WALL-E's Indictment of Liberalism

Townhall.com ^ | 07-02-08 | Paul Edwards

[bugseye]

The lead character in the Pixar film “WALL-E” is both an acronym (Waste Allocation Load Lifter—Earth class) and a lonely robot with a personality. While Pixar has mastered the art of animation, it is the implicit message this film conveys which makes it much more than a mere cartoon.

Some conservatives have written the film off as anti-capitalist propaganda. If the intent of capitalism is to cater to the basest instincts of the human heart, requiring us to indulge our every whim and desire, leading to a dependence on government, then I guess I, too, am an anti-capitalist. However, capitalism can only arrive at that end when all of the restraints of personal responsibility are removed. In this sense, WALL-E is a brilliant exposure of liberalism’s flaws.

WALL-E is the story of what results when a liberal vision of the future is achieved: government marries business in the interest of providing not only “the pursuit of happiness” but happiness itself, thus creating gluttonous citizens dependent on the government to sustain their lives. The result is a humanity consisting of self-absorbed, isolated individuals with no affection for others, who thus defy what it means to truly be human.

[bugseye]

The filmmaker, Andrew Stanton, confirms Edward's point regarding THIS theme of the film in an interview with World Magazine conducted on 06-28-08.

>>WORLD: The depiction of humanity is pretty stark in this movie.

STANTON: Well, when I started outlining humanity in the story, I asked myself: What if everything you needed to survive—health care, food—was taken care of and you had nothing but a perpetual vacation to fill your time? What if the result of all that convenience was that all your relationships became indirect—nobody's reaching out to each other? A lot of people have suggested that I was making a comment on obesity. But that wasn't it, I was trying to make humanity big babies because there was no reason for them to grow up anymore.<<

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14127

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

Indictment of liberalism eh? Who destroyed the world that Wall E was stuck on?

[Borges]

More...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038348/posts

[Borges]

Too much garbage. Waste Management is a huge field.

[paudio]

It’s a good, well-crafted movie with a strong liberal indoctrination.

[Minn]

Saw it the other night. OK, but not close to Cars or The Incredibles.

[x]

I hated him for years for what he did to Ally Sheedy's career ...

[21twelve]

From the song 2112 by Rush:

We’ve taken care of everything
The words you hear, the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
It’s one for all and all for one
We work together, common sons
Never need to wonder how or why

We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls
We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls

Look around at this world we’ve made
Equality our stock in trade
Come and join the Brotherhood of Man
Oh, what a nice, contented world
Let the banners be unfurled
Hold the Red Star proudly high in hand.

We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls
We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls

[SolitaryMan]

Thanks for posting this, I saw the movie yesterday and loved it. Its good to know that there is a good conservative moral to the story.

[devane617]

I love animated movies, and saw WALL-E the day it opened. I think it is great and bound to be a Disney Classic. If there are political overtones/undertones, the kids wont know. Just relax and enjoy the show — it is well worth seeing on the big-screen.

[Borges]

What are you talking about? It’s critical of a massive goverment that caters to one’s every need.

[SolitaryMan]

Love Rush, seeing them on the 19th in Bristow VA! Neal Pert is, or used to be a big Ayn Rand disciple.

[McLynnan]

I saw it and wanted to be charmed but thought that overall it was positively boring. It was preachy too. Bah, humbug, lol!

[BenLurkin]

The result is a humanity consisting of self-absorbed, isolated individuals with no affection for others

Teenagers?

[Shooter 2.5]

Cars was outstanding. The lights at Flo’s cafe blinked in the correct firing order of a Ford Flathead V-8.

[Shooter 2.5]

WALL E is a warning to us all. It shows what will happen to the planet if all of our homes consumed as much as algore’s mansion.

[Steve Van Doorn]

Incredibles was great!

[Gene Eric]

>> What if everything you needed to survive—health care, food

So now it’s: Health Care, Food, Water, Clothing, Shelter ...

[the anti-liberal]

With all of the Biblical references in this article you'd think he would have pointed out the parallel with the story of the Great Flood:

EVA as the white dove (olive branch)
Earth flooded with trash
Space ship as Ark (no animals though, odd)

[paudio]

It's critical of a massive goverment that caters to one's every need.

The movie doesn't talk about government, I believe. The BnL is a private corporation, not government (the reviewer believes that it's a merge of government and private company, which I don't think is true). The list of liberal themes in the movie that I can remember:

- obesity: as if rich people who went to the space cruise couldn't see that being excessively fat is bad.

- global warming: so strong that it doesn't need any explanation.

BTW, did I get it wrong? I thought the space ship was simply a cruise ship that was trapped in space, not something like Noah's Ark...