There is a way to measure how well an animation fares. Does it take over your imagination? Does it override your senses, so much so that you forget you're even watching animation? Do the fantasy-land characters, pixels and settings, become, for lack of a better word, real? That, or something close to it, is what happened to me during WALL-E, the puckishly inventive, altogether awesome new digitally animated masterpiece from Pixar. However, apart from the film being able to impress even with almost zero dialogue aka non-verbal communication, I was more interested that the message this latest Pixar film brings wasn’t one about the environment or obesity, but rather, about relationships.
IT’S NOT ABOUT OBESITY. What if everything that is crucial for survival like health care and food was taken care of, and you had nothing but a perpetual vacation to fill your time? The result of all that convenience was that all your relationships would be indirect, and nobody's reaching out to each other. A lot of people have suggested that the movie was making a comment on obesity. However, the movie was trying to illustrate humanity as big babies because there was no reason for them to grow up anymore.
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT. If the movie was criticizing people of anything; it’s not pollution, but the worship of leisure. Human beings nowadays live to be cared for rather than to care, and the few human beings WALL-E meets in the movie have become such big babies that they are literally feeding on milk than solid food. In stark contrast, WALL-E, the meek little trash collector, accepts stewardship in a way that people have rejected.
IT’S ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS. What interested me most about the film is the depiction of the most “humane” thing in the universe being a machine because it has more interest in finding out its true purpose of living than actual people. Does that not reflect the fallen state of the world today, the perceptions of what’s important or valuable in the world, the cognitive schemata we have, and the scripts we form? Like the human characters in the movie, our “programming” is the routines and habits that distract us to the point that we're not really making connections to the people next to us. We're not engaging in relationships, which are the point of living: relationship with God and relationship with other people. The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love, but that’s not always our priority. In WALL-E, two very different, unique (read: defy social constructs) robots are trying to go above their basest directives, literally their “programming”, to experience love.
True, the foundation for the story is that humanity has left the planet heaped in garbage. However, far weightier themes: like how technology distances us from the wonders of creation and how that distance cripples us spiritually; play a bigger role. Robots have always been seen as slaves to mankind, but because they embrace stewardship – and love springs from service – that perhaps they are the only ones that truly have understood the concept of love. This movie’s not an environmental message, it’s a biblical one.
10 comments:
it is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. in your case, the movie is in the eye of the reviewer.
i have seen a few other blogs sharing their thoughts on this movie, and i must say that yours differ greatly from the rest.
while most have gone to compliment the lack of verbal speech or the 'save-the-earth' message it sends, you have gone deeper to dissect the hidden meaning behind this movie.
it is plain and straight forward how relationships in the 21st century is falling apart (note low confidence and high divorce rates), but you have shared in a light where the simplest things are often best understood with no big words or fancy speeches.
so Ronan Keating sings 'You say it best, When you say nothing at all.'
I completely agree with he viewpoint that you hold with this movie. Indeed, this movie is about the relationships and not about obesity. It has greater underlying meanings then what the show presents.
The person who wrote this movie,a christian, started off with a basic idea.He felt that the love in this world in between people was diminishing. The movie was written to illustrate his idea of "what if the world degenerated so much that humans lose their sense of love and instead robots, the product of man's creation could feel and experience love?"
Your viewpoints of the movie inherently show that you understood the true meaning of the movie, and did not conform to the simple minded view that many others have.
Hats off to you. :)
Hey, haha i watched this movie the other day. Loved it. Its true about the nonverbal communication. For the first half of the movie, there was no dialogue at all save an exchange of names. Yet, somehow, we as the audienced never missed a single message being sent or what was being communicated. There were many deeper messages as well, and although I didnt really link them to the bible (perception diff) =p About what you said, I think most audience might jump to those conclusions and say its a movie to warn us about environmental issues etc..
"the perceptions of what’s important or valuable in the world, the cognitive schemata we have, and the scripts we form?", I also wished to pursue what i feel important but if we do not prioritize the way society does, we will or may suffer a great loss. Although pursuing and obtaining what i feel important will find me true happiness but it wont last for long as i wont be able to survive unless i abide to the "way of living" that the society created. Its sad but we still have to put what the society view as "important" above us.
Anyway, good analysis, this sure deserve praises.
Wow, that was really a very deep and unique perspective.
I totally agree that the movie has much deeper meanings other than the usual save-the-earth message.
The garbage filled earth is just a setting for the movie in my opinion, although it does have some meaning in itself.
I think I understand the biblical implications. (even though I am no Christian) This movie does a good job in portraying those biblical implications in a way most of us can understand.
After all, some would say that concept of true friendship and love means being there for one another during times of need or hardship.
If robots did all your work and
there was no adversity, how will we be able to differentiate between true buddies from mere acquaintances?
In fact, what would be the point of living if you have no sense of responsibility or purpose? What are you truly living for, if everyday was a holiday?
Your thoughts about technology on how it separates humans from creation is really very deep.
One of my thoughts of the technology is how humans are becoming more dependent on their technology, their creation to a certain extent.
What starts out as a means to make lives easier quickly becomes a dependency. Ever watched the movie "The Gods Must be Crazy?" Think of our technology as the Coke bottle.
Hey, check it. I also wrote about Wall-E on my blog. :)
I'm sorry, but I think you're dissecting this movie way too thoroughly, until it's not realistic anymore. In the first place, the movie is meant to be taken lightly - it's just a cartoon man. Robots, like Wall-E, will never have emotions like humans. The fictionalisation of Wall-E and Eve as characters with emotions just served to entertain us.
But generalisations aside, I appreciate the effort and time that you've spent in trying to analyse the movie. The point that resounded most deeply with me is when you said that technology distances us from the wonders of creation and how that distance cripples us spiritually. It is true, because the closer you are to the opposite of technology - nature - the more you somehow innately feel closer to God. Maybe it's because you're establishing a connection with one of the most basic yet majestic things that he has created. The simpler things in life, like what you said about relationships, are truly the most blessed.
Hi amos here! A nice write up about a different perspective on the movie wall E. Although i personally have not watched it, from most of the reader's comments i guess it is quite a interesting and well directed animated movie. Initially wall E came across to me as just another movie that appeals to children but the perspective you saw it from its totally refreshing and highly philosophical in nature. You mentioned about stewardship, love, relationships where at first glance of the wall E poster will not give of such a message. However as a lot of what we interpret is based on our own personal constructs and perceptions, different people of different cultural backgrounds, genders or age might see wall E showing different kinds if intended messages. All in all, wall E has been a great animated movie success as it has succeeded in appealing to different people showcasing them intended messages that can vary from the obvious to the highly inferred.
WALL-E as i have heard has gotten its fair share of rave reviews. Well, personally i have not caught the movie yet. But i must say from the trailer and the few clips i have seen, it is brilliant depiction of the portrayal of emotions via non-verbal communication. To show the importance of it in our lives. It can be taken as something we need as humans, there are somethings for which verbal communication cannot be used for. The subtle nature of this movie allows no limitations.
wow i agree that the movie presents an underlying meaning and isn't as simple as what many think. Initially, I thought that the movie was about obesity but after watching it once more, I began to perceive the movie's underlying meanings of relationship and love...
The question of whether man is inferior to robots in terms of degeneration of love seems to be a debatable one...
The movie has indeed put across ideas in a unique way and has provoked thoughts in me, like
Will there be a time when robots take the place of man sice they will be able to understand love and relationship better than human beings?
Your post really broadens my understanding of the terms perception, cognitive schemata, non-verbal communication etc...
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