I decided to watch Disney and Pixar's movie "Wall-E" this weekend. "Wall-E" is the name of the last garbage compactor robot that remains on planet Earth after it is abused by humans. In the movie, Buy n Large Corporation, which somehow has control of the entire government, suggests the humans go on a five year cruise in space while robots clean up the Earth they have polluted and nearly destroyed. The earth is abandoned after the five years and said to be uninhabitable. The five year cruise turns into 700 years, as no life can be sustained on the planet. The people on the cruise ship, the Axiom, were normal sized humans but many years later are now extremely overweight. The "passengers" on the Axiom, ride around the ship in lazy boys and are pampered by robots all around them. In essence, they have "the perfect life" yet they are constantly being advertised to, just like humans are today. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a cup! Why not?
One of the main themes of the movie involves humans and how the empire controls them. On the ship the passengers see an innumerable amount of advertisements, including clothing. "Try Blue! It's the new Red!" Lines like the one above show how ignorant and conformist the people on the ship are. The truth is that many Americans today are just like that. We want to be cared for and pampered. In "Wall-E" humans purpose is to buy things from Buy n Large to make their lives easier.
Buy n Large controls everything that happens on the ship. From what the passengers eat to what time of day it is. This movie may have a deeper message than simply the story of a doe eyed robot finding the robot girl of his dreams. It may be trying to tell us to fix things up or this over indulgence and dismay might happen to us. Buy n Large represents the empire. Both have the following qualities: consumerism, seduction, visions of utopia, conformity to cool, instant gratification, and most of all control. This film also shows the viewer that there is still hope. It tells us to keep recycling, caring for the planet, maintaining our bodies and minds and be good stewards to the earth God left in our care.
The film is crying out to tell us not be controlled by corporations and their advertisements. We should conform to Christ, not to society.
I've seen this lovable Disney movie quite a few times and each time I notice something different. It provides an interesting contrast between the desolate and trashed earth where Wall-E lives desperately trying to clean up the junk left by humans, and the Axiom where everything is done for the passengers, is controlled by robots, and packed with advertisements. At some points, I feel the movie pushes a bit too much for environmental changes; I feel this is justified by the fact that today's youth is the generation who will be dealing with global climate changes and sustainability issues. Therefore, I believe it’s good to be reinforcing these concepts in a children’s movie. This film also exemplifies well how much our society is driven by ads (think of The Corporation). Each time a new ad flashes on the brightly colored screens, whatever is being advertized automatically becomes the new “cool.” In addition, a line that caught my attention appears when the little children on board the Axiom are being taught their alphabet as follows: “A is for Axiom, your home sweet home. B is for Buy N Large, your very best friend.” This seems very typical of our culture where children are raised immersed in consumerism and as soon as they can say their first words, they are already begging for a Barbie doll or a new Hot Wheels car. As Christians, we ought to raise them to understand that the things of this world are just “stuff.”
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, Alex. I think Wall-E does a nice job of showing the logical conclusion of our current trajectory in many aspects--advertising, corporate culture, our relationship to the rest of the earth.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to examine what the director was attempting to do in telling this story. I've read that he didn't really think he was making a "pro-environment" film--which I find pretty incredulous.