In those very scary post-Katrina days, a young man from Algiers’ Fischer Projects grabbed one of the notoriously unused buses from the Algiers bus barn and drove a number of people out of his neighborhood. Ultimately, they ended up in Houston, and much ado was made of Jabar Gibson (the driver), leading to national acclaim and a movie deal.
What struck me then was that Jabar showed some excellent potential in his actions, which demonstrated qualities like initiative, decision-making, and creative thinking. Even though Algiers didn’t flood and there are a number of unanswered questions about those buses, I agreed with the media’s attempt to shine a positive light on this young man. I’d hoped he would be able to use the personal triumph of that evacuation as a stepping stone off the destructive path he’d been following. I thought that maybe – just maybe – he would be able to move forward from that point of encouragement.
Guess not.
I’d have been interested in the movie if Jabar’s story had a positive message – but instead of ending with hope, it apparently will be highlighting one brief, shining moment in an otherwise typical criminal sub-culture life in New Orleans.
That will hardly be a blockbuster at the cinema. What a shame.
