The events that took place during Hurricane Katrina were very different for a middle class white family compared to that of the experiences portrayed in the film, Trouble the Water, of an impoverished African American neighborhood. Although the general media may only display stories of hope and praise for the people who could evacuate the New Orleans area, Trouble the Water offers a very different view, one that reveals a deeply rooted social problem that is not typically headlined. Conflict theories and Anderson and Collins’ (2004) analysis of the intersections between race, class, and gender help explain some of the events that take place in the film.
Conflict theories can be used to help comprehend the alienation of individuals, groups, and communities (Robbins, Chatterjee, Canda, 2012, p. 75).…