Watching the TV show Treme as a capstone to our studies of New Orleans is a perfect conclusion to our media consumption. The show begins in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and in the very first episode we are exposed to a family returning to their flooded home, the first Second Line parade since the storm, a Jazz Funeral, the anguish of missing loved ones, the frustration with the federal government, and a communal gripe about the circumstances of the times.
The show does a particularly good job of situating the viewers in the community. Watching the show, I feel a sense of kinship with the characters as they ask about each other’s homes after the storm. That particular line repeated often, explicitly tells the viewers that a lot has happened before we joined them.
“How’s your house?”
When the characters ask about their neighbors’ homes, we feel like we’re in on the secret because we know what they are asking even though we weren’t there when the damage was done. After watching City of A Million Dreams I feel the significance of the first Second Line since Katrina. And after seeing When the Levees Broke, I feel the rage of New Orleans residents talking to reporters about what had happened to the levees. I am right there with them, yelling at the corps of engineers.
In light of the cultural wealth and the shared tragedy, I understand why a trumpet player would be content to play in New Orleans for the rest of his life.
