*This is part one of a two-part DTE analysis of the trailer for local filmmaker Marc Gauthier's upcoming oil spill documentary titled "Gulf Coast Blues: Oil in Our Veins"  Today is DTE blogger Bart's take on the trailer.  DTE blogger Paul's take will appear here Tuesday.  Watch the trailer HERE.  (Warning — foul/coarse/mature language at 4:05, 5:50 and 8:10)

I think far too many people put stock in President's Obama's emotional gauge in the days, weeks and months that have followed since the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 people in the Gulf of Mexico. An event that created the worst environmental disaster our nation has ever seen. Do we really care about our president's emotional state? Or would we be better served to demand our president roll up his sleeves, shut his mouth and start doing dirty work?

Since everyone wants to compare his reactions to that of former President Bush, consider this: After 9/11, President Bush went to Ground Zero and stood on the rubble in what many remember as the defining moment of the last quarter century. But remember who he was surrounded by: emergency response personal who for the most part were devoid of emotion due to years of trauma experiences and emotional earthquakes. Not to discredit those brave men and women or sound shallow, but it's true. It's easy for the film“Funny People” to look like a Lifetime movie at a horror film marathon. Plus, we're talking about two different kinds of events - one where the enemy is easy to identify and direct anger at, and the other where the enemy is a culture we've all fostered.

But I digress. . . .

Lost in the psychoanalysis of Obama's cuss words, his attire in the Gulf, or his facial expressions was the sadder fact the rest of America was mostly detached as well. To me it's far more problematic to think of my fellow citizens as having a hard time harnessing the anger and frustration felt about this tragedy and directing that towards the culpable and the enablers. And in this case the enablers are who you see when you look in the mirror. But back to my point about feeling “a disconnect.”

Maybe I'm immune to react to television images and video. Maybe our media fails us more than we realize. Whatever the case, it took seeing something like the trailer to Gulf Coast Blues: Oil in Our Veins a documentary by Spokane filmmaker Marc Gauthier to create that connection. Marc's approach to filmmaking is more than an art. Marc uses a foundation of trust and honesty to get to the real heart of the matter. And that's what sets this film apart.

 

Real and raw emotions spew from the residents of Grand Isle, Louisiana, as they tell their stories of struggle, frustration and in many cases hopelessness. If you asked Marc , he'd tell you this is the most important story he's ever told, and if you asked me, I'd say this is the most important story I've ever watched unfold.

Creating the narrative around struggles of humanity is the missing link between reality and the BS mega corporation-run news services try to tell us. And you wonder why there's a disconnect in this country - it's the matchmakers in the world asleep on the job.

Not Marc Gauthier. By exploring the frustration locals in the Gulf of Mexico are feeling, Marc goes farther than a majority of the media in this country ever dreams about. And it's a good thing he was there when he was, because it's questionable as to whether or not he would be able to get the same access now that BP is controlling the media.

If emotion sparks a cultural shift in connection, focus and priorities, then Gulf Coast Blues: Oil in Our Veins is a matchstick thrown into a pool of gasoline.

---

---