I think a good word to summarize my thoughts and feelings about the two parts of the film series we viewed would be distressing. The aftermath of Katrina seems to be a topic that reveals more and more horror the more you learn about it. I had already learned about the situation in Memorial hospital following Katrina, and the fact that it was not the storm itself that did the most damage, but the flooding. However, despite that it was still a new level of horrific to hear all the firsthand accounts of people stranded in the city for days and all the things they endured both immediately after the storm and beyond. It has been hitting mid to high 90s here with humidity making it feel worse and it is miserable. I can’t even fathom how horrendous it would have been to be stuck in this kind of weather with no working A/C anywhere and minimal food or water.
The series did a really good job portraying just how dire the situation was. Watching it was both saddening and infuriating. The sadness is obvious, but the anger comes from hearing about how long it took to get aid to the city even after it became possible to do so with the weather conditions. Hearing how out of touch FEMA was with the dire situation unfolding in New Orleans. The armed guard on the bridge was another part. Knowing that people who were capable of making their way out of the city were forced to stay. The fact that they were trying to get police up and running to stop looting before there was proper aid delivered to most of the people trapped in the city. When they talked about how many people were separated from their families and put on planes or buses without being told the destination was heartbreaking. Obviously, I’m aware that evacuating a large number of people is complicated from a logistical standpoint, but nevertheless it’s still tragic. People who had just survived a catastrophe and lost most if not all of their belongings are now being separated from the family that may be all they have left. Especially because many of the people who were trapped in New Orleans were there because they could not afford to evacuate, so they almost certainly can’t afford to travel to reunite with their family members. Overall, the documentary did a wonderful job portraying just how terrible Katrina was for New Orleans. Also wishing I didn’t see the montage of dead bodies there at the end. It was quite disturbing, I am aware that was the point, but still.
I agree with you on the frustrations regarding the looting. The fact that police were more concerned with the looting over citizens getting the help that they needed was very infuriating. People were doing what they could to survive after a traumatizing experience and law enforcement priorities were not straight.
I agree that there were many scenes that were distressing. I think that the montage at the end of episode two was, in particular, the part that was so upsetting. I wish that we had a warning about the contents of the second episode before we watched it. However, I do understand that there is a kind of raw truth in seeing the images of the people who had passed, especially after hearing the stories of those who survived the storm and events after.