Introduction: 'Wall-E' as a Cautionary Tale
‘Wall-E’ is considered as a cautionary tale about the Earth, highlighting how the rampant consumerism and neglect have turned the Earth into a garbage-strewn wasteland. The film highlights the problem of human consumerism, which is based on an unsustainable relation between the economics of production, consumption, and waste management. The film eliminates the presence of humans to allow for the independent dissemination of the subject. Humanity is depicted as having been evacuated by the megacorporation, and a depiction of a classic breakdown in recycling is progressed through the remaining of one trash compactor left by Buy n Large. The film progresses the idea that the Earth is overrun with garbage and humans are space castaways who have emaciated into a tubby, perpetually stationary blobs that are deemed to have lost their vicarious consumer appetites. Wall-E’s routine is compacting trash and collecting interesting objects, which is a common recycling practice aimed at resuscitating the breakdown in the consumer-production relationship. However, this cycle of compacting and selecting items is broken down by the arrival of an unmanned probe carrying an extraterrestrial vegetation evaluator (EVE). The mission of EVE is to scan the Earth, depicted as a trash field, to identify the possibility of a plant life. The mission of EVE seems to assert the immense littering that the natural ecosystem has been botched. The film seems to point blame for humans for all the making of the environment in the film. The Axiom passengers are deemed as helpless corpulence due to laziness and microgravity. The laziness and microgravity are a resulting factor of automation where all the human’s activity are taken away by the machines, leaving man with nothing much to engage. The film is based on consumerism, the art of production and consumption, their interrelation with waste management, and the breakdown in this relation.
Consumer Appetite and Unsustainability: The Human Condition
‘Wall-E’ first progresses the subject of consumer appetite, which is one of the contributors to the immense increase in waste. As the Earth is overrun by waste, humans, represented by the perpetually stationary blobs, have lost none of their voracious consumer appetites. This behavior is connected with trade in nature. According to Smith, trade can come from human nature or be a product of reason and speech. Regardless of, either way, Smith points out that only the humans are responsible for rational trades. This argument progresses the idea that humans in the film ‘Wall-E’ are irrational, and their consumer appetites do not take into consideration sustainability. As a representation of humans, the blobs have a community sharing idea that becomes the foundation of their completely irrational economic construct. The idea that each individual is independent to a large degree from the counterparts seems to coincide with the fact that the consumerism in the film is founded on personal gain rather than universal sustainability. Despite their selfish consumption nature, humans rely heavily on one another, and their consumption and sustainability behaviors seem to stem from a common consumer influence among humans. The relation between humans is whap progresses consumerism and, ultimately, unsustainable waste. Smith consolidates this relation as based on ‘give me what I want, and you shall have what this which you want’.
Sentimental Nostalgia and Technology: The Role of Artifacts and Automation
‘Wall-E’ presents environmental adaption to sentimental nostalgia, which is represented by human artifacts. These artifacts include elements that Wall-E collects and cherishes, including plastics, Zippo lighters, and hubcaps. The cherishing of these elements emanates from self—interests reaffirmed by interdependence. Smith acknowledges that this interdependence stems from the reason and logic behind trade. The modern items that Wall-E collects are used out of necessity and are made sentimental through the preview of the Earth's bleak future. Humans have adopted the hierarchy of needs and no longer focus their time and energy on items that are only necessary. Focus has shifted to non-essential items high above the hierarchy of needs resulting in environmental pressures of waste.
Technology is a common theme in ‘Wall-E’ and is a representation of what Smith regards as talent in nature. The film places more emphasis on the environmental aspect of humanity’s complacency. The disconnection from this complacency is the indirect reason for the bad that happens in life that is bad for the planet and humanity. Smith says that talent exists amongst other species but is not used for advantage by the species. It is only humans that try to benefit from one another’s talents. Since robots take away the human`s need to work, it also whisks away humanity’s need to place efforts in relationships. In such an incident, talents and their origins are becoming outdated since education and experience are no longer required to progress human and trade relationships. The nature between dissimilar characters arises not so much from nature as from habit, education, and custom. When human`s need to develop a relationship is no longer necessary, habits, customs, and education cannot be accrued. Talent is a product of hard work, passion, and efficiency, though all of this arises from the division of labor. Passion, however, arises from innate characters and passions which differ. Human`s artificial lifestyle on the Axiom has separated them from nature. This has made them become slaves of technology, making them lose that which essentially makes them human. The human’s artificial lifestyle of the Axiom has separated humans in the film from nature. This portrays them as slaves of both the technology and their appetites. This makes them lose that which makes them human since it is the humans and not the robots that make themselves redundant in automation. There has been an abuse of technology, and a proper use of technology would help humans cultivate their true nature.
