A Robot More Human Than We

This movie reminds me of a story idea I've been playing in my head for quite awhile.  It makes me think about how we as humans so attuned to our ways of commercialism have overfed their need for products which make them forget about their humanity. We sit in front of the tube and forget how to live our own lives.  We forget how to take care of our bodies leading them to unsafe diseases that may linger insidiously or present themselves more noticeably in preventable obesity.  We take for granted the waste that this commercialism produces or the excesses we create and how the world suffers in the end.

Enter WALL-E. I appreciate the above poster's byline: 700 years after doing what he was built for, he discovers what he was meant for....This speaks poetically about my own frustrations with life. Is life all "eat, work, sleep, repeat cycle"?...Isn't life more than that?  What is our TRUE purpose. I find that the intro, sans dialogue will divide movie going people from those who are hard on action and dialogue vs. the plain moving picture aspect with subtle emotions portrayed by character acting not heavily reliant on words.  I myself do not speak much and I find myself relating a lot to Wall-E with his routines and his treasures of sentiment (i.e., love for Hello Dolly and his longing for love). But his world is devoid of any contact with anyone or companion, with the exception of his pet cockroach. My life has become like this sense of symbolic complacency until .......WALL-E's routine is changed.

Prior to his "life changing" moment of meeting his true love Eve, he picks up a plant. This will drive the rest of the film, which on many levels is comical and serious depending on what plane of thought you wish to dwell on.  But I get ahead of myself. After a cute courtship between WALL-E and EVE, who by the way plays a wonderful game of playing hard to get (notice how many times WALL-E sheepishly tries to hold hands with EVE), WALL-E gives EVE the plant he kept as a token of affection...This sends off a remote alarm to EVE's ship which houses the newly colonized humans now vegging out in space.

It is a great commentary and warning as we see humans moving about in their personal bastardized versions of Segues that allow them to converse with people or watch tv non-stop while eating a meal in a cup!  In WALL-E's chase to find EVE back on her on home turf, WALL-E breaks the barriers that these humans are used to, allowing a couple to see their surroundings for the first time, one now enabled to see the beauty of the stars or finding out that they have a pool!  Even WALL-E brings back politeness as he teaches a robot how to say hello and goodbye with a simple wave.

Yes, there is a lot of heart to this movie ironically taught through robots.  Robots teaching humans to take better care of themselves and their home planet. Many others who watch this may or may not get this kind of proselytization, or even become convinced that there's more than meets the eye than just good entertainment.  What can be said is that movies still are able to make people think.

And I continue to do so until my own purpose is revealed :)