Film Studies of Syriana

Michael Klare's Blood and Oil Michael Klare has written an interesting and very relevant book, dealing as it does with the politics of oil, US foreign policy, the Middle East, and the causes of terrorism. He writes with a clear purpose and that is to argue that America's "securitization" of oil and its willingness to use military force in order to secure its supplies of oil have been a major mistake. His main argument is that ever since the meeting on

We will first look at the United State's roles in the world oil chain in order to more fully understand what the stakes are in this war of dependency. America holds 2% of the world's oil reserves, contributes 8% to the production of oil and consumes a staggering 33% of the total world consumption [3]. This is an amazing amount for just one country alone to consume. If we look at how economics are supposed to work we will find that supply needs to equal demand. Our supply does equal our demand currently, but is largely imported. Right now America is only supplying 8% of the global production, while taking a massive third of the total consumption. Our supply comes almost completely from overseas, meaning that major oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia or Iraq, control a major role in our economy. This is a major weakness to the US as we will have little control over this precious resource and we are at the hands and will of the suppliers. Below is a chart showing the breakdown of America's uses of oil by sector.

Senator Everett Dirksen once noted “The oilcan is mightier than the sword”. In today’s world, it is easy to see why oil can be considered the most important resource to hold. Without oil, many of the common day occurrences we take for granted would be impossible. Oil is used for almost everything; from the fuel used to drive our vehicles, to the plastics used in every facet of life, and providing the heat needed to live through the winter. In fact, the United States depends so much on oil that as a nation it uses over 20 million barrels a day. Importing oil increases the total costs because of the need to transport it from around the world. It is estimated

Oil has often been referred to as any economy’s lifeblood. Although this is an overemphasis, oil has been the key, nonhuman resource of the economy throughout the largest part of the 20th century. In the book “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, And Power” by Daniel Yergin, the author illustrates the political, societal, economic, and geo-strategic importance of this product.

The U.S. should invest in alternatives to oil, and drill on the United States grounds because it will assist the economy, preserve energy and fix the world’s environmental problems. The supply and demand for oil is always on the rise, and problems are contemplated with the use for oil. Those problems are starting to catch up to the modern world, and something needs to change before the world enters a black out. Experts can predict that there is estimated to be somewhere around 61 years of oil left for us to use at our current rate. The demand for oil is always rising. People in today’s modern society rely so heavily on oil, that they would not know what to expect if it

The “U.S. became the world’s top producer of petroleum and natural gas” in 2013 (Energy Infrastructure). “Capital spending in the infrastructure that moves and transforms oil and gas into everyday products … has increased by 60 percent between 2010 and 2013” (Energy Infrastructure). The rise to become the top producer has led to the decrease in “U.S. oil import dependence” and the “rise of U.S. product exports” (U.S. Oil Import Dependence). The increased exportation of oil and gas by the U.S. has allowed both of these products to become large moneymakers for the United States. Although we will probably never “completely eliminate our need” for oil, we can reduce our petroleum consumption and the damage we inflict on the environment (Reduce Oil Dependence Costs). By decreasing the “dependence on oil” in new vehicles, there has been a

Two-thirds of the world’s remaining oil reserves are in the Middle East which will make international policy imperative in the future (Campbell 2007). It is

The topic of this paper is America’s foreign oil dependency. The purpose of this paper is to suggest how might America completely destroy or at least greatly mitigate its dependency on crude oil to fuel Americans’ cars, especially foreign crude oil. Library literature, newspaper articles, encyclopedias, and the Internet were all sources used to compile this paper. The conclusion reached in this research topic is that America’s great foreign oil dependency is a crisis and other energy sources to fuel our cars need to be adopted and implemented before the people

In contrast to the United States becoming 100 percent self sufficient in oil we need to invest in the foundations of technologies that could completely wean us off of oil, and other natural gases. While a self-sufficiency in oil is great because it decreases our dependency on other nations as well as helping to stabilize an otherwise erratic economy, it can only last for so long. Oil, a natural gas, cannot be created

The United States needs to continue working toward ending our dependence on foreign oil but it won 't be easy and will take some time. Currently 25% percent of U.S. oil comes from foreign countries, which is on the decline (U.S. Energy Information Administration, n.d). Our

Oil is one of the most important natural resources known to mankind. For most societies in the world, oil is the principal natural resource that fuels their economies. Then why, in this great age of communication and technology, do we need to be concerned about a natural resource like oil? Simple. Nearly 98% of everything you have or do is in some way related to crude oil. Heat for your home, gas for your car, 2 liter plastic bottles for pop, and petroleum jelly are just a few examples of products created from crude oil. The United States has the greatest standard of living in the world, as well as the largest economy. Why? Because we have always tried to maintain control over the supply, as well as price, of oil. Over the last 10 years, the U.S. economy has undergone the largest economic expansion in history and cheap oil has fueled this unprecedented growth. (Faulkner)

The book, Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil is a warning to the world about the great harms that have been imposed on people and the earth by our need and dependence on petroleum products. The story is much darker than most people know and Maass is hoping to change that.

“National Security Consequences of United States Oil Dependence” is an article created by an Independent Task Force which emphasizes how in the future the United States can experience severe consequences from using an abundant amount of oil. "For the United States, with 4.6 percent of the world's population using 25 percent of the world's oil, the transition would be especially disruptive" (Task Force 212). The transition they describe is to an economy that relies less on petroleum. This dependence on oil could possibly result in the United States to suffer with economic, and social downfall as the entire country depends on the oil we obtain. One alternative to this oil dependency is to explore all American territory for oil, which involves

#1 It may be difficult to over-emphasize the strategic importance of oil in the present and near future world economy and balance of power. Security of the world’s major sources of oil and the prevention of their domination or control by other powers had certainly been a central, a constant and an openly stated foreign US policy for over 50 years. There is every reason to believe that it still is. As to the significance of the ‘oil component’ in the invasion of Iraq, much has been written about this subject, especially outside the USA. There certainly is a strong case for the USA to gain some control over the sources of finite and indispensable world oil. This is different from simply trying to steal Iraq’s oil money as some people have been

The movie Syriana is set in about four different plots and this very deep geopolitical thriller. It captures a lot of the real world situations that are going on in the middle-east and the behind the scenes activities of such dealings. The big oil companies in the middle-east are rich but the whole world knows it’s a temporary status, until other bigger countries suck them dry. The problem is that with all the corruption and lack of a functional and considerate government the riches are never seen or felt by the regular people which are the vast majority but only by their 1% rich families. The movie shows of a wide variety of complicated situations and what makes it realistic is that there is no happy endings but just cause and effect, action and reaction, in the real world not always the good guy wins but the powerful or the wittiest.