Wall-E, Part 2

  

In the first part of this series, I have described Wall-E’s absurd condition on Earth and his attempts to cope with the stress that originated from this situation. Though merely an instrument for the service of humanity, Wall E seemed to have developed attributes comparable to Nietzsche’s Ubermensch, and could still be able to lead a happy life despite the fact that he was utterly alone. What is great about this cute yellow fella is that he did not allow the nominal aspects of his life to define and constrain him – for example, the fact that he was merely a trash compactor and nobody really cared about him – and instead he strived for what he really wanted in his existence. In an existentialist’s point of view, Wall E has lived an authentic life, because he was honest to face his situation and has attempted to find out his own meaning from that, rather than the other way around.  

  

Yet, that is not the end of the story. No matter Hollywood or not, the most important aspect for any drama, or indeed our existence in general, is self-actualization. That is a certain point that we have to prove our worth, to show that we can meet up with our potential to achieve. Whatever the outcome will be, the fact that we have at least tried our best will relieve the psychological burden inherent in this aspect, and generate a peace of mind because we will have no regrets about we have given up the chance. So far, Wall E has proven himself to be an existential hero, yet he has not got an opportunity to prove his own worth. Then that opportunity came with the arrival of a female robot and her mothership – in the name of EVE. 

  

The relationship between Wall E and Eve is possibly one of the greatest aspects of the whole film, as it has moved way beyond the clichés of modern rom-com or the ‘love stories’ which rely on sentimentality to create a tear-jerking experience. When you watch Wall E and Eve’s story, you kind of think of films like Charlie Chaplin’s ‘City Lights’, and in fact there are quite a number of parallels between these two films too. While Chaplin’s films are supposed to be funny, there are moments that the audience will tear up rather than laugh, and there are a few of those cases in his silent classic. Wall E is certainly intended for kids because there are quite a lot of slapstick scenes, yet what makes the film so powerful is really the bittersweet parts. Those are the moments when a genuine emotional experience is possible and the audience member can identify with the characters.   

  

I have repeatedly stressed that 'Wall E' is a love story, and indeed it is a very well-done one. I would like to go back to the analogy of Chaplin's 'City Lights' again, because I can see a lot of parallels between the two films. If one only looks at the funny actions by Chaplin in the film, he will surely miss the power of the classic film itself. Because the Chaplin classic is a love story - even without the funny parts the story is powerful by itself. Though people have different opinions about the meaning of the title, I always feel that 'City Lights' refer to Chaplin's character - because he is the light that selflessly helped the blind girl to navigate around the harsh city and attempted to find happiness for her. I suppose that is exactly the same scenario in Wall E. The little robot needed to deliver actions to prove himself for other's respect, and pass on his optimistic outlook of life onto others.   

Let's talk about our female protagonist, EVE. The wonderful aspect about EVE is that she is not merely a damsel-in-distress in the simplistic manner. EVE is just as resourceful and intelligent as Wall E, and also has a strong sense of herself. Though she is merely a robot from a large corporation, she can be qualified as a Disney princess, and I would add probably one of the coolest. When I look at EVE, I cannot stop myself comparing her to Kei in Katsuhiro Otomo's 'Akira' (1988). I think they belong to the same character type, the kind of girls who want to engage their male counterparts a run for the money! And, Wall E, just like Kaneda in 'Akira', cannot probably just impress their respective lasses simply by sweet talk alone. They have to prove their worth to her - to show their courage and resourcefulness when dealing with the nasty situations the screenwriters can think of. 

