Guest guest Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Trashing Wall-E By Josh Golin Wall-E, Disney's smash hit about the last remaining trash-compacting robot on an abandoned and pollution-saturated Earth, has inspired a lot of adult conversations for a kids' movie. Progressives love its prescient ecological message and its critique of expanding corporate influence. Some conservatives decry its " fear mongering " and " leftist propaganda " . Others see the film as a cautionary tale about big government run amok. If Wall-E were only a movie, I'd put myself squarely in the first camp. As an anti-commercialism activist, I cheered Wall-E's explicit linking of corporate marketing, consumption, and environmental degradation. Of course, it didn't hurt that the film is both visually stunning and genuinely moving. Or that, as a fan of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, I was enthralled by the film's audaciously silent opening sequence. But Wall-E isn't merely a film. Like nearly all media produced for kids these days, it's also a brand. There are dozens of Wall-E action figures and electronic toys, as well as video games for eight different systems. There are Wall-E backpacks, lunch bags, clothing, sheets, baking tins, dinnerware, plastic cups, invitations, thank-you notes, piñatas, and tattoos. There are already 28 Wall-E books. Adults can debate the movie's meaning all they want, but for kids the takeaway message of the entire Wall-E experience is buy, buy, buy. It's incredibly hypocritical for Disney to simultaneously profit from a film about a world overrun by garbage and from the toys and merchandise that will fill tomorrow's trash. It's sad to think of those Wall-E action figures (Collect them all!) stuck in landfills long after the film has left theaters, with any associated positive messages forgotten. It's hard not to envision a moment in the future where Wall-E stumbles into small mountains of his own branded merchandise. Those who celebrate Wall-E's green message can only do so by turning a blind eye to the impact of the Wall-E brand in the real world. That means not only overlooking all that Wall-E stuff, but that one of the film's corporate partners is BP, one of the world's largest oil companies. Visitors to the Wall-E website (another part of the Wall-E experience that resides outside the theater) can click through to BP's special website for kids, where they transfer their warm feelings about the movie and any messages they've internalized about saving the earth to BP. As adults, we may be able to separate media texts from their attendant commercialism. But that's not how kids experience media programs and characters. In children's increasingly commercialized and media-saturated worlds, Shrek is Shrek—whether he's on-screen charmingly teaching lessons about inner beauty or on a cereal box hawking sugar and calories. Marketers understand this; that is why they are so eager to use popular characters to sell kids on almost anything. Ads for kids' films and their licensed products run continually on children's television, reinforcing each other and promoting the idea that the way to express love for a character is to own it in as many forms as possible. That is a particularly frightening idea. The commercial pressures on kids continue to increase. If we are to have any hope of reversing the consumer-driven destruction of our planet, we need to teach young children—the targets of all the Wall-E merchandise marketing—that play and love do not equal consumption. Josh Golin is the Associate Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston. Erika Sotirakos EVMS Analyst Work: 443-402-9038 Email: ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS http://www.linkedin.com/in/esoti SAIC See who we know in common Want a signature like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Sometimes a movie is just a movie. ;-)Cyndi In a message dated 10/4/2008 3:23:07 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, donnabzy writes: Wow, my kids just thought it was a cute movie about a robot who loved another robot and wanted to save people. On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 6:34 AM, Sotirakos, Erika T. <ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS (AT) saic (DOT) com> wrote: Trashing Wall-EBy Josh Golin Wall-E, Disney's smash hit about the last remaining trash-compacting robot on an abandoned and pollution-saturated Earth, has inspired a lot of adult conversations for a kids' movie. Progressives love its prescient ecological message and its critique of expanding corporate influence. Some conservatives decry its "fear mongering" and "leftist propaganda". Others see the film as a cautionary tale about big government run amok. If Wall-E were only a movie, I'd put myself squarely in the first camp. As an anti-commercialism activist, I cheered Wall-E's explicit linking of corporate marketing, consumption, and environmental degradation. Of course, it didn't hurt that the film is both visually stunning and genuinely moving. Or that, as a fan of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, I was enthralled by the film's audaciously silent opening sequence. But Wall-E isn't merely a film. Like nearly all media produced for kids these days, it's also a brand. There are dozens of Wall-E action figures and electronic toys, as well as video games for eight different systems. There are Wall-E backpacks, lunch bags, clothing, sheets, baking tins, dinnerware, plastic cups, invitations, thank-you