SEABISCUIT
2003, Universal

In terms of energy themes, Seabiscuit (2003) focuses on cars displacing horses in the transportation sector.  However, poverty and the capability for self-renewal show up as recurring themes, too.

One scene, just 15 minutes in, features the archetypal image of a woman carrying a bucket of water. The woman lives in a Hooverville, an impromptu shantytown common during the Great Depression.  As this blog has noted (and will continue to note), women (and especially girls) carrying water is a universal visual symbol of poverty in films.