Response to Ch.12 of The American Experience - N.O.

There were only 2 things I thought of when I would hear mention of New Orleans: Mardi Gras and Hurricane Katrina. After watching the American Experience I am aware of just how ignorant I was. How could I ever define something so indefinable? I feel like blushing at the mere thought of how I used to think the worth of New Orleans could be defined by two events. New Orleans is so much more . . . The culture, the color, the pride, the music, the passion, the life, the people, the history, the spirit, the sound, the taste, the smell, the energy, the dreams, the fight. New Orleans is made up of all of it. And all I could think of while watching the documentary was, “Damn. I wanna go to New Orleans!” And then, “Damn, I’m GOING to New Orleans!” Out of all the chapters in the documentary the one that stood out the most for me was Chapter 12. It’s a shorter chapter, just over three minutes, but it’s the one that has stuck with me the most.

Perhaps it’s because I can relate to the artist, Amzie, who allows the cameras to follow him, or maybe it’s just because he’s so odd looking. Either way I was moved to hear him express his love and see him manifest his feelings about his hometown through his art. It seems as though everyone in New Orleans turns what they’re feeling into something tangible, whether it be music, art, dance, food, writings, etc. And that is so admirable to me. As an artist I am always striving to get my point across, a point that often is so hard to take from inside my brain and my heart and form into something others can hold. New Orleans is built for that. Every corner Amzie turned there was another human, molding their feelings into something everyone could see, feel, hear. How amazing it must feel to just turn a corner in New Orleans. I can’t wait, to turn corners in New Orleans.