A Crude Awakening
A Crude Awakening
| 01 March 2006 (USA)
A Crude Awakening Trailers

Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack's nonfiction treatise Crude Awakening joins Maxed Out, An Inconvenient Truth, and other recent documentaries devoted to unearthing and exploring forces that are untying the connective threads of contemporary society. The subject at hand is crude oil - specifically, the depletion of petroleum from the Earth, in an era when consumption threatens to exceed supply.

Reviews
djderka

There should be a category of cheap documentaries or Peak Documentary on subjects done to death.This "doc" regurgitates old music from Barry Lyndon and old Phillip Glass music. as well as it images of war, pestilence, etc. from archives.A dozen interviews that support their viewpoint and presto: An agitprop documentary from the Soviet era.Rather than a reasoned approach to finding other than oil sources of energy the essay on peak oil finds oil as the "bad guy".Why didn't they start out by showing how oil saved the whales from being the primary source of oil (which they were). And that cars are a democratization of travel. Previously only Kings and Queens traveled and by carriage. Serfs had to walk.You won't find that here. Clearly this is yet another apocalypse documentary of doom and gloom, with no clear message except, "hey, we are running out of oil". New sources of oil are found ALL the time...as in Brazil and the Artic. These are never mentioned. Peak oil theory has been around since the 1920's and recycles itself every 20 years.Save your time watching this film and go for a fun ride in your gas car and enjoy some new scenery and vistas. Oh, put the top down if you have a convertible.

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peenchy

Let me first say that I completely agree with the idea of reducing our dependence on oil. Mass transit, alternative energies, and exercise (yes, I ride a bike) are definitely the way of the future and should receive a great amount of funding in the present. And guess what? They Are! But seriously… are you people (the ones that have given this film rave reviews) all nuts? This movie deals with a really interesting subject, but turns it into an incredibly manipulated , highly suspect, piece of political propaganda. The entire premise of this movie rests on the notion that we aren't just going to run out of oil (which is obvious) but we're going to run out of it so suddenly that it's going to cause a worldwide trauma. As if one day there will be oil, and the next … oops! All the wells are dry! Next scene: chaos, murder, war, yada yada yada.The idea that we might, possibly, run out slowly over a long period of time (maybe 3 or 4 decades?) – allowing nations to CONTINUE switching over to alternative sources of energy doesn't seem to exist. Indeed, one "genius" says that Hydrogen fueled cars won't ever work because the technology might not be fully ready for 30 to 50 years. Why is such a time scale a bad thing? Because this film basically tells us that the world is going to end before then.Look, I get the point. Oil = bad. But why lie and manipulate facts in order to scare people? It just makes the film seem ridiculous and the creators like left-wing hippies.Examples? Sure, I have TONS, but I only need one. If you actually watch this POS (which I do recommend, if only to question it and learn how politically motivated movies can be) I'm sure you'll find dozens of other factual inaccuracies… Canada's extraction of oil from oil shale: One guy tells us it must only be happening because of growing desperation. After all, who would go after such an uneconomic source of oil as oil shale if our world supply weren't falling apart? Well, smarty, Canadian companies apparently. Why? Because They Make Money Doing It! Shale excavation actually does turn a profit, especially when oil prices are high (as they would be if/when reserves begin to run out). Oil need only be above $30 a barrel (they're about double that right now) for shale extraction to work on a large scale.Guess what else? There are (conservatively) 3 trillion barrels of RECOVERABLE oil in shale reserves. What's that mean? 100 years of oil at current usage. Double the usage? Fine, still 50 additional years IF the Middle East were to run out today. Plenty of time to develop those alternative energies that this movie scoffs at (yes, they scoff and scoff often).Again, I get the need to cut our dependence on oil. And ya know what? So does everyone else. I don't need fear mongers trying to put forth easily debunked theories and manipulated facts in order to sway my vote. If anything, I think I'll go out for a nice long unnecessary drive tonight just to show my displeasure with their movie… Congratulations.

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holly9000

There's a very, very real probability that our grandchildren will never ride in an airplane. You'll notice I wrote "probability"-not possibility. Yes, that goes for cars, trucks, buses, and virtually anything else that runs on gasoline. This documentary should be required viewing for every American. I was never so profoundly disturbed by a film. Chilling and informative, you'll never look at the world in the same way again. Everyone on the planet will be involved-there's no avoiding it-and no one's talking about a subject that will change the very fabric of our existence. Get ready for an eye opening experience like you've never had. And pay attention, because they're talking about you and me. Highest Recommendations.

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ravis-3

This is a movie that people should be forced to see! It is an amazing display of the facts. These are real issues that everyone is going to have to deal with! The problems are not going to be solved by pointing fingers and expecting our governments to mitigate the problem, the problem lies within us as consumers! It is time that we look to our own lives and determine how we can live with far less than we currently do. The people that can grasp this concept will be far better off than those who are stuck in the past. Relocalization, reduction, more efficient use of energy and a serious reduction in consumption are great first starts. Thanks Basil for the great movie, I look forward to your next film!

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