When Wall E and EVE first met, EVE was staged in the foreground, with a high angle towards Wall E, which showed himself further in the background. The scene exaggerated EVE's size and made Wall E a much smaller robot - which in a sense he was. I guess this arrangement put the audience into Wall E's perspective, because that was a love at first sight and that would motivate Wall E's actions for the rest of the story. After a surprised greeting - which landed Wall E flat on the floor - the two robots introduced themselves to each other and they headed back to Wall E's place. Without any human (or robot) connection for a long time, and with Barbra Streisand (on the screen) as his only experience with women, Wall E led EVE around the house and introduced passionately about all the antiques he has hoarded for quite some time. It was exactly that innocence from Wall E that could melt anyone's heart. True, Wall E may be considered as a simple-minded robot, yet his compassion and willingness to connect with others are the reasons why he will become popular around people. One does not need to pretend to be edgy or special, or search for pickup lines from the PUA websites, to ask other people to like you. The most important secret is compassion, to show that you care about others and want to connect. At least, Wall E succeeded in this pursuit and EVE was certainly smiling and tilting her head (if she had the ability to). Their relationship would be challenged a couple of times soon after, due to Wall E's occasional lapses into the sloppy end, yet this little yellow fellow would self-actualize by showing its true self. 

The second part of the film became more mainstream-oriented because it fell back to the usual Hollywood plots, and the critique of the modern life was very similar to that of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. Things were becoming clinical and cold calculations predominated the various parties in the second act of the film, while the first half was spontaneous to the true feeling of the protagonist. At the end, Wall E demonstrated the power of sacrifice – he risked his neck to save the day, and ended up losing all the previous memories and fruitful life experience as a robot. 

I feel that Pixar has been conscientious regarding the ending of the story because the creators of the story did not want to alienate audience by offering a dark ending, though that was absolutely reasonable given the serious tone of the story – I would say Wall E is probably one of the most realistic Pixar films when compared against the human condition. When EVE was in a state of despair of not being able to restore Wall E’s memory, Wall E’s hand suddenly held on EVE’s, and this simple symbolism of human connection (OK they are robots I know) worth more than a thousand words. Wall E finally remembered everything, and the two robots reconciled and could live happily ever after. Personally, I feel an open ending will be a more powerful one in this case (much like what I feel about the film ‘Passengers’), when the outcome is left to the viewer’s imaginations. Though for such an ‘European’ or Antonioni-esque ending the animation studio might find it too risky to do so.    

With the combination of a nice plot and a deep message, ‘Wall E’ will be acclaimed as a modern classic in the field of animated feature.

(2/2)

by Ed Law

Film Analysis

Wall-E, Part 1

Have you ever been haunted by loneliness and abandonment? Do you have the courage to take in the stress of being left behind and forgotten, and become the last human on Earth? Do you possess a sense of wonder, to see the world with an optimistic outlook no matter what kind of an absurd situation you find yourself in? Would you be surprised if all these serious issues are explored in an animated feature for kids? 10 years ago, the wonderful animation studio, Pixar, made a film so thoughtful and heartfelt that not only it attracted the attention of kids, it also managed to capture the hearts of adult viewers. That film is my favorite animated feature of all time – Wall-E (2008)!

Wall-E is a one-of-a-kind film. Because while the film appears to be a kiddy movie, the themes behind that are far more philosophical than an average cartoon. I have often doubted if Wall E is really a film intended for kids – because when you watch in a different stage of your life, you will have a different impression about that. When a kid watches that, he will certainly be fascinated by the cuteness of the robot and the slapstick moments. Yet, when an adult watches that, he will more likely be identified with the robot and feel sympathetic about Wall-E’s situation. While the film touches with more obvious film like technology and environmental issue, that is also heavily influenced by two of my idols’ ideas- that of Friedrich Nietzsche and Stanley Kubrick. To be honest, I find ‘Wall-E’ quite a dark film (the kind of movies I like), and there is certainly a Kubrickian feel to it – of course because it was clearly inspired by ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. The first 40 minutes or so of the film, which almost contained no dialogues at all, would certainly become a textbook example of visual storytelling, and I am sure Kubrick would be impressed if he was still around in 2008. Indeed both films were about very similar issues and they could be considered as cinematic version of Nietzsche’s philosophy, and this aspect will be the main theme of the first part of the 2-part article.

