This scene was moving because of the sharp contrast between the actions that should have taken place and what actually happened. Instead of being met with assistance the survivors were met with hostility and told to go back. Hearing the accounts of those who had walked so far in hopes of a reprieve from the horrors of Katrina talk about how they were told to go back was shocking. I felt outraged that the government was using its resources not for helping the citizens of America, but from stopping their movement out of New Orleans.
Lee effectively created sympathy for the hurricane survivors by talking about their horrible situation and lack of assistance, then talking about their long walk in the heat to try and cross the bridge only to be met by force and guns. As an American, you would expect the citizens welfare to come first over whatever reasoning the police had for stopping those people from crossing the bridges.
I felt like the justice system failed completely in their job of assisting those in need. Lee is most likely commenting on how the response of the officers were racially fueled. Perhaps, if the citizens of New Orleans that were on that bridge were largely Caucasian, those in charge would have thought differently before responding to them with weapons and not aid. In an ideal world, one would not have to think about the reasons for such a harsh response by officers who are supposed to be there to protect citizens. My response is ideological because it supports my cultural belief that humans should treat each other with care and respect in times of need.
That part resounded with me as well because of the immense confusion that, I'm sure not only I, felt. I have a difficult time understanding why citizens of the United States of America would ever be barred from going from one (American) city to another (American) city. I don't know what they (the oppressors) thought they would accomplish by doing that. The only thing I can think of is to spare the other cities from having an onslaught of people to take care of, but that is exactly what the people of New Orleans needed, was help. I think Lee did a fantastic job of showing that it wasn't something completely about race because there were white people telling the story. I think he tried to make it more about the government and how their inaction went further into action when they actively held helpless people in the city. This is definitely a study on race, but I also think that this film makes people take a long hard look at our government and how it actually treats its citizens, rather than believing what we were taught when we were young, which was that America is the greatest country on Earth and we are the Land of the Free. I think it takes a wider look at what our freedom really is and who really controls it.
ReplyDeleteThat was one of the most emotional part for me as well. It is crazy to think how desperate the victims are after 5 days of the tragedy without proper assistance even the designated shelter place like The Dome. After the long walk, they were being denied for the access for whatever reason it is.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't see this is a totally racial issue. I think this is related on the discrimination a group of people with lower economical status. This is about how the authorities giving more attention to the rich people and putting less priority to the poor people. As you mentioned, there are a lot of people of other ethnics on the bridge as well. Also throughout the interviews, we can see other ethnics as well and not just black people. Another scene that might support my interpretation is when few residents claim hearing series of explosions. It was believe the explosions are from the river leeves that was bombed to prevent the rich neighborhood to be flooded. As a result, the water level in Ninth Ward increased drastically that worsen the situation and killed more people.