notes, piñatas, and tattoos. There are already 28 Wall-E books. Adults can debate the movie's meaning all they want, but for kids the takeaway message of the entire Wall-E experience is buy, buy, buy. It's incredibly hypocritical for Disney to simultaneously profit from a film about a world overrun by garbage and from the toys and merchandise that will fill tomorrow's trash. It's sad to think of those Wall-E action figures (Collect them all!) stuck in landfills long after the film has left theaters, with any associated positive messages forgotten. It's hard not to envision a moment in the future where Wall-E stumbles into small mountains of his own branded merchandise. Those who celebrate Wall-E's green message can only do so by turning a blind eye to the impact of the Wall-E brand in the real world. That means not only overlooking all that Wall-E stuff, but that one of the film's corporate partners is BP, one of the world's largest oil companies. Visitors to the Wall-E website (another part of the Wall-E experience that resides outside the theater) can click through to BP's special website for kids, where they transfer their warm feelings about the movie and any messages they've internalized about saving the earth to BP. As adults, we may be able to separate media texts from their attendant commercialism. But that's not how kids experience media programs and characters. In children's increasingly commercialized and media-saturated worlds, Shrek is Shrek—whether he's on-screen charmingly teaching lessons about inner beauty or on a cereal box hawking sugar and calories. Marketers understand this; that is why they are so eager to use popular characters to sell kids on almost anything. Ads for kids' films and their licensed products run continually on children's television, reinforcing each other and promoting the idea that the way to express love for a character is to own it in as many forms as possible. That is a particularly frightening idea. The commercial pressures on kids continue to increase. If we are to have any hope of reversing the consumer-driven destruction of our planet, we need to teach young children—the targets of all the Wall-E merchandise marketing—that play and love do not equal consumption. Josh Golin is the Associate Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston. Erika SotirakosEVMS Analyst Work: 443-402-9038 Email: ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS (AT) saic (DOT) com http://www.linkedin.com/in/esoti SAIC See who we know in common Want a signature like this? Messages in this topic (2) ReplyNew MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination. Dining, Movies, Events, News more. Try it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Wow, my kids just thought it was a cute movie about a robot who loved another robot and wanted to save people. On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 6:34 AM, Sotirakos, Erika T. <ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS wrote: Trashing Wall-E By Josh Golin Wall-E, Disney's smash hit about the last remaining trash-compacting robot on an abandoned and pollution-saturated Earth, has inspired a lot of adult conversations for a kids' movie. Progressives love its prescient ecological message and its critique of expanding corporate influence. Some conservatives decry its " fear mongering " and " leftist propaganda " . Others see the film as a cautionary tale about big government run amok. If Wall-E were only a movie, I'd put myself squarely in the first camp. As an anti-commercialism activist, I cheered Wall-E's explicit linking of corporate marketing, consumption, and environmental degradation. Of course, it didn't hurt that the film is both visually stunning and genuinely moving. Or that, as a fan of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, I was enthralled by the film's audaciously silent opening sequence. But Wall-E isn't merely a film. Like nearly all media produced for kids these days, it's also a brand. There are dozens of Wall-E action figures and electronic toys, as well as video games for eight different systems. There are Wall-E backpacks, lunch bags, clothing, sheets, baking tins, dinnerware, plastic cups, invitations, thank-you notes, piñatas, and tattoos. There are already 28 Wall-E books. Adults can debate the movie's meaning all they want, but for kids the takeaway message of the entire Wall-E experience is buy, buy, buy. It's incredibly hypocritical for Disney to simultaneously profit from a film about a world overrun by garbage and from the toys and merchandise that will fill tomorrow's trash. It's sad to think of those Wall-E action figures (Collect them all!) stuck in landfills long after the film has left theaters, with any associated positive messages forgotten. It's hard not to envision a moment in the future where Wall-E stumbles into small mountains of his own branded merchandise. Those who celebrate Wall-E's green message can only do so by turning a blind eye to the impact of the Wall-E brand in the real world. That means not only overlooking all that Wall-E stuff, but that one of the film's corporate partners is BP, one of the world's largest oil companies. Visitors to the Wall-E website (another part of the Wall-E experience that resides outside the theater) can click through to BP's special website for kids, where they transfer their warm feelings about the movie and any messages they've internalized about saving the earth to BP. As adults, we may be able to separate media texts