Wall-E: Radical Propoganda Machine

There have been various articles, posts and blogs written about the political messages appearing in Wall-E. This begs two questions. Are there left-wing political messages in the film? And if there are, does it really matter?

First off, I have to preface this by saying I loved Wall-E. It’s a smart and fun movie made with incredibly detailed animation and impeccable production value. The direction and writing were spot on. Pixar did it again, creating their best film to date.

Second, I did not notice any “left-wing propoganda” in this film upon first viewing. This is a fictional film telling a fictional story. Hundreds of years in the future, mankind has left Earth after it has been overrun by garbage. While in space, living in the lap of luxury, they have become fat and content and don’t realize all that they were missing on Earth.

There are some messages in there. I stress the word messages. That is completely different from propoganda. The first message is: Maybe we shouldn’t be creating so much garbage. The second message is: Maybe we should get outside and exercise more. The third message is maybe our society is focusing too much on consumerism. So what is wrong with that? Three very valid messages that everyone should heed.
Is it wrong to have messages in kid’s films? No. I don’t think so. Kid’s should be exposed to all sorts of information. It’s the parents job to steer them in the right direction. Talk to them about the films they see. Explain to them the ways of the world.

If a child is old enough to see Wall-E and get more out of it than just a cute robot and cool sci-fi action, then that child is old enough to be given a message and be part of the discussion. If they are too young to be exposed to messages that their parent’s don’t provide, they won’t even understand that part of the movie anyway.

I don’t think you can read any more into it then that. It’s just a movie. I have always been a proponent of films being more than films. Of films changing the world. But a piece of art does not force anyone to think a certain way. It just illustrates a message, or an emotion. Or in the case of Wall-E, both.

This film does have messages, and deeper meaning. It presents those messages in an exaggerated sci-fi world with an exaggerated story and characters. But it is just a film. A smart, entertaining and beautiful film that kids and adults will enjoy seeing.

I think the bigger issue in the world is that there are still people around who don’t think the messages in Wall-E are important and relevant, and want to stop artists from expressing themselves.