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Life & Times Transcript
09/08/05 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- Los Angeles opens its hearts and doors to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Delbert Knapper>> Well, what I'm hoping to achieve is not to go back to zero. At least help us some. Meet us halfway. We just don't want to go back to zero. We just don't want to have to start all the way over from zero with nothing. Val Zavala>> And then, among the films our critics review this week is a tribute to New Orleans' musical heritage. [Film Clip] Val Zavala>> It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Val Zavala>> Hurricane Katrina is not only changing the future of the south, it's changing the future of our country. Thousands of evacuees are spreading out in cities across the nation. Hundreds have arrived here in Los Angeles and, as Sam Louie tells us, many of them may turn this temporary refuge into a permanent home. Sam Louie>> Nearly a week and a half after Hurricane Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast, signs of recovery are beginning to appear. Evacuated victims are also finding some relief, leaving the Astrodome in Houston and traveling thousands of miles to places many have never been to before, places like the Dream Center in Los Angeles. The Dream Center is an emergency shelter and rescue mission run by a Christian organization. Volunteers have worked through the night building wooden cots to accommodate the displaced families. David Hanley>> When this happened, we had about two hundred fifty two beds open, so we said there's got to be a way we can use this. Instead of how we always have helped Los Angeles for the last ten years, now use it to help these. If we can find a way to get those victims out here, we'll give them housing. Sam Louie>> David Hanley is the Associate Pastor of the Dream Center. David Hanley>> Our training for the last ten years and what we've been doing is putting lives back together, getting them out of that. Whether they've been drug addicts or alcoholics or homeless, getting them restored and getting them first healthy and then training them. Getting them job training and then back out in society or putting them to work right here at the Dream Center. Sam Louie>> But after the staff saw the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, they knew it was time to extend themselves beyond Los Angeles. David Hanley>> A lot of what the volunteers are doing is kind of consolidating. They're moving in together, trying to make more room so, if we have to go beyond that, we don't want to shut the door and say we can't take any more. So we're doing all we can to accommodate more and even some of our families in our congregation have opened their family homes and said, hey, we'll help accommodate. We've got gentlemen over here that are building some more beds and just kind of making space while we can. Sam Louie>> The staff asked us to respect the privacy of the hurricane victims and not to take cameras inside the shelter, but they told us that there are more than one hundred evacuees at the Dream Center. By the end of the week, that number is expected to rise past two hundred as they work to get them settled in Los Angeles. Henry Hanley>> Putting their kids in school, we're helping them find jobs. We have several people -- we're a large congregation here, so we're finding jobs for them as well and getting them interviews, with placement. We have dockworkers that need to find jobs over in Long Beach. We have electricians that need to find jobs, so it's just connecting. We're just kind of a conduit to connect them all. Sam Louie>> Terry Fortia and his family are from New Orleans. He arrived at the Dream Center Tuesday night. Terry Fortia>> I mean, it's just overwhelming. There's a lot of people doing a lot of good things. I know I really appreciate it and I know there's a lot of people coming from New Orleans that really appreciate it and it's really surprising, just overwhelming, how people are helping you. Sam Louie>> Fortia, like many of his other neighbors, did not evacuate New Orleans until days after the hurricane hit. Terry Fortia>> I don't think no one was ready for that much water being poured into the city. I know I really wasn't. So we didn't leave right away until everything was flooded and we didn't have any choice but to try and get out before the water got any higher. I don't have anything. I mean, what the storm didn't do, I'm quite sure the looters are going to finish it off, so I guess I have to chalk that up and start from scratch. Sam Louie>> Fortia has never been to Los Angeles before, but as a chef by trade, he understands the recipe for survival means adapting to change. Terry Fortia>> I love New Orleans, but I plan on giving Los Angeles a shot. I've never been out here. I've heard a lot of good things. Sam Louie>> The Dream Center is just one of several sites taking in hurricane victims here in Los Angeles. At the downtown American Red Cross, one hundred twenty survivors have met with case workers. So far locally, the Red Cross has given out more than one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars in direct assistance. Delbert Knapper>> What I'm hoping to achieve is not to go back to zero. At least help us out some. Meet us halfway. We just don't want to go back to zero. We just don't want to have to start all the way over from zero with nothing. Sam Louie>> Delbert Knapper is from New Orleans. He was visiting a cousin in Los Angeles when the hurricane hit. All he can think of now is finding a way to get his wife and four children to Los Angeles. They are now at a hotel in Houston. Delbert Knapper>> My main thing is to get my kids here where I can get them in school where they can get their education and keep them in school, and maybe when they give us the thumbs up, we can go back to New Orleans and assess and see what we need to do. Sam Louie>> He