Spike Lee Revisits New Orleans 5 Years Later: If God Is Willing And Da Creek Don’t Rise

A lot has happened since August 29, 2005, or perhaps maybe a lack thereof? Let’s not forget what happened during Hurricane Katrina. We often detach ourselves from the tragedies of the past, but Spike Lee has made it possible for us to revisit the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina. You may ask yourself, why would we want to revisit such a tragic event in our country’s history? Well here is your answer, the people from New Orleans are still suffering the affects the hurricane caused to the place they called home, and yet others who were not personally affected forget about it because of their lack of connection to the event. And even worse, the Gulf Oil Spill has now struck the area as well.

Spike Lee’s latest documentary, airing on HBO August 23, 2010, “If God Is Willing And Da Creek Don’t Rise” revisits New Orleans nearly 5 years after Katrina hit and shows us what happened after Katrina. The documentary is 4 hours long and can be viewed in two parts Monday, August 23 and Tuesday, August 24. Not only does the documentary cover the aftermath of Katrina, but it also takes a look at the most recent disaster to occur in our country, the Gulf Oil Spill.

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What can you find in the documentary that you might not find elsewhere? First hand stories straight from the people living through it all.

The Gulf Oil Spill was not originally in Lee’s plans for this documentary, but being that it also affects New Orleans how could he leave that out. As a follow-up in sorts of his first documentary about one disaster, Hurricane Katrina, it’s interesting that another disaster, the oil spill, was included in the documentary. Lee’s documentary was complete, but the oil spill occurring had to be included. Lee says, “We were done shooting before April 20. We had our four hours, so after April 20 we made nine more trips all around this BP thing. The last hour was something that no one knew was going to be the biggest oil disaster in the history of the world.”

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It is important to watch these documentaries because they can often spark some much needed change in our lives. For Lee this documentary has caused one change in his life. Lee explained his change resulting from this film with a bit of humor in his tone, “Before, in my ignorance, I really wasn’t into this environmental, green, but now I’m turning off lights like a motherf*cker!” Rest assured that these are four hours you’ll be glad to spend time on watching this film. Whether it makes you “Go Green” or nudges you to donate or help with what goes on in New Orleans in present day, something positive can result from watching the film and most definitely the stories you hear will stay on your mind and won’t let the thoughts of this tragedy slip away as often as they do.