Wall-E, Idiocracy and Kung Fu Panda

We watched Wall-E in another class today and I was struck by how much it reminded me of Mike Judge's Idiocracy. The entire film seethes with an anti-corporate (particularly megastores) message present in images like the CEO of global giant BuyNLarge appearing at a presidential-style podium marked with the title "global CEO." This, and the way that humanity's "salvation" from the polluted world came from the megastore instead of the government reminded me of the scene with the Brawndo executive meeting with the president in Idiocracy. The very title "global CEO" is incredibly loaded considering our discussion of neoliberalism and globalization. Other criticisms in Wall-E that I found particularly salient include the image of children being taught the alphabet with corporate logos--which I think is especially relevant to Naomi Klein's research--and the repeated promise both that the consumer world of BuyNLarge that people are literally born into has "everything you need to be happy" and "is your friend." I found it funny that I was almost cheering for the evil ship's computer in Wall-E, simply because its picture of American big box consumerism as evolution and of a global environmental disaster was so bleak that I thought any return home by the former earthlings would realistically lead to disaster. In a similar way, I really wanted Joe to find a way home at the end of Idiocracy, just because Judge's image of the future was so bleak. I'm not sure about the message of Idiocracy (I think Judge is very confused, as we've talked about), but Wall-E's pro-environment message is very clear and oversimplified for consumption by children: plant a tree and save the world. This message was cause for a lot of quasi-critical debate over whether or not the film is "liberal" or "conservative" which, to use a wonderful idiom I just acquired, is a whole different kettle of fish.

This is possibly completely irrelevant, but I loved the scene where the ship's captain uses the computer's log to search for random bits of information about earth--it reminded me a lot of the frenzy of trivia acquirement that can happen when you are bored and on Wikipedia.

Also, the way Wall-E used a very pastiche-heavy sci-fi visual language reminded me a lot of Kung Fu Panda. Both films train children as viewers in a very postmodern way, instilling film styles and references implicitly. Wall-E is replete with references to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 (and other films, as director Andrew Stanton has stated in interviews)and to classical musicals. Kung Fu Panda is really interesting in how it repackages Asian kung fu cliches for American children much in the same way that the Wachowski Brothers' Matrix trilogy did for young adults. It is essentially presenting an entire visual language of a niche foreign cinema filtered through the lens of an American movie for children. I wonder how kids react to the different visual languages presented in actual foreign TV shows rebranded by Cartoon Network like Naruto or (from our youths) Dragonball Z.