from their attendant commercialism. But that's not how kids experience media programs and characters. In children's increasingly commercialized and media-saturated worlds, Shrek is Shrek—whether he's on-screen charmingly teaching lessons about inner beauty or on a cereal box hawking sugar and calories. Marketers understand this; that is why they are so eager to use popular characters to sell kids on almost anything. Ads for kids' films and their licensed products run continually on children's television, reinforcing each other and promoting the idea that the way to express love for a character is to own it in as many forms as possible. That is a particularly frightening idea. The commercial pressures on kids continue to increase. If we are to have any hope of reversing the consumer-driven destruction of our planet, we need to teach young children—the targets of all the Wall-E merchandise marketing—that play and love do not equal consumption. Josh Golin is the Associate Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston. Erika Sotirakos EVMS Analyst Work: 443-402-9038 Email: ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS http://www.linkedin.com/in/esoti SAIC See who we know in common Want a signature like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Mine too. On Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 6:22 PM, Donna B <donnabzy wrote: Wow, my kids just thought it was a cute movie about a robot who loved another robot and wanted to save people. On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 6:34 AM, Sotirakos, Erika T. <ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS wrote: Trashing Wall-E By Josh Golin Wall-E, Disney's smash hit about the last remaining trash-compacting robot on an abandoned and pollution-saturated Earth, has inspired a lot of adult conversations for a kids' movie. Progressives love its prescient ecological message and its critique of expanding corporate influence. Some conservatives decry its " fear mongering " and " leftist propaganda " . Others see the film as a cautionary tale about big government run amok. If Wall-E were only a movie, I'd put myself squarely in the first camp. As an anti-commercialism activist, I cheered Wall-E's explicit linking of corporate marketing, consumption, and environmental degradation. Of course, it didn't hurt that the film is both visually stunning and genuinely moving. Or that, as a fan of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, I was enthralled by the film's audaciously silent opening sequence. But Wall-E isn't merely a film. Like nearly all media produced for kids these days, it's also a brand. There are dozens of Wall-E action figures and electronic toys, as well as video games for eight different systems. There are Wall-E backpacks, lunch bags, clothing, sheets, baking tins, dinnerware, plastic cups, invitations, thank-you notes, piñatas, and tattoos. There are already 28 Wall-E books. Adults can debate the movie's meaning all they want, but for kids the takeaway message of the entire Wall-E experience is buy, buy, buy. It's incredibly hypocritical for Disney to simultaneously profit from a film about a world overrun by garbage and from the toys and merchandise that will fill tomorrow's trash. It's sad to think of those Wall-E action figures (Collect them all!) stuck in landfills long after the film has left theaters, with any associated positive messages forgotten. It's hard not to envision a moment in the future where Wall-E stumbles into small mountains of his own branded merchandise. Those who celebrate Wall-E's green message can only do so by turning a blind eye to the impact of the Wall-E brand in the real world. That means not only overlooking all that Wall-E stuff, but that one of the film's corporate partners is BP, one of the world's largest oil companies. Visitors to the Wall-E website (another part of the Wall-E experience that resides outside the theater) can click through to BP's special website for kids, where they transfer their warm feelings about the movie and any messages they've internalized about saving the earth to BP. As adults, we may be able to separate media texts from their attendant commercialism. But that's not how kids experience media programs and characters. In children's increasingly commercialized and media-saturated worlds, Shrek is Shrek—whether he's on-screen charmingly teaching lessons about inner beauty or on a cereal box hawking sugar and calories. Marketers understand this; that is why they are so eager to use popular characters to sell kids on almost anything. Ads for kids' films and their licensed products run continually on children's television, reinforcing each other and promoting the idea that the way to express love for a character is to own it in as many forms as possible. That is a particularly frightening idea. The commercial pressures on kids continue to increase. If we are to have any hope of reversing the consumer-driven destruction of our planet, we need to teach young children—the targets of all the Wall-E merchandise marketing—that play and love do not equal consumption. Josh Golin is the Associate Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston. Erika Sotirakos EVMS Analyst Work: 443-402-9038 Email: ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS http://www.linkedin.com/in/esoti SAIC See who we know in common Want a signature like this? -- ~~~~Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love~~~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.