says the children are safe, but he's not so sure about his other relatives. Delbert Knapper>> Aunties and uncles, there's a list of them. It's just a list of them. I've been having headaches since this happened. I really can't function and think straight. Sam Louie>> Just because you don't know. Delbert Knapper>> Just don't know. It's hard not knowing. Sam Louie>> The relief effort for Hurricane Katrina is the largest disaster relief operation by the Red Cross in its one hundred twenty-five year history. As we speak, hundreds of volunteers are preparing to go out to the hurricane-ravaged region. >> "Welcome to the American Red Cross and thank you for taking time out to participate in this training." Sam Louie>> This training normally takes several weeks, but it's been condensed into a one-day crash course. The majority of them are first-timers. They've never seen a disaster close up before, but were compelled to help after seeing the images on television. Nick Saminiego>> People are coming in by the boatloads to volunteer and it's just been a showing that we've never really seen before. 9/11, southern California wildfires, the Northridge earthquake. People, I think, see the graphic images on television. They hear the stories. It really resonates and moves them to want to contribute not just money, but their time as well. Sam Louie>> The volunteers will serve a minimum of nine days. Some are likely to stay up to a month. All are eager to do their part. How has it been so far? Just reading about it and watching the coverage? Diana Thornton>> It's been from anger to sadness and neither emotion is helping the people, so I felt like, if I was there, I could do more. Sam Louie>> Sixty-one year old, Diana Thornton, of Inglewood will be on the front lines of the disaster, serving food and providing shelter for the victims. She'll also be ready to lend an ear. Diana Thornton>> That's a big thing, just to listen and let them tell their stories and release that frustration and that anger. Once they get that out and then they feel safe, I think they'll be able to then move forward. Sam Louie>> Some people were upset by the slow official response to the national crisis, so much so that they formed their own group. [Film Clip] Sam Louie>> This small band of volunteers in Van Nuys doesn't have a name, but they've got a lot of gumption. Shawn Booth>> The organized units, you know, that are funded and have been around and are completely organized, they didn't respond fast enough where we've managed to do, I feel, a lot more in four days than anybody else of legitimate status, if you will. Sam Louie>> They posted an appeal for help on the internet and people responded. Now they're taking money and several semi truckloads of supplies to Lafayette, Louisiana. Shawn Booth>> We're have men's clothes, women's clothes, babies clothes, toys, games, books, food, water, blankets. You name it, we have it. From San Francisco to San Diego to Orange County and Los Angeles, we managed to make all the collections and bring them all into Los Angeles and bring them here. Sam Louie>> The group plans to personally deliver the goods to the needy. Deana Dvorak>> It just feels better when you're actually there helping, when you see it happening. You know, you write a check and it's just like you're paying another bill. It's just not a big deal. So you watch the television programs, you hear the babies dying, you see the people in wheelchairs with notes in their hands stating their names of who they belong to and where to go. You know, it's just amazing that the help was not there sooner. Sam Louie>> Early on, many of the hurricane victims felt ignored and abandoned by the lack of federal help, so now many independent groups, churches and other agencies are doing their part, letting the victims know that the rest of the country cares about their plight and is doing what they can in their time of need. In the coming weeks, thousands of evacuees will be arriving in Los Angeles and, with the devastation along the Gulf so catastrophic, it's likely many may end up making Los Angeles their home. I'm Sam Louie for Life and Times. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> It's sometimes hard to remember when we're in the midst of a disaster that we aren't the only ones who have had to face massive destruction. Ninety-nine years ago, San Francisco went through a horrendous earthquake and fire. So what does history have to teach us? A lot. Vicki Curry talked with retired Professor of History, Gloria Ricci Lothrop, who sees some very interesting parallels between San Francisco then and New Orleans now. Vicki Curry>> As we see the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, historians here in California have begun making comparisons with the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Are there similarities between the two? Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> There are, very definitely. Of course, both of these events were the results of natural disasters. That's the first thing. But in both instances, there was a second phase which was far more destructive and unanticipated, of course, in both cases, associated with human error. In the case of the 1906 earthquake, of course, the smoke began to rise over the city and people who'd been cooking their breakfasts caused the igniting of the gas that was escaping throughout the city and the fire began from that. And, of course, the firefighters did the obvious. They began to attempt to extinguish the fires with the hoses attached to the hydrants and nothing came out of the hydrants. Vicki Curry>> Oh, no water available. Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> That's right. Some historians say water pressure, but what we learned through the trials later on, the graft trials, is that many of the hydrants had not been connected. It had just been slipshod work and therein lies the tragedy of the San Francisco earthquake and fire which destroyed ten square miles and displaced a quarter of a million people. Now going over to the other tragedy which we have right now, the Hurricane Katrina, some of the reporters at The Times-Picayune who knew the city so well began noticing that the water level was rising gradually and they realized that the unthinkable was occurring and that is that some of the levees had been breached. So that was the beginning of a tragedy and I say, in this case, man-made because there had been warnings and warnings about the fact that New Orleans had to be protected more carefully and more assiduously. Vicki Curry>> What are some of the other similarities that you see between the earthquake and the hurricane? Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> What surprises many is that, in both cases, the greatest burden fell upon the marginalized both in 1906 and, of course, as we've seen tragically in this hurricane situation. Of the three hundred seventy-eight approximately who died -- Vicki Curry>> -- in San Francisco. Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> In San Francisco, the majority were Chinese, Irish and Italian immigrants who were killed in their beds from falling debris and chimneys and so on from the earthquake itself. As far as reactions and attitudes, the differences are greater. The biggest one is that the people of San Francisco organized themselves very quickly and responded to the situation. A committee of fifty was appointed, almost self-appointed. They were the leaders of the community and they met with General Frederick Funston who was the head of the military unit at the Presidio. San Francisco was our leading port on the Pacific Coast and that's where we had our military troops and our material and that was to serve us well. It was very soon after Funston requested from Secretary of War Taft that supplies be sent that cots and tents and medicine and food, K-rations, all of this kind of thing were supplied to the people of San Francisco. Posters were placed all over San Francisco telling people that, if they looted, the police and the military were empowered to shoot to kill. Vicki Curry>> Really? So looting was an issue for them then too. Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> It was an issue, but it became a non-issue very quickly because of the very rapid response and a very forceful response which followed. Vicki Curry>> We're already seeing some of the immediate effects of Hurricane Katrina upon New Orleans and across the country. What were some of the immediate effects of the earthquake in San Francisco? Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> Well, what some people don't realize is that San Francisco was the eighth largest city in the nation in 1906. It had almost three hundred thousand people and it was the largest city on the Pacific Coast. To point, it was the major trading port on the Pacific Coast. It was a major -- in fact, after New York, San Francisco was the second major trading port in the whole United States. So suddenly that was completely stymied. There could not be any movement of grains or crops from the San Joaquin Valley, from the Delta area. All of that was stopped. The business people were not deterred. They moved their businesses to residences in different parts of San Francisco and the department stores of San Francisco were moved to some of the large mansions on Van Ness Avenue. So it was business as usual rather quickly. So there was a turnaround that was rather rapid in San Francisco. I doubt that we're going to see that in the large area affected by Katrina. Vicki Curry>> Well, as you say, it's going to have quite an impact on all of us and we're still projecting how much and for how long. But when we look back at the San Francisco earthquake, we can see what the long-term effects were in that situation. How did that play out? Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> The economic dislocation was tremendous. There were, of course, many bankruptcies, more foreclosures, people who were not covered by insurance. Beyond that, I mentioned to you earlier that there was a trial, an investigation into the corruption which perhaps had contributed to those disconnected fire hydrants. If there's one long-term effect that touches so many of us even today, it is that the corruption that was revealed as a result of the earthquake and the fire pointed to the need for reform in government and that gave a mandate, a clear mandate, to the growing progressive movement. So we have economic impacts. We have political impacts. But there's one that perhaps is less tangible: losing in part the institutional memory of one part of our country. Hopefully, not the spirit, but perhaps part of the substance. Vicki Curry>> Gloria Lothrop, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us about this. Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> A pleasure. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Larry Mantle>> Welcome to FilmWeek on Life and Times. I'm Larry Mantle of 89.3 KPCC. Our first film this week, "An Unfinished Life", stars Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Morgan Freeman and Josh Lucas in a film directed by Lasse Hallstrom. