All apologies if this has been diaried before. In any case it deserves more publicity. Many of you probably saw the amazing Obama You Tube Ad "One Day to Change The World"
A brilliant ad in my opinion. I was enthralled by the imagery and the thrilling soundtrack to the spot. After some time, and after having heard the same moving score to another incredible Obama ad entitled Virginia Rain, I became curious about the music that accompanied these wonderful spots.
It turns out the music comes from an amazing short film by Benh Zeitlin called "Glory at Sea." When I discovered the music came from a film with such a title I figured it was from some Hollywood "Epic" about Lord Nelson or something rather in the vein of "Master and Commander." Man, was I wrong.
Turns out "Glory at Sea" is a film about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It is highly stylistic and brutally effective. It tells the story of a group of Katrina survivors who build a boat and go looking for their lost loved ones. This brief synopsis doesn't begin to do the film justice. It is utterly devastating. It packs an incredible emotional punch into 25 odd minutes. It is really one of the most amazing films I have ever seen.
You can watch it in it's entirety here.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself and my reaction to Hurricane Katrina . . . I saw the images on the TV. I saw the satellite pictures and thought "Oh my God, there it is, the storm we had all been warned about that would destroy New Orleans." I saw the pictures of people on rooftops. I saw the pictures at the Superdome. I heard the horror stories. I watched the staggering incompetence and cronyism of the Bush government's utterly inept response.
None of this. None of this brought the tragedy of Katrina home to me the way this film did. I strongly urge you to watch this film and tell your friends about it. People don't understand Katrina. People don't understand how appalling it was and by extension how the incompetent response to the tragedy and the "blame the victim" attitudes that prevailed on the right are just plain evil. I didn't understand. Now, I think I understand just a little. Thank you to all who made this film. Please spread the word.