I read this week that Mark Wahlberg is in talks to be a part of a new movie based on the Deepwater Horizon explosion of a few years ago.
The former leader of the “Funky Bunch” is one of my favorite actors, and usually if I’m looking for something to watch and I see a movie with his name on it, I can be assured of a few hours of satisfying – if not Oscar-caliber – entertainment.
For this particular film though, I’m skeptical of both his involvement as well as that of the greater Hollywood blockbuster machine.
As this commentary puts it, it’s important to remember the people most affected by the explosion (the 11 who perished), and not just the event itself.
That’s the very “low-level” concern, and I absolutely don’t mean that pejoratively. Rather, I just feel that the potential issues with this film will not only have to do with neglecting the human aspects of the event, but also the industry’s constant, negative portrayal at a high level by this country’s entertainment complex.
Indeed, I’ve written in the past (here and here) about my skepticism when it comes to Hollywood depicting the oil & gas industry, and unfortunately I don’t see much reason or incentive for this film to take a different course.
Granted, there’s no other way to present what happened on April 20th, 2010 as anything other than what it was: a disaster caused by a flawed safety culture that lead to the deaths of 11 people.
Still, to the extent that the media shapes much of the general public’s perception on issues that affect it, I’m afraid this film will only be another red mark for an industry that – let’s not kid ourselves – contributes greatly to society.
What, then, is the point of piling on more negativity, really?
Frankly it comes across as hypocritical.
Also, while I have no problems watching superheroes taking part in fictionalized destruction of a city, I’ve always tried to stay away from disaster movies based on real events: quickly I remember that people actually went through the terrible thing(s) I’m watching on screen for entertainment, which makes it far more harrowing than engaging.
In my view then, that’s two knocks against the movie already: a potentially lopsided view of an industry that can and in fact does operate very safely at other locations both offshore and on, and exploiting people’s real tragedies for entertainment and profit.
I’m not entirely pessimistic about the film though, based on a field trip I took waaaaayyy back during my freshman year of high school.
My dad was working in France at the time, and one very important piece of the French history curriculum is World War II. Certainly, it was a seminal event in US history too, but given that the conflict took place on European soil, and that part of France did in fact collaborate with Nazi Germany, WWII is something French students are heavily exposed to.
It just so happened that “Saving Private Ryan” came out at the same time my classmates and I were learning about the Normandy landings, so the school organized for all of us to go watch the movie. Keep in mind that in the US, this would never happen owing to the film’s R-rating and all of us at the time not being close to 17. Despite that, the school recognized the potential educational benefits and let us go.
I superficially remember certain parts of the latter half of the film, but what still sticks with me to this day is that first sequence depicting one of the beach landings, which was a complete gut-punch. It was truly horrifying to realize that people not much older than I was at the time actually took part in this.
So while I don’t like watching movies that sensationalize people’s misery or loss, I make a personal exception for particularly well-done war films, to the extent that their educational value overwhelms any other qualms I may have about being entertained by terrible events that actually took place.
Going back to this hypothetical Mark Wahlberg project, I can only hope then that rather than use this as yet another opportunity to bash the oil & gas industry (hey, those Ferraris and private jets run on hydrocarbons, too…) Hollywood really does its homework and produces something accurate and thought-provoking.
If members of the viewing public still choose to believe that the industry is a net-negative to society, then so be it, but I’d be willing to overlook that too if members both new and old of the oil & gas industry in particular saw it and it motivated them to double-down on safety.
One thing is for sure: if and when it comes out, this is one disaster film I will absolutely pay to watch, popcorn in one hand and notepad in the other, and I look forward to seeing its reception and sharing my thoughts with you afterwards.
Interested in more of my insights? Follow me on Twitter @DavidAVaucher
The former leader of the “Funky Bunch” is one of my favorite actors, and usually if I’m looking for something to watch and I see a movie with his name on it, I can be assured of a few hours of satisfying – if not Oscar-caliber – entertainment.
For this particular film though, I’m skeptical of both his involvement as well as that of the greater Hollywood blockbuster machine.
As this commentary puts it, it’s important to remember the people most affected by the explosion (the 11 who perished), and not just the event itself.
That’s the very “low-level” concern, and I absolutely don’t mean that pejoratively. Rather, I just feel that the potential issues with this film will not only have to do with neglecting the human aspects of the event, but also the industry’s constant, negative portrayal at a high level by this country’s entertainment complex.
Indeed, I’ve written in the past (here and here) about my skepticism when it comes to Hollywood depicting the oil & gas industry, and unfortunately I don’t see much reason or incentive for this film to take a different course.
Granted, there’s no other way to present what happened on April 20th, 2010 as anything other than what it was: a disaster caused by a flawed safety culture that lead to the deaths of 11 people.
Still, to the extent that the media shapes much of the general public’s perception on issues that affect it, I’m afraid this film will only be another red mark for an industry that – let’s not kid ourselves – contributes greatly to society.
What, then, is the point of piling on more negativity, really?
Frankly it comes across as hypocritical.
Also, while I have no problems watching superheroes taking part in fictionalized destruction of a city, I’ve always tried to stay away from disaster movies based on real events: quickly I remember that people actually went through the terrible thing(s) I’m watching on screen for entertainment, which makes it far more harrowing than engaging.
In my view then, that’s two knocks against the movie already: a potentially lopsided view of an industry that can and in fact does operate very safely at other locations both offshore and on, and exploiting people’s real tragedies for entertainment and profit.
I’m not entirely pessimistic about the film though, based on a field trip I took waaaaayyy back during my freshman year of high school.
My dad was working in France at the time, and one very important piece of the French history curriculum is World War II. Certainly, it was a seminal event in US history too, but given that the conflict took place on European soil, and that part of France did in fact collaborate with Nazi Germany, WWII is something French students are heavily exposed to.
It just so happened that “Saving Private Ryan” came out at the same time my classmates and I were learning about the Normandy landings, so the school organized for all of us to go watch the movie. Keep in mind that in the US, this would never happen owing to the film’s R-rating and all of us at the time not being close to 17. Despite that, the school recognized the potential educational benefits and let us go.
I superficially remember certain parts of the latter half of the film, but what still sticks with me to this day is that first sequence depicting one of the beach landings, which was a complete gut-punch. It was truly horrifying to realize that people not much older than I was at the time actually took part in this.
So while I don’t like watching movies that sensationalize people’s misery or loss, I make a personal exception for particularly well-done war films, to the extent that their educational value overwhelms any other qualms I may have about being entertained by terrible events that actually took place.
Going back to this hypothetical Mark Wahlberg project, I can only hope then that rather than use this as yet another opportunity to bash the oil & gas industry (hey, those Ferraris and private jets run on hydrocarbons, too…) Hollywood really does its homework and produces something accurate and thought-provoking.
If members of the viewing public still choose to believe that the industry is a net-negative to society, then so be it, but I’d be willing to overlook that too if members both new and old of the oil & gas industry in particular saw it and it motivated them to double-down on safety.
One thing is for sure: if and when it comes out, this is one disaster film I will absolutely pay to watch, popcorn in one hand and notepad in the other, and I look forward to seeing its reception and sharing my thoughts with you afterwards.
Interested in more of my insights? Follow me on Twitter @DavidAVaucher