Helinski+Blood+and+Oil

Jeremy Earp 2008
 * Blood and Oil**

Touching upon the dependency on Oil that the United States of America has much like many of the other films which we have viewed in class, this film goes into great depth to the political side of the game and unveils the amount of complication that arises. Specifically focusing on the relationship that the US has developed with countries such as Saudi Arabia, Blood and Oil does a great job of informing the public on a side of the oil crisis that not many people have very much knowledge about.

The fiml does an excellent job of explaining the intertwining web of stakeholders that are entangled with one another in the oil market. With the US being such a powerhouse nation and having such a dependency on fossil fuels and crude oil, this film portrays America to be the number one stakeholder in this sticky situation. Not too far behind those who are dependent on the resource are those who are supplying it. In this situation the focus falls onto Saudi Arabia whose relationship with the United States is completely revolved around. These two countries make up the majority of stakeholders that are involved with the give and take of the oil market, yet there are many other countries in unsettled areas of the world that may not be considered a large contender within the oil crisis, yet play a crucial role in its future. Countries boarding oil rich countries usually become areas of focus for as country such as the US to ensure that their agreement with their wealthy countries is well protected. Regardless if these boarding countries have and resources of interest or not, they often become involved in the oil crisis as well.

Moving from the larger scale of countries as stakeholders, the film dives a little more in depth into the organizations that are involved within each country and how they play a critical role for their homelands. Beginning with the United States, the story behind Dick Chaney is brought to attention and the controversy that revolved around him and his Energy Task force as they devised the rubric that was to be followed. For being a free country it was astonishing to discover the secrecy that went into the meeting about something that regarded the country as a whole. Not only the secrecy was amazing, but the stubbornness of those who were in charge of this plan as devise something that lay in their best interest rather than hearing the opinions of those people that they were representing.

On the other end of the spectrum, the world in the Middle East is very different from what we are accustomed to and it was very compelling to hear the story behind Osama Bin Laden and his reasoning for his actions. Not having a very developed knowledge on this topic, it was very informational to hear the roots of where this man developed his skills and then turn them against those he was instructed by for what he believed to be an invasion of his homeland. It’s almost ironic to hear that he was trained under our control yet it was us that caused him to turn against us.

As the film touches upon the reasoning for our dependency it basically reveals that it is the concept of what America is founded on that has put us in the current situation that we are. The American dream being labeled as “freedom on wheels” shows the very root of our automotive run country and why we have dug ourselves into such a hole. The citizens of the US have grown so accustom to having the ability to have a personal means of transportation, they are unwilling to adjust their actions which have been used by society for decades. Having 98% of transportation needs fueled by petroleum is the exact reason why we have position ourselves where we can no longer provide for ourselves and depend on resources in unstable countries. Outside of the auto industry, the film conveys how most markets in the US are based around petroleum and petroleum based products. These means of living need to change if there is to ever be hope of trying to reverse the position which we are currently sitting in.

The most compelling portion of this film I found to be the discussion of how deeply the dependency on oil ran and how much it impacted that unfolding of the Second World War. Always knowing that the United States was considered a powerhouse in the turnout of the war, I was not completely informed that this was because of our oil resources. It makes sense when thought about that such a large military force would require sufficient supplies of oil and fuel, but this is clearly shown by having one third of the US oil reserves depleted in this war alone. This situation raises a tough concept because it could be blamed that such a large depletion of oil at that time has put us in the situation which we are currently in, yet it was necessary in order for the war to unfold as it did with the allies being victorious. The drastic need for oil during this time period was shown through the relationship forming between FDR and the king of Saudi Arabia. Having the understanding that oil was such a dire resource for the success of our country, why have we not changed anything if this understanding was made in 1945?

Although the film does a great job of persuading the audience of the US’s oil driven military history, I was not completely compelled that every course of action taken in the Middle East is due to the rich oil supplies that lie within those countries. Oil may be a motive that is considered in many of these conflicts, yet I feel as though there are many others at hand as well. The film drives the concept of oil so strongly that I felt as though they were implying that oil was the one and only motive for any action taken. No alternatives to the dependency on oil were directly project to the audience of the film yet the overall concept of the film explains the dire need for a shift from fossil fuels onto alternatives sources of energy that will not require such military force in order to secure whatever is left of the resources. Besides the obvious shift towards renewable sources, the film has and underlying tone of the need for people of this country to work together in order to force change. As seen through the Energy task force and their closed meetings, organization amongst the people needs to happen in order for opinions to be heard and if they are ever to be considered. Having been taught a large amount of information from this film, it has compelled me to search further into conflicts that the US has had in the Middle East in order to grab a greater understanding on the reasoning behind them. The film does a great job with going in brief detail about each operation, yet I am not completely on par with their train of thought behind the reasoning of each. I think it would be an eye opener to obtain as much information about them as possible.