A life and death story about extreme heat, the politics of “disaster” and survival by zip code.
In 1995, a devastating heat wave hit Chicago. For the majority of blacks living in poverty-stricken areas, it turned into one of the worst natural disasters this country has ever seen. This documentary takes you back to this haunting tragedy that occurred, yet there was minimum media coverage and I wonder why. After reading the book ‘Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago” by Eric Klinenberg, filmmaker Judith Helfand was compelled to explore the politics and redefine the meaning of disaster. She also tackles the issue often shoved under therug, which is how race and class play a significant role in how a crisis is defined and handled.
With heat reaching 104 degrees, the privileged simply turned on the air conditioners, went to the mall, or the local public library to cool off. For those living in impoverished neighborhoods with no cooling stations, malls, or even decent grocery stores, they stay in their extremely hot homes afraid to open the windows due to crime. As many cooked inside, hospitals began to become packed with victims of heat-related illnesses, eventually causing death. There were so many bodies the coroner was kept busy every hour of the day. With nowhere to put them, refrigerated trucks began parking outside. Described similar to a war zone, some families had to look for their loved ones themselves by pushing piles of bodies aside; which was devastating. Many unclaimed individuals were buried in a potter’s field with their belongings stored in a warehouse. Many of the photos revealed victims’ homes with small beds and some even without windows.
How could something like this happen and not have mass public attention? Was this not a natural disaster the same as a hurricane or tsunami? The questions were deeper than that, it came down to how could this happen in one of the wealthiest cities in the country? Helfand explores the socioeconomics, racism, segregation, and lack of opportunities which all played a crucial role in how this tragedy happened to a specific group of people living on one side of the city, while the others had no knowledge that it was even happening. 739 live claimed and a ton of excusesfrom the government later, Helfand asks to define what a disaster means because clearly, the mayor of Chicago did not consider this to be one. An amazing documentary, emotional, devastating and a definite must-see!
“Cooked: Survival by Zip Code” will have its national television debut on the PBS series “Independent Lens” Feb. 3rd
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