When I first watched Wall-E back in 2008, I was almost brought to tears at the end of the film, which is very rare for me especially for an animated film (‘Grave of the Fireflies’ is another one). Not only the emotional impact from the film has moved me, I was also touched by the fact there were some people who were willing to take this risk and made a film that would inspire the viewers and led them to self-reflections. In an age full of films that we did not bear to watch, this Pixar film clearly stood out. The members in the audience will certainly agree, because many people believe that Wall-E is one of the best films from Pixar ever, and the film is currently the highest ranked Pixar film in the IMDB Top 250 List. I am proud of the fact that, when the later generations come to watch the film of our generations, they will still view films like ‘Wall E’ in awe.

A brief sketch on the plot. The story takes place in 2805. Not only it sounds absurd, it is even more so because Earth is basically uninhabitable, and the mega-corporation has already evacuated all human beings. What is left behind is loads of garbage and a type of trash compactor robot – known as Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-Class). Soon, all the Wall-E robots have stopped functioning, except one – our protagonist in this story (Wall-E hereafter). Wall-E has developed sentience, and while confronted by loneliness and loads of mess to clean up, it still was able to enjoy itself by collecting nostalgic stuff through the garbage and listened to ‘Hello Dolly’. One day, a spaceship came and sent a female robot, EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) to scan around the Earth, in order to locate vegetation and assess whether Earth is habitable. The two robots met and soon became friends (kind of similar to getting her number?) After some confusion, Wall-E found itself clinging onto EVE’s spaceship, which was part of the mothership known as AXIOM. There, their adventure began. They would not only have to protect a plant that could lead to human’s recolonization on Earth, they also had to deal with the intrigue on the mothership, including the computer AUTO (which was kind of like HAL in 2001, a clear inspiration from Kubrick’s film). Would Wall E and EVE pick up their courage and save humanity from the dead end?

Before we move onto the more contemplative issues of the film, it is noteworthy to see that the filmmakers have placed a lot of emphasis on the techniques to the film, more than just offering a great story. In fact, like another great animation, Akira (1988), which I will talk about soon, the creators of Wall E have taken a lot of inspirations from real live-action films, because they wanted to enhance the realism of this animated feature. Some of the scenes of the film are reminiscent of the widescreen composition of Panavision films, and the beauty of these scenes can rival any ‘real’ scenes in non-animated films. The lighting, composition, and sound effects possess a quality and seriousness comparable to any great live-action films.

That leads us to the more serious themes of the animated film. Many viewers are especially impressed by the first half of the film, because its execution is so original that it not only possesses a visual rigor comparable to Stanley Kubrick’s greatest work, it also possesses philosophical contemplations similar to Friedrich Nietzsche’s most iconic teachings. The beauty of this sequence is in the complete lack of any dialogues or sentimental scenes – that is pure cinema. No wonder some viewers even compared this film to some of Charlie Chaplin’s most wonderful silent films, such as ‘City Lights’, because Wall-E is literally the Chaplin or Buster Keaton of robots. The sequence is 100% about visual storytelling, and what the creators from Pixar are so wonderful about is that they can use such a minimalist style to establish the storyline and personality of Wall-E, and the imaginations behind that would even impress creative thinkers like Nietzsche. The magic behind the sequence also delivers an emotional impact to many viewers, because in that sequence Wall-E is isolated and alone (with a cockroach as a companion and a video of ‘Hello Dolly’), and that is a situation akin to the scenario found in Albert Camus’ absurdism. To me, Wall E is not merely a film about garbage problems and obesity – it is a film about existentialism, the meaning of one’s existence.

