP Gulf oil spill too, and related Gulf coast environmental and energy issues. Here is the government's official final report on the BP Deepwater Horizon spill:
There is a growing literature and multimedia collection on the BP Gulf oil spill too, and related Gulf coast environmental and energy issues. Here is the government's official final report on the BP Deepwater Horizon spill:
And here are some videos on YouTube and other places about it, the first one being comedic genius:
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