A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've bought and read most of the major "peak oil" books that have been published the last few years, and so I didn't expect that much from this film when I ordered it using my Neflix subscription (now I'm buying a copy here on Amazon, for a mere $19.99).
Boy, was I ever surprised when I viewed it today! This documentary is so well done, that I really feel it should be required viewing in all high schools and colleges, and I wish everyone in this country could in fact see it.
Virtually all of the major energy experts, most of whom have written books on Peak Oil, are interviewed in this film, with a multitude of scores of video clips from the past and present, including an interview from the 1970's, with M. King Hubbert (the originator of Hubbert's Peak).
This film shows the power of video documentaries, when they are produced with style, creativity and true expertise. Just about every conceivable concept related to the world's energy use, past, present and future, along with great comments regarding the various alternative possibilities (solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen, etc.), are illustrated here.
Five stars without any doubt!

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An unforgettable and shocking wake-up call, A CRUDE AWAKENING offers the rock-solid argument that the era of cheap oil is in the past. Relentless and clear-eyed, this intensively-researched film drills deep into the uncomfortable realities of a world that is both addicted to fossil fuels and blissfully unaware of the looming "peak oil" crisis. Drawing on an international cast of maverick energy experts and thinkers, directors Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack debunk the conventional wisdom that oil production will continue to climb, and instead stare bleakly at a planet facing economic meltdown and conflict over its most valuable resource. Featuring a haunting score by Phillip Glass and a fascinating array of rare archival footage, the film explores oil's rocky relationship with human progress in locales ranging from ancient Baku, Azerbaijan to dusty oilpatch town McCamey, Texas. Amidst a dark and disturbing vision of our future, A CRUDE AWAKENING hints at a humbler way of life built around sustainability and alternative energy, providing a visually stunning, boldly prophetic testament which provokes not just thought but action.Q&A with Basil Gelpke 1.What inspired you to make this film?I thought it was the most underreported burning issue at the time when we embarked on the project back in 2005.2.What kind of response have you encountered from audiences who’ve seen it?We’ve got a lot of feedback: Either people would deny our conclusion or they would see the film as an eye-opener.3.What, if anything, do you think has changed since you made the film about the oil situation?The current financial crisis has lowered the overall consumption but it’s interesting to see that not very much as oil consumption is so vital to our societies. While demand goes down in the US it’s still increasing in places like China.4.Do you feel that the high price of gas last year and the current economic crisis has changed our oil addiction?Yes, and I think there’s a growing consensus that we have to change our dependence on imported energy and now there’s a remarkable push to look for alternative sources of energy.5.How much do you think things have changed now that there is a new administration in the White House?The Obama administration is definitely very aware of the issue and they have taken lots of promising steps to change our addiction to oil and fossil fuels in general. Whether they’ll be successful remains to be seen but it’s certainly going into the right direction.6.Can you discuss your decision to use animation and archival footage that sings the praises of oil?It seemed a good way to show how perceptions change over time and how we’re all conditioned by history.7.The score by Philip Glass is remarkable. What made you choose him for the film?Yes, we love his work too!8.Faced with the alarming future shown in the film, what, if any, is your hope for curing our addiction to oil?There’s always hope. However, I strongly believe that when the financial crisis has subsided there will be a next crisis caused by nature: The dwindling resources of the planet simply can’t satisfy the ever increasing demand arising from a growing population. So over time we’ll have to rethink our way of life.

