Final Project: Utopia and Wasteland

 

We created our poster off of the film, Wall-E. While we were choosing a movie, we began to think of the best fit that "fit" with our group's majors: marine bio, communications, and animation. A  classic childhood Disney movie that goes so much deeper than the surface. Encapsulating an inhabitable earth where the robot, Wall-E is determined to pick up trash one piece at a time. 

 

Film Connections: 

WALL-E and Metropolis 

Common themes that can be seen between WALL-E and Metropolis are the love between the two main characters and how the common love drives the story. Both films depict worlds that have a utopian society that is separated from a dystopian society, and changes must be made to unite the two worlds. 

 

WALL-E and Love, Death, and Robots 

Every episode of the 2019 animated anthology series is a short story that, in one way or another, hints toward the end of human civilization. Episodes like Automated Customer Service, Three Robots, Exit Strategies, Zima Blue, and the Dump share the message that innocent robot WALL-E is enduring on Earth.  

 

WALL-E and 2001: A Space Odyssey 

The common depiction of an artificial intelligence being in primary control of the spaceship. HAL-9000 and Auto both try to compromise the mission through different means, HAL has developed a subconscious presence, whereas Auto received classified orders to not return to Earth, and was doing anything to prevent the return to Earth. 

 

WALL-E and Blade Runner 

A connection that can be made between WALL-E and Blade Runner is that the Replicants in Blade Runner are being developed to be more human than humans, and in WALL-E, WALL-E shows more natural human characteristics than the people on the Axiom. 

 

WALL-E and A.I. 

WALL-E and A.I. both have love as the driving force of the story. WALL-E is in love with EVE and David wants to truly gain the love of Monica. The “Mecha Graveyards” in A.I. are also symbolic of the waste and consumption seen in WALL-E. 

 

WALL-E and The Matrix 

On the Axiom all the people are connected to each other through screens that are projected in front of them, they are oblivious to the world around them. In the Matrix a similar idea is seen that the people in the matrix are living a simulation and are oblivious to the world beyond them. 

 

WALL-E and Star Trek 

Faster than light travel is a driving story element for Star Trek and this faster than light travel can also be seen briefly in WALL-E during the jump from deep space to returning to Earth. Additional technologies including laser/ energy-based weapons, the on-demand creation of food and drinks, as well as Holographic projection displays.  

 

WALL-E and Ghost in the Shell 

Ghost in the Shell and WALL-E both have robots who are developing a conscience of independent thought and emotion. WALL-E becomes fascinated by objects left behind by humans and The Ghost Hacker learned to express thought by learning from experiences. 

 

WALL-E and Ready Player One 

Ready Player One is a simulation that creates an alternate reality to make the human population happy. This Oasis is like the facility that is built on the Axiom that serves as their reality. In both worlds individuals must be “disconnected” from their virtual world to see the reality that they are facing. 

 

WALL-E and Interstellar 

Interstellar and WALL-E both have related depictions of a dying Earth. In Interstellar the world is collapsing and becoming unsustainable for life, while in WALL-E the world has already been destroyed and humans have left in hopes of robots fixing the problem. 

 

WALL-E and The Fifth Element 

EVE and the plant can both be seen as the Devine Light from The Fifth Element, while the plant can also represent Earth as a whole. EVE and WALL-E are both needed to defeat Auto and Korben and Leeloo are both needed to defeat Evil. 

 

Conclusion: (Mary)

In the late 1990’s, fast fashion made a booming entrance in America. We know the term as the mass production of cheap quality clothing. Retailers such as H & M, Zara, Primark and Topshop have made their way into shopping plazas with also a large audience partaking in online shopping. Shein, Zaful, and Romwe have attracted many Americans due to their fast-fashion pieces at affordable prices. The more often we decide to purchase from these retailers, we are contributing to environmental and labor issues. It is not ironic that Wall-E tells the tale of an unhabitable Earth while in 50 years, we may be closer to that phenomenon than we could ever imagine.