- Published: January 4, 2022
- Updated: January 4, 2022
- University / College: The University of Sheffield
- Level: Masters
- Language: English
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Compare and contrasts the robots and the humans in “ Wall-E.” Compares and contrast the robots and the humans in Wall-E Similarities
In the film, both the robots and the humans are shown to be in need of maintenance to function properly. WALL-E is one of the robots that were left to clean up the earth 700 hundred years ago by the humans who fled to space. All the other robots that were left with WALL-E broke down due to lack of maintenance. WALL –E remained on earth cleaning up garbage left by humans. After some time, EVE comes to earth to check if it can be inhabited by humans again. The robot comes to check for the presence of vegetation. She finds a plant, which WALL-E had kept, automatically keeps it and goes into a standby mode. In EVE’S quest, WALL-E follows her to the axiom where they both encounter problems from an automated robot like them, developed to destroy any vegetation giving signs that the earth is inhabitable again. WALL-E is destroyed in the process and he needs his spare parts, back on earth to be repaired and function properly. The humans could also be considered to need maintenance to function properly. The humans as portrayed in the movie, leave everything to the robots to do. Even the ship captain leaves the ship to an automated machine. They only eat and become obese. This represents lack of maintenance of humanity. Humanity was destroyed the moment they left everything for the robots to take care of and ran away to space after filling up the earth with garbage. Humanity does not allow creation of garbage that destroys the earth. The value of humanity was lost among humans. The characteristics of the humans in the movie show that if humanity had been maintained, the earth and humans could still be “ functioning’ well. Consider ‘ functioning’ in this case to represent normalcy.
The humans and the robots act as robots. Humans live an already programmed life in the ship with specific robots assigned different duties to guide their existence. The ship for example is automated to take them back to earth once EVE produces evidence of existence of vegetation on earth again. The robots are also programmed to perform specific functions. WALL-E is programmed to collect garbage and EVE to collect vegetation from earth.
Differences
Robots are portrayed as hardworking while humans are lazy. Humans have put machines in place to do almost everything for them. Robots on the other hand, perform all the duties they are programmed to do diligently. WALL-E still collected garbage even after 700 years of being left alone with other garbage collecting robots on earth. The robots have taken and adopted the human values while the humans have adopted the robotic ways. WALL-E is shown to have fallen in love with EVE. A series of events show how determined they are with each other. EVE even helps WALL-E in repairing himself in order to come back to ‘ life’. Humans, however, have changed their life to a programmed one. A life guided and maintained by machines.
Humanity in This Post-Apocalyptic World
The message passed to the people by this film is that humanity will be destroyed in the post-apocalyptic world. Robots will take over if people depend so much on machines to perform so many of functions that humans can do. The film is trying to say that the values of humans are gradually disappearing. This will change what is normal to abnormal without the people’s realization. Realization will come too late and even if it comes, the generation that comes may not know the important values that maintain humanity. They will have to start living afresh on earth, so long as a plant produces evidence of the earth’s feasibility for human to live in it. It is not clear what they will do the earth when they come back.
Reference
Wall-E. Dir. Andrew Stanton. Perf. Ben Burtt, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, Elissa Knight,
John Ratzenberger. Disney/Pixar, 2008, DVD.