February 22, 2012 | Theatre,

Check out these films, books and music related to AMERIVILLE

By Corrie Glanville

FILMS

Portraits of New Orleans

In advance of Ameriville, ArtsEmerson  is screening three films that center around New Orleans: Les Blank’s Always For Pleasure, a portrait of street celebrations, the Boston premiere of Tootie’s Last Suit that explores the vivid Mardi Gras culture and the Academy Award nominated documentary Trouble the Water, an intimate snapshot of Katrina and its aftermath.

When the Levees Broke  (2006)

Filmed in the months just following Hurricane Katrina, director Spike Lee dissects the devastation of New Orleans, the fury of its residents, the inadequate government response and the effectiveness of the current levees with regard to future storms. The New Yorker’s David Denby called Lee’s wrenching documentary “surely the most magnificent and large-souled record of a great American tragedy ever put on film.”  

Hurricane Season  (2010)

Based on actual events, the compelling Forest Whitaker stars as a high school basketball coach in Jefferson Parish, across the river from New Orleans, who manages to assemble a team of players from rival schools struggling with personal loss in the wake of Katrina. Through perseverance, discipline and hope, they find themselves on the way to the state championship.

BOOKS

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (2011)

 The Winner of the 2011 National Book Award, Salvage the Bones is set in the coastal bayou town of Bois Sauvage as Hurricane Katrina is swirling over the Gulf. Esch, pregnant and fourteen, and her brothers are stocking food for the coming disaster. A mythic story full of betrayal, revenge and family loyalty, the New York Times called this “a taut, wily novel, smartly plotted and voluptuously written.”

Zeitounby Dave Eggers (2010)

By all accounts, Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun are a typical American family who have four children and a house-painting business in New Orleans. The novel opens in August of 2005 as Katrina approaches; while Kathy decides to leave with their children, Zeitoun stubbornly stays to watch over the business. In the aftermath of the storm Zeitoun travels his city by canoe, feeding abandoned dogs and rescuing neighbors. But on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s burst into in his home and arrest Zeitoun for suspected terrorism. Then his nightmare really begins.

  Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster by Michael Eric Dyson (2007)  

Professor and culture critic Michael Eric Dyson’s volume was the first significant chronicle to be released after Katrina. Along with interviews and analysis of what led to such widespread failure to respond, Dyson poses the provocative questions we must ask ourselves about issues of race and class in American life and the consequences of indifference.

Katrinaville Chronicles: Images and Observations from a New Orleans Photographer by David Speilman (2007)

While many were heading out of the city, New Orleans photographer David Speilman chose to stay and weather the hurricane along with his neighbors, the sisters of the order of Poor Clare. In the months following the catastrophe, Speilman carefully roamed his city taking pictures of what was left behind, determined to document the storm of the century in haunting, black and white images.  

MUSIC

Universes: Live!

The Boston Globe called the performance group behind Ameriville “a headlong explosion of poetry, percussion, and multi-culti musical explorations that absolutely demands to be seen.” Go to their website to check out eight of their live tracks here.

Our New Orleans (2005)

 Featuring artists as varied in style as Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Dr. John and Randy Newman, this album was a benefit for their beloved New Orleans, a city that has left its indelible mark on American music.

Down in New Orleans by The Blind Boys of Alabama (2007)

The Blind Boys of Alabama have been performing together for a remarkable 70 years after meeting in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind. Four-time Grammy Winners, they have remained true to their spiritual calling while interpreting songs from such diverse artists as Eric Clapton, Prince and Tom Waits. For the first time, The Blind Boys of Alabama recorded in New Orleans with a little help from Allen Toussaint and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.