Gulf Oil Spill: The Movie -- What We Can Expect From BP's Propaganda Film

BP, apparently unsatisfied with its internal coverage of the Gulf oil spill (World Television has produced 190 web videos so far), has commissioned a feature-length film on the disaster. BP told the NYT that the movie isn't intended to clear its name. Nevertheless, it promises to be a propaganda thrill ride that takes viewers on a censored tour of the worst spill in U.S. waters.

From the NYT:

They are making a film of the spill primarily for an internal audience as an archive of a momentous event in the company's history (not to mention those impacted by the tragedy and its aftermath), Robert Wine, a spokesman for BP, said in an email.

So what can we expect from this feature-length film that hopes to document history?

Here's what we'll likely see.

Lots of "command center" footage -- because nothing says we're working our asses off" better than a lot of shots of people hovering around computer screens and sketching out solutions on a dry-erase board;
At least one shot of BP execs struggling with the loss of life from the fatal Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and possibly short profiles of the men who died;
An emphasis on the sheer size of recovery and cleanup efforts;
A break down of different solutions and the tech behind it;
Interviews with folks in the seafood and tourism industries and how media coverage of the spill kept people away from the beaches and from buying Gulf shrimp and fish;
Lots of footage of new CEO Bob Dudley

Here's what we won't.

Media blockades -- Mother Jones reporter Mac McClelland offered some of the best coverage of BP's attempts to block reporters from accessing Lousiana's oil-covered beaches and marshes.
Former CEO Tony Hayward's yacht race.
BP and the federal government playing down the Gulf oil spill's true size
The Photoshop debacle
Interviews with fishermen who signed BP work contracts that included waiver clauses designed to distance the oil company from liability (BP later dropped the provisions in the contract)
Much footage of former CEO Hayward

So, it'll be biased, but that doesn't mean it won't be worth watching. BP could surprise us with a few moments of transparency or more importantly, reveal the personal interactions between the feds, BP and other companies involved in the spill including Transocean (RIG) and Halliburton (HAL).

Photo from the Louisiana Sierra Club, CC 2.0

For complete coverage, see All Things BNET on BP's Gulf of Mexico Spill
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