Shell Films produces stories. They describe their recent short film “Eureka” as “a story inspired by real events.”

Eureka is full of lovely music, lush scenery, attractive actors, and a sexy narrative. It’s an exemplary piece of corporate propaganda.

Nick at Triple Pundit has a link to the film and a concise review. He writes:

“I can only imagine what this film cost to produce, plus the cost of putting DVD copies in countless magazines, and running clip after clip on TV. And what’s the real benefit? Presumably the idea was to get a lot of people to feel good about filling up at Shell stations.”

Stimulating retail revenues is obviously one of Shell Film’s indirect objectives. They approach the objective via a cleverly conceived and flawlessly constructed narrative designed to delegitimize public concern about peak oil.

Witness the first interaction between the lead character Jaag and the protagonist reporter character, Kim. Jaag is a tall, unshaven, and thoughtful chief engineer. Kim is diminutive and composed, wide-eyed and well spoken.

A helpful Shell coworker introduces Kim as “the, um, reporter I told you about”. Kim flashes a crooked smile before demurely casting her eyes to the floor.

Jaag is patient and distracted… he can’t remember why this Kim person is standing in his chaotic office. The phone interrupts. It’s someone speaking Dutch. Jaag is busy. His coworkers are handing him disturbing “geological reports”, callers are speaking Dutch, coy reporters are speaking english; only a chief engineer like Jaag could keep his cool in this type of situation.

Indeed, Jaag plays the scene like a mildly autistic James Bond in a Colombo routine. He blinks, attempts to sit, stands up to shake hands, turns to answer the phone, and returns with “I’m sorry, you were saying?”

Seconds later it’s clear that Jaag has drawn the pliable Kim out of her shell. Soft spoken Kim is persistent. She’s here for the real story. She wants to know how Shell is “getting on” in the face of diminishing oil stocks.

Jaag flashes a knowing glance to several coworkers. Their expressions say “uh, oh, Jaag, it’s a fiesty journalist” and “yo Jaag, it’s time to drop some serious science on this chick.” Jaag is instantly amused. He drops a heavy line…

“You know what, um, it’s probably best if I show you.”

For a second the office is silent. Chief engineer Jaag is gonna show us everything!

But first, he’ll put us outsiders in our place. Jaag and his coworker turn immediately to Kim’s pointy toed heels. Jaag proposes: “You might need a different pair of shoes though”. Pan to pointy shoes, cue mysterious world music, cut.

We’re embarking on a journey. We’re not just going to slip into something more comfortable. First we’ll walk a mile in the rugged, scarred work boots of chief engineer Jaag. Well, we might not actually walk, walking is but a metaphor. Instead we’ll ride in Jaag’s Range Rover and fly in Jaag’s helicopter. Character Kim is swept away in the magical helicopter and you will be too.

We can’t help but understand that Shell is definitely getting it on. Jaag’s flex-straw drill can penetrate un-probed regions. Even Jaag’s teenage son gets to score. What more could you want? End of story.
[tags]Shell, corporate propaganda, peak oil[/tags]