FORUM: Wall-E's Love Story...

So, in my many walks to class during the day, I make complete use of my iPod. Whether it would be my many favorite bands (Devendra Banhart, The Black Kids, and Arcade Fire are staples) or playing solitaire on the bus, the number one use of my iPod is listening to the copious amounts of podcasts that I follow, particularly the /FilmCast.

On a back episode that I recently downloaded, the crew got into a heated debate over the love story within the film Wall-E, and particularly, how inconceivable it is. It all started with a mention of at that time recent article written up on CHUD.com. Here is a snippet.

The social retard doesn't know how to deal with a woman he likes, so he overdoes it - candy, flowers, gifts and, most damning of all, endless declarations of love. In his mind this is romantic, but in real life it's just creepy and sometimes scary. Wall*E's big love montage - where Wall*E takes the shut down EVE all over the place and wines and dines her unconscious form - is the hyper-realization of that. But the movie takes it even farther and has Wall*E essentially date rape the sleeping bot - he forces open the plate on her body where her hand resides and pulls out the appendage so he can hold it. In the world of Wall*E hand holding seems to be like Doing It, or some variation thereof, and the little garbage bot forcing himself on a knocked out female is incredibly creepy.

Read the whole article here...

Basically, what it boils down to, is this, and for the following, you have to be with the thought that the story of Wall-E can be easily related to, as a love story, by us. We all can relate to it, even though it's an f-ing robot. If not, then the film shouldn't actually be appreciated by you, and there for you are not one person that I really need to talk to, so go watch the Jonas Brothers or something (just kidding, I'm really just trying to gain readership, so if any of you are offended, I apologize.)

Wall-E as a character is a low level, probably best compared to a modern day homeless guy, he's fat, he's illiterate, and can't express his feelings via speech, as he can simply say his own name. However, there is a moment in the film (and this is just a minute point that I would like to see the reaction it gets), where Wall-E takes the then comatose Eve, and pry open her hand to attempt to hold it.

One needs to take a look at what the hand holding means to Wall-E, as a general male character, he really just wants to hold her hand, kind of like the stereotypical male really just wants to get laid. So then, when Wall-E takes advantage of her state of being, and gets her hand, sure, she clamps down, but that almost makes it creepier. As the article says, Wall-E committed the Pixar version of date rape.

DISCLAIMER!!: These views no way show my feelings on the film, it's just a summation of what the above article was specifically getting at.

In broad terms, the thing the article was trying to get at was how inconceivable the love story was. For example, EVE in no way falls in love with the small little pudge-bot until he brings her the leaf, so not only does she get raped (jk), but she's a materialist. Basically, Wall-E as a love story is extremely outdated, and very standard. It's almost like Kerry Bradshaw if she was a robot with an affinity for Apple Computers.

Now, I'm 100% sure Pixar had no intention of inserting these rather repulsive subtexts inside of their best film (and it really is), it's just what people can take it as. Take this article for example. The guy behind it has said it's basically a nerd fantasy. It's like someone bragging about their conquests in the World of Warcraft realm, to a women who brags about their conquests in the sheets. Wall-E is this outdated, dirty, fat, small, not so bright robot, that can only hope for a gorgeous, brilliant, slim, updated, robot who can look through ALL of those other adjectives, only to completely fall in love. Yet, that doesn't happen until the female recieves the gift she's always wanted.

Did I take it like this, no. I took it as this insanely dark environmentalist rant, but there are a few valid points here. What do you think?

Come back later for more news and notes!

Go see something good!