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Exploration, Religion, and Sustainability: Symbolism and Metaphors
Exploration is a major theme, and ‘Wall-E’ lets the viewer explore the planet Earth and its surroundings. The film zooms out time, allowing for a post-apocalyptic perception and perception of space itself. Wall-E and EVE spend their days looking for something but never expect to find each other. The commitment to exploration can be equated to the alienation in the labor process. According to Marx, once laborers pass through the workplace limits, their labor seizes to become voluntary but coerced, amounting to forced labor. Since pressure is placed on working, lifting this form of compulsion results in shunning of responsibility since working literally becomes a type of self-sacrifice. Those in the production chain process do not understand the overall influence of the combined product. This disconnect is linked to a lack of understanding of workers in the general waste production. A worker, for example, would not understand how the impact of their production is influential in the generation of the huge waste volumes.
Religion is a common theme in ‘Wall-E’, with Stanton, a Christian, being named EVE. It is deemed that Wall-E’s loneliness reminded him of Adam before his wife was created. EVE uses the plant to tell humanity to return to the Earth and move away from the false gods of Buy n Large (BnL) and the lazy lifestyle it is associated with. Smith coins this concept under the value for interest. He argues that engaging in production acts as innovation to move to other means of production and shifting from the old, which may be inefficient. However, one is bound to dictate himself entirely to this employment and become part of the new role identified by efficiency. The move to religion can be described as a symbol of the transition to new forms of production, which the author progresses as being based on interest. However, moving away from the old system of production is deemed as encompassing the difference of natural talents. Smith argues that the difference in natural talents in different men is much less than we may be aware. This small difference is what distinguishes men from different professions and is the foundation of the division of labor. Dreher, for example, emphasizes on the false God’s parallels to BnL in an instance where a robot is seen teaching an infant that ‘B’ is a notation for Buy n Large. This can be equated to modern corporations conducting campaigns on young individuals who are not mature enough to differentiate products. They seem to be cultured into a product rather than having their free will or interest with the product to develop on its own.
In another incident, a Pixar employee noted to Jim Reardon that EVE was reminiscent of the dove from the biblical Noah and the flood story. This is reworked with EVE finding a plant to return to humanity. Perhaps it seems to progress the idea that there is a need to return to sustainable production, which is founded on green production. This is the art of sustainability where demand and production are maximized to eliminate negligence and dysfunctional problems among humans that result in excess waste. Humans seem to be urged to return to useful consumption rather than consumption based on unnecessary needs established above the basic hierarchy of needs. The shift encompasses abandoning the horrors of working conditions brought as a result of automation. Man’s shift from contemporary deity is equated to machinery wreaking havoc by displacing laboring hands by uncomplaining steel.
Knowledge, Capitalism, and Utopian Ideals: A Reflection on Human Folly
Knowledge is progressed based on rationality, and humans in the film are depicted as encompassing foolishness and folly. Human beings in ‘Wall-E’ not only act foolish but are depicted as looking like it. They depicted as huge, with little hands and completely helpless. It paints humans completely out of control due to their own creation. Perhaps this is reflected by Smith’s concept of capitalism, where he progresses human interests as based on personal needs rather than a collective need. The dreams of utopian socialists hold it that poverty is a result of a shift to capitalist ideologies. The solution to the problem of poverty lies in pushing for equity by making the poor productive, which is a socialist movement of empowering everyone equally.
Conclusion: A Comprehensive Analysis of 'Wall-E'
In conclusion, the film ‘Wall-E’ is based on consumerism, the art of production and consumption, their interrelation with waste management, and the breakdown in this relation. Consumer appetite is the contributor of the immense increase in waste. Environmental adaption to sentimental nostalgia is represented by human artifacts, which are based on the new norm of unsustainability. The film urges humans to return to useful consumption rather than consumption based on unnecessary needs established above the basic hierarchy of needs.
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