Chan in no specific arrangement..

For my field report I viewed Paul Chan’s “Waiting for Godot in New Orleans”. Certain aspects of the film reminded me of Chan’s “Baghdad in no Particular Order” as well as other films we’ve viewed thus far.
Like a lot of the content we’ve viewed thus far, much of it is open for interpretation. The original play “Waiting for Godot” is one that exhibits this quality of interpretation. Two men are waiting for someone named Godot, who never comes, and its symbolism keeps it very relevant today. Due to hurricane Katrina, many people lost their homes, possessions, and loved ones. People hopelessly waited for help, help from FEMA, Red Cross, National Guard, or any kind of help they could get from the United States government in that time of crisis. Chan’s decision to set this play in New Orleans is powerful because of the similarities and relevance. “Waiting for Godot” portrays a segment of New Orleans, real people’s lives, and is a metaphor for those who didn’t leave and give up.
With “Baghdad in no Particular Order”, Chan showed us Iraqi life and changed many of our perceptions or expectations of what life is like for them in a very personalized way. In “Waiting for Godot in New Orleans”, he has us relate and think about the many victims of Hurricane Katrina. Chan’s adaptation of “Waiting for Godot” works so well because of its relevance, much like his remix of a monumental speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. on the Viet Nam war, altered to relate to the war in Iraq. The similarities between the situations make the remixes a powerful success.