“They probably got us all on the news”: Personal Narratives and Public Trauma in Post-Katrina New Orleans DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Katherine Greene Parker Horigan Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Professor Amy Shuman, Advisor Professor Ray Cashman Professor Wendy Hesford Professor Maurice Stevens Copyright by Katherine Greene Parker Horigan 2013 Abstract Although stories and images of suffering during Hurricane Katrina saturated public discourse in 2005, the fundamental failures of communication that characterize this catastrophe remain undertheorized—especially the ease with which some stories have been accepted and others ignored. My dissertation brings together representations of the storm’s darkest moments, narrated by eyewitnesses, then shared in a broad spectrum of genres and rhetorical situations. Examining contexts of production, circulation, and reception, I demonstrate that the ways in which survivors’ personal stories are shared with larger audiences can either confirm or confound stereotypical representations of the narrators’ communities, with material consequences for their immediate aid and ongoing recovery. The approaches that drive my analysis include ethnography of communication and narrative performance, critical discourse analysis, rhetorical analysis of life writing, critical race theory, and critical theories of trauma. This project examines Katrina in a new light, focusing on the representational tactics of survivors and the processes by which their narratives are recognized or rejected. Beyond that, this study contributes to current theoretical understandings about how different communicative contexts and rhetorical situations shape the knowledge that is created about trauma and recovery. Texts conveying the eyewitness accounts of survivors have an obligation to include narrators’ critical engagement with the processes by which their stories are being collected and shared. ii This is dedicated to my parents, Craig and Betsy Parker, who helped me begin by teaching me to love reading, who helped me persist by supporting my education, and who helped me finish by telling me, very early on, when it was time to write the last line: “..and then they saw the Pacific Ocean.” iii Acknowledgments I hope this project reflects the sincere gratitude I feel for the people and institutions who supported its creation. In particular, thanks to my advisor, Amy Shuman, whose work inspires me, whose commitment to my work continues to surprise and encourage me, and who always knows when it’s time for a cup of tea. I am grateful for the guidance of my committee members Ray Cashman, Wendy Hesford, and Maurice Stevens, who have brought their formidable knowledge from different fields to bear on the shaping of my project, and who have supported me professionally and personally. I have also been lucky to know Carl Lindahl, whose scholarly generosity seems boundless; especially for bringing me into the Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston Project, my thanks go to him, along with Pat Jasper, Shari Smothers, and all the participants of that interview project, particularly those who were willing to share their stories with me for the purpose of this research. At Ohio State, I have benefitted from the support of the English Department, especially Kathleen Griffin; the Center for Folklore Studies, especially Cassie Patterson, Dorothy Noyes, and Sheila Bock; my working groups and sustenance networks, including Elizabeth Bell, Alejandro Jacky, Dave McLaughlin, Catherine Sundt, RaShelle Peck, Corinne Martin, Brian McAllister, Brad Freeman, Brandon Manning, Katie Carmichael, Meg LeMay, and Anne Jansen; and the Writing in Depth Academic Writing Retreat, hosted by Maurice Stevens and Michelle Rivera-Clonch at the remarkable Hope iv Springs Institute. For their patience and encouragement, I am grateful to my immediate and extended family, especially Spencer, Trevor, Denise, Adela, Eleanor, Gwen and Kim, and Cynthia. And to my husband Patrick, thank you for your calm, consistent support, for your faith that I would do this, and for your willingness to move across the country so that I could. v Vita 2005................................................................B.A. English, Tulane University 2006................................................................M.A. English, Tulane University 2008 to present ...............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of English, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: English vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita ..................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Review of Relevant Literature: Personal Narrative and Traumatic Experience ............. 8 Methodology: Interactive Contexts and Critical Discourse Analysis ........................... 36 Chapter Outline ............................................................................................................. 46 Chapter 2: “They didn’t know what was really going on”: Survivor Interviews ............. 54 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 54 “Establish control”: Shawn’s story ............................................................................... 58 “It worked out”: Patrice’s story ..................................................................................... 68 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 78 Chapter 3: From “angel of mercy” to “radical Muslim”: Zeitoun’s Story Travels .......... 81 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 81 vii The Blog: “I found this old lady” .................................................................................. 85 The Interview: “I see one old lady, remind me like my grandma” ............................... 89 The Book: “Like a great floating flower” ..................................................................... 95 “He was needed”: Zeitoun’s Reception ...................................................................... 101 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 104 Chapter 4: Katrina Stories Get Graphic in A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge ........... 108 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 108 “Standing in”: selection and characterization of categories ........................................ 113 “That woman is me”: representativeness gone wrong in A.D. .................................... 120 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 136 Figures ......................................................................................................................... 142 Chapter 5: Documenting Disaster: Unsettled Filming in Trouble the Water ................. 144 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 144 Breaking the Frame: Trouble the Water’s Unconventional Speech and Footage ....... 147 Uplift and Appeasement: Trouble the Water’s Conventional Ending ........................ 158 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 168 Chapter 6: Conclusion..................................................................................................... 174 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 190 viii List of Figures Figure 1: Josh Neufeld’s drafted illustration for Scholastic’s State of Emergency cover; “State of Emergency: Evolution of a Cover”; Joshcomix; Wordpress.com, 4 April 2011; Web; 28 September 2012. ............................................................................................... 142 Figure 2: Denise reacts to the storm in Chapter 5, panel 13; A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge; SMITHMag.net; SMITH Magazine, 2007-2008; Web; 10 January 2012. ........ 143 Figure 3: Darnell in danger in Chapter 11, panel 1; A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge; SMITHMag.net; SMITH Magazine, 2007-2008; Web; 10 January 2012. ...................... 143 ix Chapter 1: Introduction In August of 2005, I drove out of New Orleans in the middle of the night, headed for I-59 in my roommate’s rattling truck. Hitched to the truck was