Trouble The Water Conflict Theory Essay

Question 2

Conflict Theory is a theoretical approach that can be used to describe many of the events that unfolded in Hurricane Katrina. “Exogenous conflict refers to conflict that occurs between systems or from the external environment and is generally based on wars, cultural invasion, and ideology” (Robins, et.al. 2012,p. 61). Examples of conflict theory, as portrayed in the documentary, Trouble the Water, were many. The documentary chronicles some of the struggles of the predominantly African American population in New Orleans during the disaster. Race, class, and power played an intricate role in the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina. This disaster brought forth a mass of media attention due to the magnitude of the hurricane and the

racial disparities that were visibly seen in footage on television.
In the documentary, some residents in the lower-class neighborhood were told to go to the naval base for assistance. At the time, it was not being fully occupied and was the driest, highest building in the area. When the residents arrived, they were refused housing by the soldiers stationed there. One soldier stated that they had to protect the interest of the government.
The failure of government officials to aid black citizens was evident throughout the documentary. In addition, the recovery of their neighborhoods was relatively slow in comparison to other parts of the city. Another example of conflict theory in the film was exposed in the aftermath and lack of relocation assistance. Providing resources for helping those in the more impoverished communities was not a top priority; instead, the focus was on rebuilding tourism in New Orleans.
Following the hurricane, the tourist-destination, the French Quarter, has quickly been rebuilt but many areas inhabited by African-Americans in New Orleans still have not been rebuild. The French Quarter was already a well-known and thriving part of New Orleans, but still this area was given first attention for repair following the hurricane. This example of financial and social priorities demonstrates an indirect discrimination against the African-American community in the lower class neighborhood of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Furthermore, this is an example of Marx’s, proletariat benefitting from the work of the bourgeoisie (Robbins et. al., 2006, p. 62).
Another area of obvious conflict revolved around financial barriers. Despite an evacuation order, many African American citizens in New Orleans were unable to leave because they did not have a car or the financial means to escape. Most of the citizens who were financially able and primarily of Caucasian descent escaped by vehicle. Anderson and Collins (2004) highlight the validity of this struggle by pointing out that, race, class and gender shape the experiences of all people in the United States.
The documentary shows how Hurricane Katrina impacted the white and black populations in New Orleans differently. Not only is it an issue of race conflict, it is an issue of class conflict as well. Anderson and Collins (2004) explained that it is often easy to overlook oppression and unjust treatment when looking at one small segment of a community, rather than looking at the whole community. In the documentary, it is evident how the mass majority of people who lost their lives were from the lower class neighborhood. The lower Ninth Ward area of New Orleans contained the poorest population and the largest concentration of African Americans. The government did encourage individuals to leave before the hurricane, yet did not take into account the individuals who had no means by which to evacuate.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) stated that “they were preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.” President Bush said at the time that he was very impressed with the way this disaster was being handled. The government encouraged people to stay in their shelter and said that America would pray for them. Bush did not send troops into New Orleans until two weeks after the hurricane, stating that many of the country's troops were currently deployed overseas.
The documentary can be closely related to conflict theory because of the residents’ actions. There were not enough resources and not enough help for victims. The available resources were not distributed adequately, leaving the majority of the poor fighting for their lives. The main family in the documentary recorded the events and the authority figures that they came in contact with to show how they were truly treated and to try to change the ideology of how the rest of the country perceived what had occurred in the lower class neighborhood during the hurricane. However, in accordance with conflict theory, the residents did pull together in a time of crisis and saved each other because they knew they would not be receiving help from the government.
On the November 12, 2016, episode of Saturday Night Live, comedian Dave Chappelle gave an 11-minute opening monologue about race in the current American social landscape.

He referred to the African-American community as the “historically disenfranchised” and described that disenfranchisement through the headlines of the last year. The phenomenon he described is an example of Marx’s conflict theory. The text explains this theory by stating it is “based on the premise that inevitable and continual conflict is caused by the inequality that results from the social class differences” (Robbins et. al.,2006, p. 62). This phenomenon was documented well in the movie Trouble the

Water.
Question 3 A
Furstenberg (1999) identified Lillie’s housing situation as being one that was dangerous, with a guard at the front door. Key features that led to this answer were individuals that lived in these areas are described as disadvantaged, with no trustworthy accessible resources. There was a high percentage of crime and drugs. The individuals who live in the neighborhood did not know the names of their neighbors and carried a high level of superficial familiarity. In most cases the families sent their children out of the neighborhood to play (Furstenberg, p. 237). Warren and Warren (1977) identify an anomic neighborhood as one that lacks any type of cohesiveness and is a neighborhood that facilitates a great divide between identified members of that community. Furstenberg (p. 164-165) stateed that a diffuse neighborhood is one in which the residents have things in common but are not active in a larger community. One could also argue that the Philadelphia neighborhood is diffused because Lillie felt that she does meet other parents in the neighborhood.
From the documentary Legacy (Lending, 2000) the family resided in an extremely anomic neighborhood.

The family lived in a housing authority dwelling in a rough neighborhood. Their grandmother was the primary watcher of the children and expressed concern about their welfare. The narrator of the movie mentioned several times about needing to get out of the neighborhood and that insistence became more persistent after her cousin, Terrell, was shot to death. There were also a lot of drugs and violence that affected the neighborhood through outside forces. The most closely fitting neighborhood typology from the Warren and Warren (1977) model would be the anomic neighborhood. Because of the lack of neighborhood unity, threat to wellbeing, and the poor living conditions it would be a valid to state the neighborhood has no protective barriers and lacks the wherewithal to initiate

change.