[RonMN]

Seriously...that ending reminded me of a WW2 propaganda film to the soldiers on "why we kill japs"

(no ethnic slur intended...that's what the WW2 propaganda films said)

[Leanan]

Despite the fact that it blames weather, terrorists, and the Chinese, rather than depletion, it wasn't as right-wing as I feared from Fox.

It's not terribly flattering to the Bush administration, for one thing, showing them imprisoning that farmer on trumped-up charges just to shut him up. And the parts about lack of oil castrating America...it seemed like almost a parody of Dubya's rah-rah patriotism.

It was clearly disapproving of troops in the Middle East, even with people dying for lack of oil in the U.S.

And the solution wasn't a miracle new technology, or war that kicked Arab butt. Instead, it was a diplomatic solution - a deal with Russia (apparently based on something other than money, since the show established China as able to outbid us).

Despite the "happy" ending, it does leave the viewer wondering if maybe we should mend our ways, and get off this trainwreck before it's too late.

[HonestPessimist]

The "Oil Storm" movie is just a scenario movie, giving us some ideas about the outcomes of any major oil crisis, just like the movie, "The Day After" which presented us a near-realistic depiction of the outcomes of a nuclear exchange.

Although it presented me a lot of things I have been thinking and saying about the problems with America's current living infrastructure in this thread: http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic7259.html last April.

The current living infrastructure is the very reason why we are so dependent on oil, regardless whether it is foreign or domestic. It also reinforced the very reason that certain convenient things in life can no longer be taken for granted and the national/economic security of the United States is at great risks due to unrealistic, unsustainable and wrong-headed demands of the American economy and its current living infrastructure that people depends on. Though, America isn't the only one; other Western and modernized countries have similar living infrastructures and would face the same problems as America's, as resulted from not a single oil crisis but a series of oil crisis over the next couple of decades.

Some people would hope for something better or look for better/alternative energy resources but for the long term impact, oil will still be the main source of energy for the world, especially for China and India.

In the meantime, we all needed to take a serious look at our current living infrastructure which has been so deeply dependent on oil, whether it's foreign or domestic and make plans to radically reshape and re-engineer the entire living infrastructure, the society and the economy so it would be gradually less dependent on oil in the long run.

Driving by yourself in a highway in your own ICE-based vehicle would be an obsolete thing of the past. If everybody's going the same direction as you do to some places, why drive alone in your own vehicle, wasting money on gas, insurance and an occasional maintenance in the process?

[Tyler_JC]

The movie was not very good. It did not mention Peak Oil. It did not mention Hubbert’s Peak. It did not go into plastic=oil. It did not really mention food=oil. It was almost of a waste of time.

OK, the movie was a fake documentary. The movie follows the story of several people. A gas station-owning family, a family farm in dire straits, an EMT in Boston trying to deal with a frostbite among the masses, several political officials and an oil analyst that looks like a metaphor for Matthew Simmons.

The Plot:

A hurricane damages the gulf of Mexico’s oil production facilities and destroys a major oil terminal. The effect is immediate, oil prices shoot up to $77 a barrel in one day and cause panic gasoline buying. The government tries to fix the problem by pressuring Saudi Arabia to increase production. Our friends the Saudis agree, but it leads to violence from Islamic Fundamentalists.

One of the sons of the gas station owners gets called up by the military to protect Saudi interests. To make a long story, he gets killed. The family is devastated. Violence increases. The economy crashes…

The government imposes lots of new regulations in order to fix the problem. Oil continues to go up. The family farmers join together to protest a cut in farm aid. FOOD NOT OIL! FOOD NOT OIL! Is the battle cry (well, food is oil). The port of Houston is blocked up when two tankers crash and cause a mess. Houston was supposed to make up for the lost imports from the hurricane. Things get worse…

The farmer is arrest for disturbing the peace during a protest. The trucking industry goes into disarray. The gas station has problems and closes (no one can afford gas at $9 a gallon). I’m going to save you a little time here…

The Ending:

We sign a deal with Russia to get a grand total of 25 million barrels of oil in tankers sent to the USA. China tries to interfere, we eventually outbid them. This saves the day. America looks at its way of life and decides to use Russia to replace unstable Saudi Arabia. Lifestyles did not change. The economy recovered miraculously without much fallout. All of this happened in LESS THAN ONE YEAR.

[jmacdaddio]

Like others who have posted I find it hard to believe that Russia can just turn on the oil faucet to bail us out. Crude oil in exchange for assistance in developing "untapped" oil sources? A nice deus ex machina if there ever was one.

Still, it's better than nothing and it might just make a few Joe Sixpacks think just a little. While the storyline does perpetuate the myth that the Russians have tons of oil but lack technology to get it, it did touch on themes of conservation, the need for alternative energy, and the fact that our troops are in the ME for oil and not for spreading freedom.