Why do I have to put in so many abstract thinkers’ ideas in my article, as it will certainly spoil the entertainment value of this great cartoon? Because if you wonder why Wall E is so popular among mature audience, the connection is exactly because they understand these underlying messages from this apparently simple cartoon. While we may not be in an absurd situation like Wall E, we are more than likely to deal with situations we do not want to get involved with, that ‘Oh, I have to clean up all the mess alone’ sentiment, and the bolts of loneliness and depression about our situation. Aren’t all these ideas covered in Nietzsche, and indeed many inspiring thinkers’ work?  Wall-E, though just looked like a cute and yellow robot, possessed many of the human characters that the audience could easily identify with. Wall-E could be compared to many iconic figures in philosophy. He could be like Nietzsche’s Zarathustra, because the robot was isolated and alone on Earth, and certainly nobody could listen to or appreciate whatever he did on Earth. The scenario for him was against him because all the other robots similar to him have stopped functioning, so he could no longer count on any type of herd effect (from Nietzsche), and he had to bear a cosmic form of indifference and loneliness, easily seen from Camus’ or Lovecraft’s work. Regarding Wall E’s duty – trash compaction day after day after day – viewers could also compare that to the Sisyphean struggle, from Camus’ ‘Myth Of Sisyphus’. Having to do senseless things no one would care about or place any importance on, one would question the reason why they had to do this shxt job (like Tyler Durden in ‘Fight Club’?!), and quite easily felt into a sense of depression, because the senseless work has to be repeated endlessly and one would have no self-actualization because they could not meet their potential. This is not a scenario merely from some one’s pipe dream – for example, many people indeed stranded in their career development, doing jobs that they had no interest in other than getting paid. They could just easily fall into an existential crisis because they did not feel they had met their potential and failed to find a meaning in their lives. Indeed, Wall-E is the last robot on Earth, yet, at the same time, an existential hero who inspired many viewers.

Here comes the turning point. One would be surprised that, given such a nasty and forceful situation, Wall E is not sad in anyway regarding his existence. In a nutshell, the reason is because Wall E possesses a character trait that Nietzsche could call that ‘strong’. Wall E was able to sustain the monumental loneliness, because he could find a different perspective from his situation and turn it into a positive and optimistic point of view. This little robot has always got a sense of wonder around his world, even if it was basically littered with all kinds of junk. To some mindless and oblivious people, there are undesirable trash that could be disposed of; but to Wall E, these items raised awe and nostalgia, and he treasured all these items. Because Wall E could assess his situation in a revolutionary angle, he has the ability to make a fundamental change to the ways people look at things around them – exactly an attribute of ‘Nietzschean strong’. Like Sisyphus, Wall E felt gratified even without any kind of connection, because he knew he has possessed an optimistic outlook and pursued his own passion and interest in such a lousy world. He did not fall into the trap of nihilism, and strived to find meanings for himself. Wall E is the kind of character who does not want to be categorized by others. Maybe in a corporate point of view, he is a type of robot with an expertise in trash crushing; yet for this particular Wall E, he is able to define himself – a curator of old stuff, a music lover, a bit of a romantic and so on. Anyone should be inspired by Wall E, because only you can define who you are, not your degree or salary sheets. All the so-called categorizations are nominal, and they bear not much meanings to know oneself – say you are an engineer, so what? You can just enjoy art as an amateur interest. If you understand what your true passions are, you will live a gratifying existence no matter what kind of situation you find yourself in.   

Wall E may be the last bot on Earth, but it certainly is not the ‘Last Man’ in the Nietzschean sense. To Nietzsche, the Last Man is the opposite of the Ubermensch (Over-Man’. While the Over-Man strives for a higher level of meaning in his life because he feels he has the passion and drive to; the Last Man is more than happy to say in form of stasis and OK with the current situation. While Wall E is assigned merely to deal with the trash on Earth, he has gone much further than that. He is getting more like a Ubermensch than a mere loner. That is the reason why Strauss’ ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ has been featured in the film. Not only is that a tribute to ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, clearly Wall-E’s trajectory of existence is also very similar to that of Zarathustra. Wall E is sort of the Adam on this dystopian Earth, he needs an opportunity to prove himself, and show his potential. That is where our goddess enters the picture – EVE !

(1/2)

by Ed Law

Film Analysis