Reading Response to Wall-E (2008)

I loved this text. I think it reflected very well on one of the greatest movies ever made.

The only part I partially disagreed with was the definition of nostalgia. His definition of "a longing for the past and a concomitant dissatisfaction with the present" did not feel to apply to my experiences of nostalgia. Of course a longing for the past is included, but I have been equally or more happy than the time I am thinking about. For example, at the beginning of my time at Duke I definitely felt nostalgic for the days of the summer with all of my friends from home and the fun memories, but I was no less happy here than I was then. 

Otherwise, I think this article did an amazing job tackling the paradox between the nostalgia presented in the film but also the critique of the consumerist culture. One of my favorite points in the article that I did not pick up on by myself was that the trash that recalls nostalgia is, for the most part, pretty current. The film does a good enough job of putting us into the future that we look at the current objects as being from the past. 

Along with that, I loved the section that pointed out that some of the pieces of trash are Pixar products. I suppose I was a "casual theater-goer" that missed this aspect, but the statement it makes is impressive. It shows that Pixar knows that their products, too, will wind up being trash, but also, Anderson points out that it may "hint at a fear of being forgotten." Either or both of these ideas hold weight. Had I noticed this in the film, I probably would have just taken it as a funny little easter egg, but it really does show a deeper, self-realizing level of commentary from Pixar. I have already contributed to the Pixar trash, I am sure, with many toys of my childhood. In fact, I had a Wall-E toy that was also a dancing speaker compatible with the old iPods. Nothing becomes obsolete faster than old generations and products from Apple, and so did this Wall-E toy (which also broke super fast). 

It really bums me out that garbage is considered an "emblem for contemporary culture" or "an iconic emblem of the United States." What a trashy reflection on our culture that a lot of literature uses landfills to represent America. 

I find it interesting that the article claimed twice that the main demographic target for the film is young children. While this is often the presumed case for animated films, I would argue that Wall-E can be appreciated on a much deeper level for older people. Personally, every time I watch the film I get something new out of it, especially comparing my most recent viewing and when I was 10 or 11 watching it for the first time. The deeper narratives and criticisms on consumer culture and environmental destruction cannot be understood by young children. Wall-E holds a lot of real literary value.