Shows of Feeling

Abstract

On 20 April 2010 the Deepwater Horizon, a deep-water drilling rig owned by BP, suffered a pipeline blow-out deep in the ocean, and oil began to gush into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A month and a half after the disaster, and following a series of gaffes by the chief executive Tony Hayward and other senior managers, the Guardian newspaper reported on advice given by Dan McGinn, ‘a communications expert at TMG Strategies’, that Hayward and his colleagues should ‘emote’ more freely: ‘Don’t make it so technical, so mechanical. Give us a sense of passion, that you feel people’s suffering’ (Clark, 2010). Cynical though this suggested ploy may have been, it highlights not only the importance to corporate capitalism of a human face, but also the importance of its being one that is seen to be registering the emotional impact of its expressions upon those with whom it is engaged.