Wall-E discussion notes

I am supposed to be leading a film discussion on Wall-E soon. Peter Dray's recent comments on doing this are very timely. Particularly need to ensure that we appreciate the artistry in this beautiful film. Anyway, for what it is worth, these are my notes on where I want to go with the discussion:

Did people enjoy the film?  Anything in particular?

What is it that makes Wall-E unique among all the other robots left to clear up earth?

• Cares for himself
• Cares for objects
• Cares for cockroach
• Cares for EVE

 

What is the cause of humanity getting into the state it gets into?

• BnL – advertising
• Personal responsibility
• Leisure v. work
• Individuals cutting themselves off from interaction with each other and with the universe.
• Connections with our society?

Does the film have an optimistic or pessimistic view of human nature?

• Pessimistic:
• Consumers not givers
• Lazy
• Lacking individuality even in their atomised existence
• ‘Easier’ not to care for the planet
• Drifters - literally
• Optimistic:
• Politeness – people apologetic when robots bump into them and when they finally do interact with each other.
• Once shown earth they unquestioningly embrace the challenge and responsibility of restoring it.
• Future presented in credits seems uniformly harmonious.
• ‘Sin’ is shown entirely as unintentional

Andrew Stanton, the director, on what he thinks the film is about:

That’s my theme: ‘Irrational love defeats life's programming.’

I realized that that's a perfect metaphor for real life. We all fall into our habits, our routines and our ruts, consciously or unconsciously to avoid living. To avoid having to do the messy part. To avoid having relationships with other people. of dealing with the person next to us.