Expansion of Technology

In the film, the future is depicted as a bleak, barren landscape of garbage created by the mega development of humans. The advancement of technology has left the earth abandoned to WALL-E and other robots while humans have been forced from the planet. The humans are left helpless to the control of computers and preprogrammed actions. Eventually, the humans do take action, realizing their disconnect from reality.

The imagery at the beginning of the film invokes sorrow and guilt in the audience as they see what the world has become. The sun shining symbolizes a beacon of hope as Wall-E travels the streets of a new world. It acts as WALL-E’s source of power and is the only natural part of earth’s scenery that is left. The stacks of garbage and deserted buildings are the remnants of a human civilization that overly consumed. It highlights the destructive path that today’s society is taking in the depletion of earth’s resources.

The futuristic technology of the film shows the control of bureaucratic agencies in the form of AI over people. The arbitrary extension of power exerted over people through computers is reflected in the motherboard of the human’s spaceship. It automatically controls the daily life of the ship’s inhabitants and reduces them to helpless individuals. Essentially, the bureaucracy has expanded itself to encompass every aspect of their lives.

Along comes WALL-E to disrupt the flow and show people what it is to be free and self-dependant. His actions are performed out of care and pity as he sees the humans’ level of contentedness towards a technological lifestyle. The bombardment of advertisements and entertainment on the ship keep the people enslaved. Although their lives are much easier, they do not see the thoughtlessness in their world controlled by A.I. The connection to nature presented by Wall-E is what opens their eyes to the real world they are missing.

In the final scenes of WALL-E, the robot, Auto, prevents the captain of the ship from seeking salvation, instead declaring “on the Axiom, you will survive”. Through the notion of survival, the A.I. is controlling their existence and preventing them from returning to Earth. However, when the captain gets up and fights the machine, he takes control of his life and restores power to the humans. In doing so, they are seeking to restore the earth to its past glory rather than live as part of a bureaucratic machine.