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Post by MidgardDragon on Jul 30, 2008 21:17:09 GMT -5
Here's a place to discuss the humans, specifically Mary, John, and The Captain, but including all of the unnamed ones. I thought it was very sweet and interesting how they had WALL-E knock Mary and John out of their dazed lives and gave them their own little love story. The Captain, what can I say? He showed that human spirit will always drive us even if we've become so complacent we don't remember what that is.
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Post by Bartle on Jul 30, 2008 21:21:15 GMT -5
John and Mary had babies rather quickly. Hehe.
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Post by LuckyDawg on Jul 30, 2008 21:22:20 GMT -5
I love that the Captain stepped it up in the middle of the movie. He was genuinely interested in getting the ship back to Earth no matter the consequences. I really thought the humans took the robots for granted (basically waiting on their every need). It looked like they were willing to work with the robots to rebuild Earth.
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Post by Bubblegum on Jul 30, 2008 21:33:46 GMT -5
I loved it when John and Mary were the only ones to actually go swimming in the pool, and then basically shut up the robot who tried to tell them not to dive or splash.
I also loved the scene when the Captain watered the plant in the ship. At that moment, he realized that the only way Earth could be restored was if the humans' took the effort into their own hands, rather than leaving it up to the robots.
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Post by Khodhum on Aug 1, 2008 23:09:39 GMT -5
I'll speak for my friend here: he told me after we saw the movie together that, after WALL-E and EVE, the Captain would go down as one of the most memorable characters in a movie for him. He liked how the Captain really had the drive and determination to go back to Earth and start all over from scratch.
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Post by vanessajoyce on Aug 2, 2008 18:30:30 GMT -5
He really was a good character -- especially since I was expecting him to not really have much personality. Upon subsequent viewings, I really appreciate more and more the scene where we are introduced to him (waking up, checking the systems, doing morning announcements) . . . his depth becomes more and more apparently upon multiple viewings because I finally am willing to take my eyes off WALL-E and look at the other characters.
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Post by Viva la Vida on Aug 3, 2008 23:50:23 GMT -5
You know, all discussion I've seen of the humans is centered almost exclusively on their morbid obesity, their laziness, their complacency -- basically all their negative traits. But hardly anyone seems to have noticed their actual personality or behavior in the film. When I first learnt of this particular plot point, I thought the humans might be depicted as selfish, petty, gluttonous pigs (much like Al McWhiggen in Toy Story 2) to bluntly hammer in the story's message. But they ended up being kind, sensitive individuals who were completely willing to cooperate with the "rogue" robots once the situation had become clear to them.
I understand the external appearance and lifestyle of the Axiom humans can be effortlessly interpreted as a swipe to our rampantly consumerist society, but rather than presenting it's moral in a scathingly misanthropic way, WALL-E radiates vibrantly with hope and optimism: it's never too late to actually live and not simply consume. Everyone has the power to change for the better -- and if the humans of the film could, even with the advanced state of their disuse atrophy and hyper-leisurely lifestyle, so can we.
It's slightly ironic that a lot of the haters have complained that the film's humans are an insult to movie audiences and humans everywhere... in fact, these real-life haters are the insult to humanity, if you ask me. In stark contrast to the fictional humans of WALL-E, they seem to be rather close-minded and unfriendly and endlessly bitter individuals if their internet messages are anything to judge by.
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Post by vanessajoyce on Aug 4, 2008 9:16:11 GMT -5
WELL put, Viva! (*Bookmarking your post for future reference*)
The thing about the humans in the film (which I actually tried to also incorporate in my fan-fic *shameless plug*) is that they aren't bad at all. I wouldn't even say that they are selfish, really. They're just not aware of what's happening to them. They literally don't see beyond their own little personal space.
One thing that really hit me the other day watching the film was the first time we meet John -- and it reminded me of situations I've been on the train or on the bus when I've unintentionally been in someone's way or didn't react fast enough to the driver's instructions. People get angry (like John did when WALL-E wouldn't take the cup from him) not because they are personally mad at me, but they're frustrated because I'm in their way and that throws them off their personal routine, even if just for seconds. At first I thought John was rather rude with the way he obviously was irritated with WALL-E, but then I realized that he's expecting a certain behavior from this robot and it's not happening and he's getting . . . well, nervous -- maybe even a little scared.
