Left Behind

I wasn't sure what to write about in this blog, so I decided to search for news or information on New Orleans public education system. After searching through google for some time, I found an article on St. Petersburg Times about a documentary film Left Behind: The Story of the New Orleans Public Schools which was perfect for what I was looking for. According to this article and other reviews I read (for I couldn't see the film itself, I had to buy it to watch it) the film was filmed before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. The film focuses on three African American high school seniors from uneducated impoverished neighborhoods, who are struggling to graduate from high school. The film shows the lives of these 3 young men at home, school, with family and friends, and even in the Mardi Grass festival. I found this film interesting because, although we haven't focused on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermaths, the neighborhoods and the schools that these young men come from were probably greatly affected by Katrina. I wonder about their reactions to the aftermaths of Katrina and their reactions to their public school system. I wonder how much aid these three students and their families were given after Katrina and how their schools have been affected. The summaries of Left Behind reminded me of Mardi Grass: Made in China, because both films portray a group of people, a community that lacks resources and that lacks the opportunities to get those resources. Moreover, both films examine the roles of certain powerful individuals and their participation within the overall system, public education or capitalism.