From director Judith Helfand, the educational documentary Cooked: Survival by Zip Code revisits the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave and other deadly natural disasters in America like it. But are the resulting deaths from heat waves, hurricanes, etc., so natural after all? Helfand’s documentary and its accompanying teacher’s guide argue convincingly for a more layered view of so-called “natural” disasters: one that considers poverty and race as underlying factors to thousands of unnecessary deaths each year.
In 2012, Helfand and her mother were preparing for Hurricane Sandy to hit them in New York. Her experience sheltering from the storm, along with Eric Klinenberg’s book Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, inspired her to make an educational documentary examining cities’ lack of protection for their underprivileged communities during natural disasters. Helfand asks us at the beginning of the film, “What’s the best way to prepare for disaster?” And the answer isn’t so simple as executing disaster preparedness conferences and plans. To truly prepare for a catastrophe, one first has to reframe events like the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave to see them as they truly are: “slow-motion disasters.”
Helfand elaborates on what this means. The heart of the problem and cause of unnecessary deaths in Chicago was not only the heat wave but the poverty and racism that continue to segregate and isolate Black Americans to experience the brunt of natural disasters’ effects. From interviews with experts like Dr. Linda Rae Murray and epidemiologist Steve Whitman, as well as families of disaster victims, Cooked: Survival by Zip Code paints a well-informed picture of how Chicago’s government failed to protect its Black citizens at disproportionate rates.
Helfand then builds from the history of the Chicago Heat Wave to pose a challenge to America’s current preparedness systems, which cannot account for those who can’t afford to prepare for natural disasters. “Disaster preparedness is a luxury. It’s for communities who are stable enough in the present to worry about the future,” the director concludes. “What if you can’t even conceive of a to-go kit because you need a ‘to-get-through the week’ kit?”
A strong emotional plea backed by substantial evidence, Helfand’s educational documentary sheds light on the real poverty issue at the heart of the Chicago Heat Wave deaths. Cooked: Survival by Zip Code is an inspired call to change the way we look at natural disasters and to adapt preventative measures accordingly. Highly recommended for environmental documentary collections and educational screenings.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
This educational documentary and its teacher’s guide would be valuable teaching tools for academic subjects such as environmental studies, African American studies, and late 20th-century U.S. history.
How does this film contribute to a discussion of environmental or climate justice?
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code invites deeper introspection regarding the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave and similar disasters. Ultimately, the documentary challenges viewers to consider the special plight of underprivileged communities in discussions of environmental and climate justice.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Library environmental programs and history programs can utilize Helfand’s educational documentary to teach the racial and socioeconomic factors that were at play during the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave. Additionally, Cooked: Survival by Zip Code can be screened as a companion to library book clubs discussing Eric Klinenberg’s book, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago.
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Teacher's Guide
Curator | Rajashree Ghosh
Affiliated Scholar, Women’s Studies Research Center, Brandeis University
Why I selected this film
Throughout the film Cooked: Survival by Zip Code, filmmaker Judith Helfand argues that there is an inextricable connection between environmental injustice and racism as she explores the impact of the 1995 Chicago heat wave that caused hundreds of deaths. The people most affected, she finds, often live in zip codes that are underserved, under-resourced, and ill-equipped to deal with extreme events like heat waves, hurricanes, forest fires, and, more recently, pandemics. An examination of these disasters reveals structural inequalities that make poor communities and communities of color vulnerable to these events. The film is an important teaching tool and will promote critical classroom discussions about how social location, privilege, and disadvantage intersect to create very different impacts and experiences within society.
Please download the teacher's guide for maps, background information, suggested subjects, questions and activities.
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