Harry Shearer’s New Katrina Doc Takes Aim At Army Corp Of Engineers… And Media

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by Steve Krakauer | 9:39 am, August 26th, 2010

» 7 comments

There is a lot of five-year anniversary Katrina coverage this week and next, and Harry Shearer‘s new documentary adds to that. The Big Uneasy premieres August 30 in theaters around the country, and we got a preview earlier this week.

The movie’s main antagonist is the Army Corp of Engineers – but Shearer also takes aim at most of the media.

In a Q&A following the screening, Shearer praised Michael Grunwald, who appeared in the movie, for his Washington Post reporting. He also singled out the New Orleans Times-Picayune, saying they “rediscovered the mission of a great local paper.”

But as for the “rest of the press,” Shearer gave them a “D, and maybe a D-” for the “grandstanding and showboating in place of telling the story.”

He specifically called out CNN’s Anderson Cooper for what he described as an on-air “lecture” to Sen. Mary Landrieu (here’s that exchange).

John Goodman and Shearer are in the movie, and other actors, like Brad Pitt and Wendell Pierce contribute voiceover work. The well argued case against the mismanagement, bureaucracy and ultimately deadly mistakes of the Army Corp of Engineers is the continuous plotline.

Here’s a preview:

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Harry Shearer, The Big Uneasy

SteveMG

In defense of the media, this (the levee failure) was first reported more than five years ago:

Here, for example:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/20/AR2005092001894.html

Summary: the surge of the waters wasn’t sufficient to top the main levees. They failed do to poor construction and faulty design done over several decades.

I’m not sure what story Shearer thinks he’s breaking.

Sidebar: I was born in New Orleans and I’ve never heard anyone – no one – ever call it “the Big Easy.” Not sure where that name came from but I never heard it used.
nowandagain

Per Wikipedia: The Big Easy was possibly a reference by musicians in the early 20th century to the relative ease of finding work there. It also may have originated in the Prohibition era, when the city was considered one big speak-easy due to the inability of the federal government to control alcohol sales in open violation of the 18th Amendment. The term was used by local columnist Betty Gillaud in the 1970s to contrast life in the city to that of New York City.[146] The name also refers to New Orleans’ status as a major city, at one time “one of the cheapest places in America to live.”
Sadstateofaffairs

SteveMG,

Thanks for the link to the Washington Post article by MICHAEL GRUNWALD…the same journalist Shearer says is the only one who reported on this issue.

Forget about the Big Easy thing,..did they teach you to READ in New Orleans?
shootfromthehip

Love Harry.

Great truth seeker and a funny guy.
Not Your Typical New Yorker

shootfromthehip said:
Love Harry.

Great truth seeker and a funny guy.

One persons “truth seeker” is another persons ” Huffington Post” shill.

Shearer is just another dried up lefty trying to extend his shelf life by any means possible.
tatboy

“Truth seeker” is like the term “Bring truth to power”. Neither side likes it when the other side “seeks” truth or bring the truth to them.
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