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> I'm joined this week by critics Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com, and Andy Klein of City Beat and Valley Beat. Andy, what did you think of "An Unfinished Life"? Andy Klein>> Well, I thought this was right down the middle. It's the kind of material that I usually hate. It's very, very middle brow and sort of well-made in the shallowest sense of that. Jennifer Lopez plays an abused girlfriend who flees her boyfriend with her eleven year old daughter and she has no place to go. She's so desperate that she goes to stay with her father-in-law who hates her because he blames her for his son's death. So the story becomes this heartwarming thing, you know, of grizzled old Robert Redford which is kind of interesting as the father-in-law playing really, you know, a Gabby Hayes -- not quite Gabby Hayes -- but playing Clint Eastwood actually, and Morgan Freeman, his best friend, pushing him to loosen up and be more affectionate. Basically, you know, everybody learns life lessons and it's all very neat and clean. Larry Mantle>> Henry, what did you think? Henry Sheehan>> Well, even down to the presence of Morgan Freeman, this is kind of "Million Dollar Baby"-like. You know, the crotchety old man and the young woman who's desperate for help. You know, I didn't believe Redford for a minute. You know, for a character within the context of this situation, this character should really be full of hate and contempt for his daughter-in-law, but the movie won't go any farther than curmudgeonly because it wants to wrap everything up with a bow at an end, no matter how unbelievable it is. So really, all the emotional reality of the film is sacrificed to the needs of making just really a very superficial study of two attractive people who are eventually going to get together with the blessings of Morgan Freeman and it's just, you know, just phony. Larry Mantle>> Next up is the "Exorcism of Emily Rose" starring Tom Wilkinson and Laura Linney. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> We're all familiar with "The Exorcist", of course. What did you think of the "Exorcism of Emily Rose"? Henry Sheehan>> Well, this, you know, it's like two mints in one. Is it a horror film? Is it a courtroom drama? Is it a courtroom drama or is it a horror film? Well, it's two films in one and this kind of really sinks the ship. The movie opens with a policeman showing up at a farm and the farm is very spooky looking. I mean, every building is foreboding. I mean, the barn and the house. You know, there's knocking on the door and nobody's home. There are faces appearing in the dark window at the top of the building. But then, you know, the policeman knocks on the door again and the door is opened and he goes in and leads away a priest who's been standing by the bedside of a dead young woman. It turns out that Campbell Scott is going to prosecute this priest, Father Tom Wilkinson, for presiding over an exorcism that led to the death of a woman because he denied her proper medical treatment, and his lawyer is agnostic Laura Linney. So he has to, you know, prove to his defense counsel that, you know, that he was sincere and he insists on taking the stand himself. So we get the whole story of Emily Rose's tragedy, spiritual horror show, in flashback. Now the horror show aspects of this film are pretty effective. Scott Derrickson is the young director and co-writer of this film. He's less than ten years out of film school and he's made some direct-to-video horror films. Clearly, he's learned some lessons. I mean, the young woman who plays Emily Rose, Jennifer Carpenter, I don't know if she's a dancer or a contortionist or whether it's all CGI work, but this woman can get really twisted. Unfortunately, we keep going back from that into the courtroom which is a very normal courtroom drama. I think what's kind of funny is that Campbell Scott plays an evil prosecutor which is what his father, George C. Scott, first came to fame playing in "Anatomy of a Murder", but, you know, that's just a little thing for film buffs. Larry Mantle>> And we close with a pair of music documentaries, the first of which, "Touch the Sound", profiles percussionist Evelyn Glennie. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> Andy Klein, what did you think of "Touch the Sound"? Andy Klein>> This is a pretty terrific documentary. I mean, the basic story is amazing enough which is that Evelyn Glennie is in her late thirties and is probably the most famous classical percussionist in the world. She also plays jazz in this scene of her playing with various people. The punch line is that she's deaf and she's been deaf since she was a teenager. Somehow she becomes this world-class musician despite that. She had been playing piano as a kid and, when her deafness began to make that difficult, she switched to percussion and she basically trained herself to feel the vibrations all over her body. You sit there and go, no, no, she's got to be cheating. But it's for real and it is inspiring, but I don't think that's the main point. It brings up all kinds of issues about how we hear and how our senses are different from person to person. The director, Thomas Riedelsheimer, who did "Rivers and Tides" which was hugely acclaimed about a year ago, really has a great visual style and makes this more interesting than most documentaries. There's also another documentary opening this week which I think is less aesthetically ambitious, but for reasons that the documentarians couldn't have known, it becomes an incredibly moving film. It's called "Make it Funky" and it's a documentary about New Orleans music, specifically not so much the jazz as the rock and roll and soul music starting from around Fats Domino and going up to the present day, but particularly the 1960's, 1970's funk. There's a concert within and Bonnie Raitt and Keith Richards show up, but mostly you have people talking about the history of New Orleans music and you have all this footage of people dancing in the streets. There's no way to see this and not start to cry essentially because it's just more moving than they could have ever intended. Larry Mantle>> Well, thank you for joining us for another FilmWeek on Life and Times. I'm Larry Mantle of 89.3 KPCC joined by critics Andy Klein of City Beat and Valley Beat, and Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com. We invite you to join us again next week at this time for the next FilmWeek on Life and Times. Val Zavala>> KPCC radio broadcasts a full hour of FilmWeek Friday mornings at eleven a.m. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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