Wall - Eeeee…
While vacationing with the family in the tourist town of Ludington, Michigan, we left the comfort of our hotel and the warm sands of Lake Michigan and went to see one of the most talked about animation pictures of the season, Wall-E.
WARNING: If you plan on seeing this movie don’t read any further, as I am going to discuss some of the major themes found in this film.
The first 40 minutes of the movie was nearly void of dialogue. The story is told through the optic lens of the robotic trash compactor Wall - E. A world in ruin and devoid of life is what this little bot knows as home. Humanity is absent from a world buried in its own waste - the bane of pro-sumerism - a once green and blue gem now the victim of an environmental apocalypse.
Wall-E collects tokens of humanity in an attempt to comfort himself - his isolation is nearly complete - except for the companionship of a lone cockroach. He learns about love through a clip of Hello Dolly and longs to grasp another’s hand with his cold metal claws.
What is astonishing about this film is that without speaking - Wall-E says more than most people do who use a plethora words. He is more “human” than the gelatinous blobs he encounters aboard a space cruiser. He is continually seeking to relate while the humans are interacting through view screens as they float about in their hovering space recliners. Wall-E desires physical interaction.
I couldn’t help but make the connection with our society - living on-line, e-mailing, I-Ming, and text messaging - a brave new world where people create identities on line and live a virtual life through their created personality or Mii.
The message of Wall-E was so clear. Society - people are losing the ability to relate and to maintain relationships. The end result is that we all turn into creatures that resemble Jabba the Hutt and slurp all of our meals through a polar pop styro foam cup and have automatons wait on our every perceived need.
Well, I doubt if this film will change how we use our technology. I for one am becoming quite hooked. One thing I do know is that relationships cannot be maintained through i-phones and on line messaging. What makes a relationship work is personal, meaningful interactions - physical warmth and contact.
I am also motivated now more than ever to get off the couch and get active - seeing those blobs attempt to stand was terrifying and disturbing for me - especially as I enter middle age.
This movie was a sheer delight once I saw beyond the obvious and over-used green theme. Relationships matter - even to robots.
