The Kingdom: Oil as the Setting, Not as the Plot

Like many others, I used this week's blogging assignment as an opportunity to watch "The Kingdom," a movie that I had wanted to see for a while. I will admit that I am a sucker for big budget Hollywood action flicks, and I found the plot/characters/etc. to be interesting, so I definitely enjoyed the movie. What I noticed though (as is hinted at in the title), was that the movie primarily used Saudi oil production as a vehicle to set up a story of intergovernmental politics and terrorism, and that once the "brief history of The Kingdom" intro ended, oil itself didn't seem to be on anyone's mind.

I guess I was just hoping for a more focused look at the intricacies of the linkages between the government and oil industries in Saudi Arabia and America, topics that the movie seemed to leave in the dust after the first few minutes. It may seem obvious to some of us that oil is the entire reason for the movie's existence, but I feel like the general viewer may lose sight of that theme when watching Jamie Foxx dodge RPGs.

I did enjoy the movie's take on the political structure and process in Saudi Arabia, and while I'm sure that situations were sensationalized to a degree, the portrayal of the Saudi power structure was interesting. Specifically, I found it interesting how "pro-American" the higher levels of the Saudi goverment were portrayed as being, and I wonder to what extent that various levels of authority in Saudi Arabia really support a positive relationship with the US government and the American people.

What I believe was most powerful, however, was the overarching theme that despite all the ideological and cultural differences, Saudis and Americans are not so different. If you haven't seen the movie or do not recall, "The Kingdom" ends with the revelation that both the Saudi bomb maker and Jaime Foxx's FBI agent share the same sentiment that "we'll kill them all." I think this is an important message to send when, at least in America, we are so quick to assume that everything we think, know, and love, is the "right way to do it."

the kingdom

At the heart of The Kingdom lies America’s complicated relationship with Saudi Arabia, rooted in our desire for oil and worsened by our presence in the region. Saudi Arabia is interesting because of the constant struggle to balance modernity spurned by massive oil profits and the traditional religious conservative beliefs. The collision of these different ideals presents problems for both the U.S. and the House of Saud.

Our involvement and presence in Saudi Arabia directly influences radical Islamic sentiment against the United States. Attacks by bin Laden and al Qaeda can be traced directly to our defense of the Saudi Kingdom and the placement of half a million U.S. troops down the road from Mecca. This is not a judgment on the First Gulf War, but an accurate example of why anti-American sentiment is fervent.

What I find most intriguing about the movie is the alternative to our current foreign policy that it presents. The response by the F.B.I. in The Kingdom presents a complete reversal of our current policy against extremist violence around the world. This is significant in that it presents a different idea of dealing with crises in such a delicate region of the world, possibly with a little more success.

I find the movie to be an optimistic but honest look at our relationship with those in the Middle East. The Kingdom attempts to address a crisis in the Middle East not with brute force, but with cooperation and trust. In the end, the movie shows us that we may think the Western and Middle Eastern cultures are radically different, but in reality, they’re more similar than we think. And, Jamie Foxx gets to be a badass for an hour and a half.