Catastrophic Consequences Of Human Caused Climate Change
After their release of the first ever feature-length movie made entirely from CGI, Pixar Animation Studios quickly became a cultural phenomenon, shaping the childhood of millions around the globe – including my own. Toy Story (1995) made the company over $361 million dollars and paved the path for the future of animation. Just over a decade later, Pixar brilliantly managed to top this with the release of the greatest animated film of the past, present, and (most likely) future - WALL-E (2008). WALL-E somehow manages to criticise colossal topics such as human caused climate change, capitalism, and obesity, while still maintaining its title as Pixar’s greatest love story. WALL-E is truly inspirational to all ages in its endeavour for societal change.
Mass extinction. It has occurred many times during the Earth’s history, however, never has there been a single species responsible for the biological annihilation of Earth’s ecosystem - until now. Researchers have already stated that we are currently causing the sixth mass extinction event, and very little is being done to change this fact. If we continue on this path of destruction it isn’t hard to paint a dismal picture of life in the future, a future that WALL-E so perfectly encapsulates.
During the start of the film it is evident that violent dust storms and heavy rain plague ‘future Earth’. It is clear that this is due to centuries worth of deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste build-up. Humans have caused the climate to change seemingly beyond repair. Pixar’s masterful use of cinematography within the film emphasises the devastating effects of human waste and climate change on the environment. Extreme long shots capture the enormity of trash left behind by the human population; centuries worth of waste build-up restricting any form of life. Large skyscrapers of garbage seem to tower over the audience through low angle shots, their presence intense and intimidating in the hazy, brown backdrop of the sky. We as the audience feel rather insignificant looking up at these towering beasts. This deliberate manipulation of camera angles ultimately provokes guilt as we come to realise that we - in the present – can effortlessly see this ‘trash’ future occurring yet are currently doing very little to stop it. Through this manifestation of guilt, WALL-E is trying to persuade us to fix what we are doing wrong in society today.
Perhaps the most effective aspect of this film is Pixar’s attention to characterisation. The films protagonist - WALL-E - a solitary robotic trash compactor who has developed one small glitch in his programming – a personality. He’s extremely curious, highly optimistic and, yes, a little lonely. WALL-E is easily the most human character in the film, which is rather ironic due to his mechanical properties. We find ourselves connected to WALL-E’s humanity no matter our age or background, wishing we could help him in his lone attempts to clean the Earth - one trash brick at a time. His sparkling personality instantly draws us into likening him, and as a result it positions us to align with his environmental crusade and strive for a cleaner future.
On top of this the humans of WALL-E’s world are presented contrary to our original thoughts. After observing the damage they’ve done to the Earth, it is expected that the humans would be arrogant, unthoughtful and cruel, however, every human WALL-E interacts with is incredibly polite and helpful – even if they are unable to move themselves due to severe obesity. This is truly a stroke of genius on Pixar’s part as it positions us to want only the best for the humans. We feel sorry for them. When Captain B. McCrea is fighting with the evil steering wheel known as AUTO, he yells “I don’t want to survive, I want to live!”. In this statement he is referring to his acute nostalgia for Earth and his need to move back to feel truly alive. This resonates with us as we realise how lucky we are to have such a unique and wonderful planet. A planet that we can’t live without, yet we are so blindly destroying it.
Yes, WALL-E is largely about bringing awareness to the drastic effects of human caused environmental catastrophes, but it also criticises the negative effects governmental systems can have on our society. Capitalism, for example, is widely explored throughout the film. Buy’n’Large is the company seen on the face of everything in WALL-E’s world; from banks to fuels stations, ultra-stores and transit points, even the Axion, the multitrillion dollar luxury spaceship (prison) is a BnL creation. BnL has clearly monopolised on everything within WALL-E’s society. On the Axion, BnL controls every aspect of the human’s lives, from the time one eats (or rather drinks) lunch, to the brain washing of small children – “B is for Buy’n’Large, your very best friend”. By doing so Pixar has positioned the audience to be afraid this totalitarian government. As a result, we become aware of the similarities between BnL and the corporations of our own world. It makes us realise how potentially damaging large companies can be to society – the greed for profit often overthrowing the benefits to society as a whole.
Wall-E is a vivid, futuristic vision into the catastrophic consequences of human caused climate change. It is a deeply political film yet still utterly entertaining in its complexity. Even now as I watch the movie again – just over a decade after the film was originally released - I find myself astonished by how brilliantly the movie captures its audience’s attention. Wall-E will forever be asking these painfully contemporary questions in the hope for a better, brighter future for society at large.