[Triffin]

Hmmmm .. Guess we'll have to wait for
NOVA or FRONTLINE to address PO ..

Triff ..

[Colorado-Valley]

It almost seemed like the kind of movie that had a pretty well-written script, but then FOX executives stepped in and changed the ending to make it more patriotic and Jesus-y.

I'm just sure the Russians, who are being surrounded with U.S. forward operating bases right now, would jump right in to save the idealogues who are doing the surrounding.

[RonMN]

Not to mention, do you think china wouldn't have dumped all their US dollar holdings the minute those russian tanker turned back for america?

[Armageddon]

i dont think the russians have forgotten about the americans supporting the afghans in their war. the u.s. supplied the afghans with stinger missiles which turned the entire war around. ( which is another u.s. and bin laden tie ) so i seriousely doubt the russians are going to help america anytime soon. i think the russians, chineese, iranians, and venezualla are conspiring to bring down america.

[jmacdaddio]

One the one hand it's baffling that Rupert Murdoch and friends would put this on their network. On the other hand, I know a number of conservatives (true conservatives, not GOP automatons) who agree that our dependence on foreign oil is a matter of national security which poses a threat greater than terrorism or rogue states with "WMD".

One of the final shots of the movie shows the main character's gas station selling gas for $4 a gallon as Americans adapt to the new reality around them ... it's going to happen in the next few years, although not in a sensational manner suitable for a Movie of the Week.

[Peepers]

Boy, that was two hours lost out of my life I'll never get back!

I was looking forward to seeing it, but was very disappointed and finally disinterested, so much so that I shut off the DVR after about a half-hour of enduring it. I can't believe they presented an otherwise decent plot with a faux-documentary style. Presenting it as a drama would have had a far more engaging impact. Instead, I found myself not caring about the characters and what was happening to them. YAWN!

Now I'm going to have to stay up for an extra two hours tonight just to make up for lost time...

KJP

[Duende]

You see, this is what I was afraid of. I don't even know where to begin.

They completely left out any mention of peak oil. They made it seem as if Russia could somehow bail us out of an oil shortage as the new "swing producer".

Most irresponsibly, they completely undermined the long term consequences of our dependence on oil by painting a rosy picture at the end.

The overarching message of Oil Storm was "we have a dangerous dependence on OPEC oil."

[jato]

Thanks Tyler, now I don't need to watch it. The ending sounds too optimitic for me!

[Peepers]

I was very disappointed that they presented it in a mockumentary (and a poorly acted one!), rather than as a drama. The plot was good, and their inclusion of locations based on strategic importance/vulnerabilities was accurate. But I would have cared more about the subject matter and the characters had a dramatic format been utilitized. Instead, I shut off the DVR after a half hour of enduring a program that could have been more capably produced at a community college.

KJP

[Duende]

Oil Storm Pshaw. What a horrible production.

Scientifically irresponsible...

And how the hell is Russia going to become a step-in swing producer for the US? I must have missed that part, though I'm pretty sure I saw the whole thing.

Overall message: "We have a dangerous dependence on not oil per se, but on terrorist-infested OPEC oil countries. Therefore, as long as we shift our oil dependence on 'new' producers (like Russia?), then all will be well.

The average American's take:

Boy, that would be scary if that really happened. Thank goodness all this oil talk is just fiction and solely for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES, just like the notice after each commercial break says.

[Armageddon]

one thing it touched on was the collapse of the economy. america is so vulnerable when it comes to the economy. when oil prices do reach those levels that we all know is going to happen, things will snowball quickly. i recently heard a couple of truck drivers on a call in radio show and they said if prices go too much higher, they will have to park their trucks. things could get really ugly very quickly in america. it could take just one terror attack on saudi also, or like the movies theme with a hurricane or something similar. everything is innerconnected and it would trickle down kinda like how dominos fall.

[DriveElectric]

It was an interesting movie and it pointed out how fragile our economy is because of oil. But the ending seemed sort of too easy with a bailout coming from Russian oil.

What about China losing that oil? How is China going to keep making all of the Walmart crap without their fair share of Russian oil?

[Guest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GVBV', 'Y')eah,
Thats a good Idea.........Tape the movie and send it to europe where MORE terrorists will have a better look at what else to do to our country,As if the ones still here haven't got enough good ideas right now!... uh Yeah DUH, thats a good Idea........... I wonder if anybody is really that dumb to respond to a request like that from our "Euro Friends" Shuuuure!!!!!!

ITS REALLY UNFORTUNATE THAT OUR FILM INDUSTRY JUST SEEMS TO GIVE PEOPLE MORE AND MORE IDEAS ABOUT WHAT TO DO TO SCREW UP OUR COUNTRY-
"LETS JUST GIVE THEM A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE!!!!!"

[Armageddon]

russia will not bail america out. we are a major threat to china and russia with our oil consumption. we are the last people they will bail out

[Vexed]

propaganda.