World News

This is the final subject of newsreel no. 46/1973: a standard compilation of international soft news received as raw footage from newsreel-producing institutions from abroad with which the Sahia studio collaborated. We learn about the construction of a giant radio telescope in Yugoslavia, about a new exhibition opening in Beijing and about a tragedy at the motor racing track.

The most significant part of the newsreel is the first report, which addresses the energy crisis that the Western world was confronted with in 1973. During this period, European governments were faced with the sudden and severe limitation of oil supplies from OPEC countries, forcing them to implement strict energy conservation measures. The crisis was triggered by an oil embargo imposed by OPEC nations in response to Egypt and Syria’s surprise attack on Israel, (supported by the USSR) and the subsequent involvement of the United States on Israel’s side. The report outlines several measures taken by Western nations following the sharp increase in oil prices, from $3 to $12 per barrel. These actions included restrictions on street lighting, efforts to curb gasoline consumption, and a shift towards alternative modes of transport like the bicycle, as well as a more general reorientation towards the development of renewable energies.

Inspired by the oil crisis, film-maker Alexandru Boiangiu directed a satirical short documentary in the late 1970s, dramatizing the “death” of traditional energy sources. The film, titled On a bicycle (1980), features a mock funeral procession, in which a car is symbolically escorted to its grave. (MB, AB)