ARTEHow has oil, an essential raw material today, transformed not only our lifestyles and the economy, but also the global geopolitical order? A fascinating look back at the origins of black gold.
The arrival of black gold was, in its time, a miraculous revolution: kerosene lamps illuminated homes like never before, and factories using motorized machinery suddenly saw their productivity increase tenfold. Thanks to oil, economic growth skyrocketed, and the fortunes of some, like John D. Rockefeller, history’s first billionaire, reached record sums. The coin, of course, has its flip side, notably the influence of oil on the course of the two world wars.
A Bitter Taste
Marking the beginning of Western dependence, the first oil shock, explored in the second episode of Andreas Sawall’s documentary, retrospectively leaves the bitter taste of a missed opportunity: research into renewable energies, promising but underinvested, could have provided a way out. Physicists, historians, and journalists share their insights in this documentary, rich in anecdotes, which traces the rise of oil as a raw material inextricably linked to our way of life. While the United States has established itself as the world’s leading producer, it seems unlikely that the West will abandon this resource—essential for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and electronics—on which we have become more than dependent.
Documentary by Andreas Sawall (Germany, 2020, 53 min)
