If asked, most children probably won't be able to define sustainability, but they might recall seeing the movies A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, and Wall-E. In A Bug’s Life, the protagonist must save his colony from greedy human-like grasshoppers stealing their resources. Finding Nemo, shows the effects of the human footprint on tide pools through a father clownfish losing his son. Directed by Andrew Stanton, Wall-E (2008) also uses an anthropomorphistic story to highlight aspects of sustainability.
The first sentence of the trailer for Wall-E, sets the story seven hundred years into the future when mankind has abandoned planet Earth and left it’s clean up in the hands of a machine. As the story is being introduced, the audience is shown an aerial view of Earth from outer space. It zooms into the dusty, brown planet, and we are introduced to Wall-E. Standing for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class, Wall-E is the last robot alive from millions of machines whose purpose was to clean up the Earth after humans fled the mess they made. However, after introducing the main character, Wall-E, the trailer then dives into his relationship with his love interest Eve. This undermines the importance of the film’s ecological message by portraying it as a love story. Through its dramatization of excessive corporate control, iconography of relevant waste culprits, and somber cinematography, Wall-E actually serves as a social critique of consumer mentality and illuminates corporate effects on the environment. It appeals and educates an extremely wide audience, but its ability to subliminally introduce the importance of sustainability to younger viewers is exceptionally powerful. The blame for the mess on Earth is attributed to a fictional corporation named “Buy n Large,” which grew so large it controlled global governments. With the slogan, “The Right to Spend,” they influenced the world into mass consumerism and to let machines do their work for them with ads illustrating, “There's No Need to Walk!” This led to the monumental amount of pollution on Earth caused by un-recycled resources. This is an exaggeration of the power corporations hold today. They use up limited natural resources, and dump toxic substances freely. Our environment is rapidly declining, and corporations are mostly to blame. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “By 2030, an additional 1 billion people are expected to live in severely water-stressed areas and global terrestrial biodiversity is expected to decline an additional 10%, leading to a loss of essential ecosystem services.” Our reality is extremely similar to the plot of the movie. Consumerism is on the rise, natural resources are running out, and corporations continue to influence ecological decline. Although children will not understand these things, exposing them to the realities of the world through the extreme dramatization helps to promote environmental awareness for the future. The un-recycled resources and waste in Wall-E are relevant to the biggest waste culprits actually destroying our environment. In the movie, the world has become one huge landfill full of cans, trash, and electronic waste. Wall-E himself is a symbol for electronic waste in the world. He is an outdated machine, and the others like him who have stopped working are scattered about the Earth. This is another warning for consumerism. Humans love to buy every new version of a product, but how many are recycling their old iPhones? Electronic waste “represents 2% of America’s trash in landfills, but it equals 70% of overall toxic waste.” They also show compacted soda cans that could’ve been recycled, and everyday waste like old toys and furniture. Using scenery that is relevant to the actual toxic waste harming the environment gives viewers a look at the reality and future of mass consumerism. This a powerful way to get kids thinking about where their old Rubik’s cube they throw away ends up. Along with the scenery of everyday waste, the cinematography in Wall-E helps to dramatize and exaggerate the effects of pollution. The dusty, brown look of Earth in the trailer holds a lot of emotion. It looks like Earth, but as the camera slowly zooms in you begin to notice it’s lifeless hue. The Earth is covered in trash, there is no ecosystem, or any sign of life. Humans destroyed everything living, and that is apparent through the grey, somber cinematography. The creators made everything on Earth, including Wall-E, look rusted and faded. This is a very powerful representation of the effects of pollution. Without a stable environment, no ecosystems can exist, so you don’t see any trees, grass, or animals. When the humans living in space return to Earth, the captain remarks, “"It looks like Earth. But where’s the blue sky? Where’s the grass?" A child can easily spot that these things are missing, and see the contrast of life on Earth versus just pollution. This is a dramatic lesson in what the world could look like if people stop caring for it. Disney and Pixar studios are using their huge platform to not only entertain, but to also educate. It's a wide held belief that if you want to make a difference, you must start by educating the youth. The ecological message in Wall-E is iconic for all audiences to learn from, but its ability to educate the youth creates hope for the future. Through the subliminal social context, iconography, and cinematography, children are being introduced to the harm of consumerism and importance of environmental unconsciousness. Kids are the future; they will grow up to either contribute to the waste or help get rid of it.