This may seem like an extreme example of reality, but it is OUR reality. Dr. Rog is right, "reality ain't what it used to be". Wall-E really puts this idea into perspective because although it is somewhat extreme, we are exactly like the humans on the space craft. We are influenced by the idea of fashion trends as well as advertisements and they are constantly displayed to us at all times. We like to get places faster and try to develop new technologies in order to make our lives "easier". We cannot grasp the concept of how ridiculous all of these cultural influences really are until we step outside of our own so-called "reality" and look at ourselves through the lens of the "outsiders". The movie is a lot more than just a child's entertainment, it is a reality shock.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
MerryChristmas!
During our discussion on Thursday, I thought more about the claim that "TV distracts us" and that "reality ain't what it used to be". I related these statements the to the movie, Wall-E. Yes, I did see it in theaters when it came out and LOVED it. Wall-E is a trash robot who travels around a barren , uninhabited New York City in search of any left-over trash. He then compresses the trash and stacks it in efforts to clean the city. The human race has used up all of its resources, chopped down forests, and has polluted the environment. As a result, there are no trees left for them to survive on Earth. The human race now lives aboard a space craft and carries on with their lives of consumption & distractions. Aboard the space craft, the humans all appear to be fat, lazy, and infatuated with trends and advertisements. They ride around on little hover chairs and sip smoothies. As a result of their chairs, they no longer know how to walk and instead, roll out of their chairs. Advertisements are constantly rolling and displaying hermeneutical concepts like "you" advertising. In one scene, the humans are influenced by an advertisement that claims that "red is the new blue". Influenced by this statement, the people press a button, changing their outfits to red instead of blue.
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I think Wall-E is a very good connection to postmodernism. I think the movie does make a statement about our society and even says that if we don't make a change soon it will get worse. As a culture we are very influenced by the media just like the humans in Wall-E. I think you make a great point at the end of your post when you said, " We cannot grasp the concept of how ridiculous all of these cultural influences really are until we step outside of our own so-called "reality" and look at ourselves through the lens of the "outsiders". I believe that this class will allow you to do just that.
-Starfish
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