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Collapse Review

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(More customer reviews)To understand the depth of emotion in Michael Ruppert's fascinating argument is to understand his personal evolution. Ruppert was born in Washington, D.C., the son of an Air Force officer and an later aerospace executive. Ruppert's mother was a cryptographer for Army Intelligence at Fort Myer, VA, during the Second World War. In addition, his father's cousins were employed by, and retired from, the Central Intelligence Agency.
Ruppert was a hopeful idealist and raised as a Republican. He excelled in his studies at UCLA (receiving honors in political science), interned for Chief Edward Davis of the Los Angeles Police Department, and eventually became a highly decorated LAPD officer.
Ruppert had all the makings of helpful cog in the wheel of the status quo.
Only later, as a narcotics officer, did Ruppert's journey lead him on a path of discovery which clearly illuminated the chasm between truth and the government approved appearance of truth: In 1977 Ruppert claims to have discovered a major drug trafficking operation run by the CIA. Ruppert filed a statement with the CIA and famously made a publicly televised challenge the Director of Central Intelligence John Deutch. Deutch responded by agreeing to investigate and address the issue earnestly. This promise, in Ruppert's mind, was not honored as nothing was done to identify and punish those who ran the operation. Moreover, nothing was done to cease the drug trafficking operations.
From this experience the audience can understand the evolution from Ruppert's youthful idealist belief in justice toward his lifelong passion for exposing the hidden "truths" that are conveniently hidden from public consumption. (Complicit in this deception, Ruppert argues, is a lazy and uninterested mainstream media.)
Those who have neither read Ruppert's books, viewed his blog, or seen him speak will be riveted as he breaks down the imminent perils of peak oil, the fraud of fiat currency, the quiet revolutions taking place with no media coverage, the corporate and government corruption run a muck, the need for sustainability, and, thankfully, the importance of happiness, joy, and smiles in one's life.
Poignant moments of the film:
During a fascinating scene in the film, one which should not be overlooked, Ruppert himself betrays some his own words. Moments after coldly declaring that his only intent is to protect himself from what he later describes as an avoidable "holocaust", he becomes emotionally overwhelmed and asks for a cut in taping while he attempts (in vain) to recover his emotions and hold back tears. Those tears, of course, appear and one can immediately see that the man who seems to be so removed from the the deadly consequences that face the entire human race is, indeed, not completely calloused to the thought of inevitable human suffering.
Later in the film, when challenged by an off-camera voice to explain why he continues to speak up to this day, Ruppert proudly boasts that as a man of principle he could not walk away and silently ignore government crimes. The implication is that the beneficiaries of Ruppert's activism are his fellow citizens.
Another moment in the film sees Ruppert pausing for a moment when weighing a thought that seems to evolve and fully germinate in front of the camera. Discussing President Obama, Ruppert makes the assertion that the President has neither the level of executive control nor power-broker support to make the type of changes that could halt crises of peak oil, fiat currency, et al. In other words, those who are blindly waiting for President Obama to fix the worlds ills are going to be extremely underwhelmed with the results.
Conspiracy and Paranoia:
My late father once told me during my most fervent period of Patriotic Idealism (middle through late teens) that many of the people who are classified today by the media as "crazy" or "paranoid" will someday be proven right (at which time the media will offer no update or correction to their previous claims). Sadly, at the time he spoke those words I did not understand my father's wisdom. Since that day I've noticed the lies, deception, and corruption perpetrated by our government (and all governments) as well as from the entrenched wealthy elite. Yes, Ruppert is one of those voices to whom my father was referring.
Everyone you love should see this film. (Everyone whom you do not love should also see it ... but lets be real.) This is a powerful voice of a debate that needs to take place, in public, beyond the limitations of the "conservative/liberal/right/left/red state/blue state" paradigm. We would all do ourselves justice by listening to his words and preparing ... if only for the sake of our children.
NOTE: I originally purchased this video from a company that shall go unnamed but features an iconic representation of a widely cultivated perennial deciduous tree-grown fruit that perhaps did or did not help Newton better understand the principle of gravity. However, I have pre-ordered the DVD from Amazon.
NOTE II: According to the closing credits in the film, Ruppert's book has not sold well and he is facing eviction from his home in Culver City. If you are interested in his ideas you may want to consider buying a *NEW* copy of his book. Surely he'll appreciate the royalties.Confronting Collapse: The Crisis of Energy and Money in a Post Peak Oil World

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Can this man predict when your world will crumble?The Explosive New Documentary From The Director Of THE YES MEN and AMERICAN MOVIEIt s the shattering documentary that has been called superb (Entertainment Weekly), hypnotic and haunting (Time Magazine) and so masterfully made it s impossible to look away (AllMovie.com). COLLAPSE is the story of Michael Ruppert, former Los Angeles police officer turned rogue reporter whose eerie prediction of the current financial crisis shocked millions. Now Ruppert is warning of a new meltdown, one rooted in oil, economics, and covert U.S. policies that are leading us all towards unprecedented global disaster. Is he a prophet who can clearly see America s terrifying future, or a conspiracy theorist fueled by fear and paranoia? And if Ruppert is right, can this slide into catastrophe be stopped? Experience this sometimes harrowing, often poignant and always riveting look into the mind of the ultimate outsider from filmmaker Chris Smith, the award-winning director of American Movie and The Yes Men.

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