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BluRay/DVD Reviews

BIG EASY TO BIG EMPTY: The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans

By • Jun 5th, 2007 •

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Disinformation / Palast Productions in association with Big Noise Tactical Media
Running time 30 min

At the time of its happening Hurricane Katrina flooded national media with coverage almost as much as it did the Gulf Coast with water, streaming, along with the debris and tears of grief and suffering, the flickering lights of hope. A year after the catastrophe, when everything had dried up, reporter Greg Palast traveled to New Orleans hoping to moisten the memories of the disaster with the results of his investigation into what has happened since.

His tracing of the events and deeds, of saviors who “bushwalked” through the wet terrain, uncovers untold facts: the population wasn’t well-informed about the strength and possible outcome of the upcoming hurricane; the evacuation process wasn’t done the way it should have been; the levees of the city were never high enough to withstand the rage of the elements and protect the weak and disabled; about 80% of the original residents (almost all of them the “less fortunate”) are gone.

Well… too bad for them. The fittest – more fortunate, better informed and equipped – survive. It’s the law of nature and economics. The author is appealing to the senses of someone looking for truth and justice. But who needs to hear; who needs to know? Not the dwellers of Dixieland, the film suggests. In this country people need money, with which they can buy their own truth and justice, not, unfortunately, the one of Mr. Palast. Who wants the latter? – The ones that have nothing to lose, who can’t do anything to change the situation, and if they do – like the effective grassroots ortanization Common Ground, that built houses, out of their own will, for the displaced – their efforts can be easily whipped out by the fittest, concerned about the money. And money comes from Dixieland, whose sound so appropriately accompanies the terrifying visuals of BIG EASY TO BIG EMPTY.

Greg Palast is a reporter committed to drying up the disinformation puddles leaking through the official channels. Let’s hope that, like myself, many more will say: “I hear you, Greg”.

Credits:
Writer/reporter Greg Palast
Producer Matt Pascarella
Director of Photography/editor Jacquie Soohen
Co-produced by Big Noise Tactical Media
Coordinating producers Leni Von Escardt, Zachary Roberts, Christine Speicher
Music by Dr. Michael White, Kermit Ruffins Treme Brass Band, Brod Bagert, Pete Fountain
Produced with the support of Link TV, Democracy Now!, and The Palast Investigative Fund

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