Renaissance Village (review)

Renaissance Village, directed by Gabe Chasnoff and distributed by NTI Upstream in 2008, is a documentary that focuses on the largest trailer park set up for the victims after the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August, 2005. Shortly after the hurricanes, FEMA (The Federal Emergency Management Agency) established more than 200 group trailer sites throughout Louisiana and Mississippi for the victims of the devastation. The largest trailer park, named Renaissance Village, was built in the rural town of Baker, Louisiana. Initial federal support for this park was to have been for eighteen months. However, after this period had expired, 1700 of the original 3000 evacuees (most of them African Americans from the poorest districts in New Orleans) were still living in the park. On top of this, chemical poisoning by formaldehyde, which was used for the production of FEMA trailers, began to threaten the residents’ health. The rising criticisms from Congress and the media prompted FEMA to close their trailer parks (including Renaissance Village) although most residents still had nowhere to move.

The primary theme of Renaissance Village lies in one question, “Who should bear the responsibility for dealing with natural disasters?” Referring to the large scale of the devastation, Manuel Broussard, the FEMA Liaison to Renaissance Village, states that the required expense will be eleven times more than FEMA’s 2005 annual budget and manifests the limitation of its aid to the victims from the beginning. However, one interviewee, Paul, says that the residents blame the government because they have no one else to blame for their present situation. Renaissance Village tries to present the people and situations as they are and refuses to judge the matters in the simple good citizens/bad federal government binarism.

Renaissance Village also succeeds in revealing the village residents’ realities that are often ignored by the news and other media. The point of this film lies in its depiction of the discrepancy between the federal aid system and the village residents’ need. At the micro level, the expulsion of Herbert and the issue of the free vocational training school are good examples. As a “candy man,” Herbert illegally runs a grocery shop in his trailer because he has no other means to earn a living. Regarding the reason for his expulsion, FEMA liaison Broussard insists that Herbert is a “harmful” figure who might possibly disturb the stability in the village by his illegal activities. Herbert’s business, however illegal, actually helps the residents who have no transportation to shop away from the village. Also, Renaissance Village reveals the dysfunction of the federal projects like free vocational schools. Paul points out the welfare system’s lack of understanding of the reality for many African Americans who are too poor to quit their jobs to participate in classes.

Moreover, the conflict between the federal government and the village residents becomes manifest when the formaldehyde poisoning of FEMA trailers becomes a national scandal. FEMA responds to this scandal by launching a project to finance the residents moving out of the village. However, many residents resist FEMA’s plan because the aid provides for temporary hotel stay and rent costs, but does not compensate for the physical damage caused by the formaldehyde. Therefore, those who have no place to move feel anxious about their future. Assuming that they will be abandoned once they leave the park, many residents show reluctance to follow FEMA’s project despite the menace of the formaldehyde poisoning. FEMA’s attitude is summed up by Wilbert, “We are a people forgotten simply because we are not loud enough to be heard—black or poor—either one means the same to your government; you can’t help them and they’re not interested in helping you.”

Renaissance Village closes with the scene of the confrontation between Wilbert and FEMA Liaison Broussard at the first (and probably the last) public hearing held for the village residents. In this meeting, Wilbert asks about the aid for the most “invisible” people in the village, those who used to be homeless in New Orleans before the hurricanes. Broussard replies...