Ecological themes have in recent years started to become part of cinematic production, especially in the genre of animated film which serves as a platform for creating alternative realities to depict a reflection of the reality we live in. Disney and Pixar's 2008 animated movie WALL-E is the perfect example of such an approach to representing the Anthropocene. The movie is set in a post-apocalyptic future which is a consequence of the human obsession with consumption and technology. Despite having survived the apocalypse and continuing its way of living in a “consumer paradise” aboard a spaceship, the human race has deteriorated mentally and physically, to a point where humans exist almost as machines. In contrast, a nonhuman machine, the robot WALL-E, is given agency and human-like qualities, in order to awaken humans from their state of dependence on consumption and lead them back to a life in harmony with nature. By juxtaposing a non-human agent and non-reactive humans, the movie opens a critical perspective of the human treatment of their environment in the capitalist system and points to the most pressing issues of the Anthropocene, while at the same time offering a solution in renouncing anthropocentric ignorance and resisting the hegemonic consumer systems in place.


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    Title :

    WALL-E: A Robot That Reminds Us About Being Human



    Publication date :

    2018-10-04


    Remarks:

    Journal of the International Symposium of Students of English, Croatian and Italian Studies ; Issue 1 ; ISBN 978-953-352-026-1


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    Classification :

    DDC:    629