The sad part though is that when John falls off his chair, he suddenly becomes an "obstacle" and is treated just as he treated WALL-E -- as not a person, but as an obstruction just to get around. Only WALL-E sees a human in trouble, does what is decent and treats John with kindness and dignity even though he himself is in a real hurry to find EVE. (So many parallels to the Good Samaritan parable in the Gospels.)
The more I see the film, the more I realize how well the humans are depicted. I honestly think the "haters" are superimposing their own insecurities on the portrayal of the humans because when I honestly look for evidence from the plot or character development of what they claim, I really can't find it.
It just again emphasizes the brillance of this film because no character is pushed into a 2D model. Not even the secondary ones.
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Post by Khodhum on Aug 4, 2008 23:40:10 GMT -5
It's amazing just how many people MISS this. Either that, or they're ignoring it. When my friend and I saw the movie, he said, "That was one of the most uplifting, optimistic movies I've ever seen." Clearly HE at least was paying attention.
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Post by Swan on Aug 7, 2008 14:47:47 GMT -5
The humans were cool. The only human I really liked was the Captain, though. When I first saw him in the film, I thought he was going to be a jerk, to WALL-E and EVE, and in general. When he turned out to be one of the good guys for the whole movie, I just thought that was very cool. I didn't expect AUTO to be the bad guy (I remember even seeing him in the 'robots' video on the WALL-E site before seeing the movie, and thinking he was a good guy). The way I thought the story would turn out would be that the humans were going to do something bad to the robots or something, and the robots all had to band together and work to stop the humans from their evil doings. Sounds like a typical, cliche child's film plot, right? Which is why I thought it was great how the story actually turned out.
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Post by hopper on Aug 21, 2008 14:25:02 GMT -5
i agree.. i think its kinda funny but at the same time sad that the first 2 humans presented are a pair of guys talking about going golfing and decide against that but cant think of ANYTHING in particular to do.. then you realize that they are actually talking to each other from NEXT to each other as in could reach out and touch the other one but are still using the virtual video chat to communicate.. same when mary and john actually touch each other. their raction is as if humans hadnt actually done that in generations, rasing the question of where did the babies come from? perhaps they were genetically grown somehow? and second.. as mentioned before by someone else.. where were the children.. only babies and adults? but yes i like it when the captain, realizing that auto was pulling the strings behind the scenes (auto becomes more predominant in the succesive captains pictures as the captains become less and less human) and decides to take charge, then when he finds the off switch for auto he pushes it instead of giving up.. the captain really used his brains AND what little was left of his brawn there to take charge, way to go captian.. the other humans well.. they did their best at the end.
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Post by fastdash9 on Aug 22, 2008 22:27:52 GMT -5
That's the wonderful thing I find about the humans in the movie; they had the potential to change the world around them, but they never got the chance... until WALL-E came about ofcourse. Kinda reminds me of real life...
vanessajoyce and Viva La Vida summed up that point rather well
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Post by smkndofpnutdssrt on Aug 22, 2008 22:50:08 GMT -5
I love how there are are virtually no villains in this movie. Even AUTO and GO-4. Everyone is just a victim of their "programming". I would go into detail, but everyone else here has done that for me ;D
I love how Wall-E comes and changes everyone's priorities and way of thinking and he doesn't even realize it. He doesn't try to do it, he just does. All he wants is his Evah. But everyone around Wall-E watches him and Eve interact and they are just so wowed by this thing feeling they've never seen expressed before. And they want to have that same feeling. It's really cool how ironic it is. The tables are turned. At first, it's the humans who inspire Wall-E through the Hello Dolly tape and make him realize there is more to life than just doing the same routine day in and day out, and then he turns around and gives that back to them.
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Post by hopper on Aug 22, 2008 23:06:56 GMT -5
indeed, well said
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Post by fastdash9 on Aug 22, 2008 23:52:22 GMT -5
I love how there are are virtually no villains in this movie. Even AUTO and GO-4. Everyone is just a victim of their "programming". I would go into detail, but everyone else here has done that for me ;D That's one of the reasons why I like this movie. It's none of that good guy, bad guy crap. Just like in real life... WALL-E is the catalyst for a lot of the events that happened in the story, as well as EVE. I like to think the point though with WALL-E not knowing is that anyone can be like him. Anyone can make an impact on other's and not even know it. For instance, I brought my ukulele to school almost everyday and never knew how many people's days were made, or how many people felt inspired when they heard it in the halls... until it was mentioned at graduation Just like real life...
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