When the Levees Broke...

I rarely get into discussions about politics, because at the core of it I feel like most conversations are pointless and frivolous because when the conversation is over nothing has changed. In addition, I'm far too well off in my life to consider my self a victim of the faulty political system. Also, rarely do I speak about anything particularly serious on this site, 'cause really what's the point. No one wants to hear me get all stodgy and serious about a topic. However, I just watched the final 2 hours of the Spike Lee Documentary, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" on HBO and I implore anyone who reads this to watch it the next time it comes on. If you couldn't figure it out from the title it's about the Hurricane Katrina tragedy of last year.

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of Spike Lee. I think many times he tries to be so overly blatant with his message that it takes away from a lot of his films. This documentary isn't really an exception to that rule, but even with Spikes usual pounding home of his message, the strength of the film isn't lost. I'm not begging you to watch all 4 hours of it, nor am I trying to sell you on some revolutionary cause. I just think people need to see (a version) of what happened and is still going on in a part of the United States. Even if you only watch 15 minutes, you'll be doing yourself a favor.

The visuals alone are powerful enough without the words, and even if you have no feelings about the situation down there...I'd bet the film still had an impact on you.

It comes back on HBO in its full four hour entirety on Tuesday, August 29th (the one year "anniversary" of Hurricane Katrina) from 8pm to Midnight. If you don't have HBO, and actually know me personally, contact me and i'll let you watch it here, or shit I'll even record it if you want.

HBO Link