When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (NR, 2006)
common sense media says
Spike Lee's masterful and disturbing Katrina docu.
parents & educators say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this documentary, about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, is understandably disturbing. There are multiple images of dead, decaying bodies, descriptions of death and suffering during and after the flood, as well as the deaths of children and the pain and anger at the government's response to the crisis. People are angry, grieving, and shell-shocked as the documentary goes on, and those strong emotions, as well as director Spike Lee's meticulous description of how government officials responded, are likely to be too intense for sensitive viewers.
Violence:
Considerable graphic imagery of the fatal effects of the hurricane and levee breaks. People talk about watching others drown. There are numerous images of dead, bloated, and discolored corpses. An image of a woman hanging. A man talks about his mother dying waiting for buses to arrive at the Superdome, and images of dead people in wheelchairs. Talk of men who killed themselves in dispair after the hurricane. The documentary shows the funeral of a 5-year-old killed in the floods following the levee break. Aside from actual violence and death, there are numerous pictures of adults and children in dispair, crying and scared, as well as enraged. People attempting to escape the flood waters are prevented from crossing a bridge, using guns. A man describes being shot with buckshot. The New Orleans Police Chief talks about babies being raped during the fall-out of the flood.
Sex:
One woman jokes that she'll have to "give someone a blow job" to get a FEMA trailer.
Language:
Considerable salty language, including "hell," "s--t," various permutations of "f--k," "ass," "godd-mn," "bulls--t." A man tells Vice President Dick Cheney to "go f--k himself" and a woman says "President Bush can kiss my ass." A t-shirt says, "Run, motherf--er, run."
Consumerism:
Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
A woman drinks a beer as she talks about her struggle through the flood and with the flood relief effort.
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