Lord Willin’ and the Creek Did Rise

“Beyond abandonment, some felt specifically targeted by God, some by the U.S. government, and others by both. Such an understanding of Hurricane Katrina as a targeted attack on the lives of Black New Orleanians undergirded the conspiracy theories folks developed as explanations for what they experienced. In an ideologically parallel manner, some believed they were being punished by God, in what one might say constituted a sort of holy conspiracy. Even as these films primarily portray and discuss the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as a man-made catastrophe, they seem to question how God could allow people to be treated this way. If, as their (primarily Christian) faiths dictated, God is a benevolent deity, then how could he be all-powerful? Or, if He is all-powerful, as their (primarily Christian) faiths also dictated, then how could a benevolent God allow such cruelty to happen? In short, the foundational truths of their faiths were essentially proven irreconcilable. These films’ subtle exploration of these questions reflects the ways in which Hurricane Katrina provoked people to question whether they believed God or (white) Man has dominion over the Earth. As a result, distinctions between governmental power and divine intervention; state-orchestrated racialized violence and spiritual retribution; and fate and free will are hazy at best within these documentaries.”

Chapter 4 Climate Catastrophe and/as Conspiracy: Hurricane Katrina on Documentary Film