We took the girls to see WALL-E today and I’m not sure who loved it more - me or the kids. This, of course, made me start thinking about why the movie was so good. So I’ve put together a short list of why you’ll love WALL-E.
1. Very Little Dialogue - the almost complete lack of dialogue (unless you count beeps and the occasional “Wallllleeeeee”) allows you to focus on what’s going on. You pick up on the stunning scenery and the characters’ little quirks. You actually enjoy watching the movie rather than hearing it.
2. The Environment - A theme that hopefully isn’t subtle for adults, but may not be picked up for kids, is that the Earth is headed for a fate similar to the one in the movie. If we don’t do something soon to save our planet, the garbage and pollution will force us to take to the stars as well. This is a clever way to ingrain this message in kids.
3. Health - Similar to the environmental overtones, the movie shows the humans who survived as fat and lazy. Adults should pick up on the similarity to the nation’s obesity problems, but hopefully kids pick up on the fact that when you don’t do anything you become fat, lazy, and powerless.
4. Eve - WALL-E’s love interest Eve was designed by none other than Apple’s own Jonathon Ive - designer of the iPod. Who doesn’t love a movie where Apple products are sleek, sexy, and user-friendly?
5. Easter Eggs - Before you go, check out this post on WALL-E’s Easter Eggs - hidden facts or pictures in the movie. This way you turn the movie into a game as you try and find all the easter eggs.
6. Adult Humor - And by “adult humor” I mean the non-dirty above-your-kids-head way. It used to be that Disney movies were all about the kids. But as competition for kids movies has heated up (read: Shrek) Disney has been adding little bits of “adult” humor into their movies. There were at least a few times during the movie when one of the girls turned to me and asked, “what are you laughing at dad?”
If I was going to recommend one movie to see this year so far… it would be WALL-E.
The train of thought was long, but eventually I found myself thinking about the war on terror and the most recent stories of U.S. torture tactics. I had never really asked myself whether I was “pro” torture or not but I began to think about whether or not it was needed in the first place. Does torture really prevent terrorist activity? Does torturing a suspected terrorist really get you enough meaning full information to make it worth the moral failure?
It appears from recent reports, that there are more effective ways of obtaining information or preventing further terrorist activities. Dan Carlin, in a recent podcast, told a story of a suspected terrorist who had information the US government wanted. However, instead of electrocuting his genitals, they paid for his wife to have surgery in Iraq. As soon as the wife came out of surgery and phoned her husband, the man began talking…
I tend to thing this form of obtaining information is more effective in the Middle East than torture. Why? Because the people of the Middle East remember. They remember every single attack, every single negative speech, every trade embargo… every wrong ever committed against them. They take Alma’s command of “O remember, remember my son” literally.
So if we’re talking about a people that remember everything, I believe that if we start acting with decency and a higher moral standard that they will begin to remember that. It might take a few years, or even decades. But I firmly believe that after enough time has passed, the balance between good and bad memories will tip in our favor and the radical Islamic children who are now told stories of American atrocities will be told of the woman who had a life-saving surgical procedure… courtesy of the United States of America.