Ecology, embodiment and aesthetics of death in Hurricane Katrina

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, thousands of people died and millions were displaced from their homes. The deceased and displaced were portrayed as ‘expected losses,’‘collateral damage’ and ‘inconvenient bodies’ in need of disposal. Through discourse and media analysis, this paper will employ the theoretical constructs of embodiment and aesthetics to examine the relationship between historical and ecological patterns that contributed to the visual representations and memorialisation of death in Hurricane Katrina. In viewing the deaths that occurred as fundamentally biopolitical, this paper will propose that the continued displacement of New Orleans' predominantly African American residents inhibits their ability not only to resist neoliberal models of reconstruction currently taking place in New Orleans, but also their ability to engage in culturally familiar ways of grief and bereavement and incorporate the losses of their loved ones, homes and city within their emotional ecosystems.