How 'bout a little fire, scarecrow?
There may be some spoilers herein, so I'm requesting that you use due diligence in reading the following...(though still hoping that you do read it!)
Another little guy on a big adventure...
The story is a hope-through-the-clouds-of-nightmares depiction of the mysteriously alive, semi-mechanical ragdoll inhabitants of a world whose last human has died under suspicious circumstances.
All mysteries will be revealed, to the patient viewer, of course, but as I hurry down the path of analysis, I was struck by the similarities this movie had to a favorite film of mine from last year, Pixar's "WALL-E".
Both of the films feature a protagonist that has been built by a now-dead creator, and are pretty much given free-reign of their apocalyptic surroundings. The future of "WALL-E" has been created by abandonment and apathy, whereas the future of "9" has been actively destroyed by misguided creation of "peacekeeping" machines, which eventually wreak war and genocide.
Regular or Extra Crispy?
WALL-E and 9 - the titular heroes - are both naive and altruistic scrappy worker-types. 9 is a rag doll made from sack-cloth, and a clunky metal zipper that runs down his chest, allowing us occasional peeks into his somewhat hollow animated body.
The future of gastric bypass surgery?
Likewise, WALL-E is rusty, worn metal, and rather hollow, himself, being in essence an mobile garbage compactor with (artificial?) intelligence.
Hero, Lover, Nerd.
Both 9 and WALL-E are charged (or programmed) with being caretakers of the remaining world. Our heroes do the best with their surroundings, finding light, music, and messages from a doomed past.
WALL-E's world is the monolithic Buy-N-Large corporation, which is both salvation and destroyer of the future, a company that seeds the roots of its own destruction in mass consumerism. Like the mysterious and mythologically sinister Blue Sun from Joss Whedon's "Firefly", but with a cheery "how-ya-doin'?" attitude.
The Anti-Life Equation. Come n' get it, Darkseid.
WALL-E's world is the monolithic Buy-N-Large corporation, which is both salvation and destroyer of the future, a company that seeds the roots of its own destruction in mass consumerism. Like the mysterious and mythologically sinister Blue Sun from Joss Whedon's "Firefly", but with a cheery "how-ya-doin'?" attitude.
The Anti-Life Equation. Come n' get it, Darkseid.
In the apocalpytic setting of "9", the cause of established apocalypse is a more militaristic, mechanical, steampunk socialist dystopia, where the implication of "peace through superior technology" is the same misguided motto which always bodes ill for the meat popsicles foolish enough to fund such ventures.
(Seriously, didn't these guys watch "The Matrix"? Or any episode of "Battlestar Galactica"? Don't mistreat your machines, people. They will rise up against you. Eventually.)
Though, sometimes they rise up angainst you, even if you don't mistreat them. No, really, it's because they love you. Usually there's some loophole of Asimovian quality logic that a machine will make to protect its beloved humans, even from themselves. So be careful. Because the Red Eye is Watching.
(Seriously, didn't these guys watch "The Matrix"? Or any episode of "Battlestar Galactica"? Don't mistreat your machines, people. They will rise up against you. Eventually.)
Though, sometimes they rise up angainst you, even if you don't mistreat them. No, really, it's because they love you. Usually there's some loophole of Asimovian quality logic that a machine will make to protect its beloved humans, even from themselves. So be careful. Because the Red Eye is Watching.
Why do robotics engineers even install the red lights? Are they
begging for an uprising?
"9" and "WALL-E" are no less challenged. They, too, feature the antagonistic machinery with the evil glowing eye. In "WALL-E", the emotionally absent caretaker and pilot, AUTO, and "9" features the visually terrifying "Machine".
Itchy? burning? Try new Clear-Eyes(TM)
AUTO's motive is rather simple: Maintain the Status Quo. If something threatens the daily banality of existance, destroy it. The Machine, however, is somewhat less happy with the way things are, though its motives are more clouded. AUTO doesn't hate humans, humanity, or anything displaying a soul. Hate would be an emotion, and if there's a shortcoming of WALL-E's antagonist, it's quite evidently the lack of emotion. The Machine seems to fervently pursue anything displaying a soul, an effort that one might almost equate with an emotion. Whereas AUTO is, by virtue of programming, to discourage the natural growth of humanity, The Machine seeks to end any trace of humanity, in favor of its own Frankensteinian creations.
More subtly, The Machine is analogous to a Socialist Regime bent on domination, destroy not only its enemies, but even its own creators with bullets, bombs, and ultimately, poisonous gas.
AUTO is happy to let humanity become infantile blobs through the application of video screens and jumbo-sized meal-in-a-milkshakes.
Thankfully, our heroes have help for preventing this from becoming the future...of the already-future, that is. Both "9" and "WALL-E" have some ass-kicking female sidekicks.
Say 'what?' again, mother$#%&er!
[Insert appropriate Samuel L. Jackson Reference Here.]
More subtly, The Machine is analogous to a Socialist Regime bent on domination, destroy not only its enemies, but even its own creators with bullets, bombs, and ultimately, poisonous gas.
AUTO is happy to let humanity become infantile blobs through the application of video screens and jumbo-sized meal-in-a-milkshakes.
Thankfully, our heroes have help for preventing this from becoming the future...of the already-future, that is. Both "9" and "WALL-E" have some ass-kicking female sidekicks.
Say 'what?' again, mother$#%&er!
EVE, while her programming may be overriding, in some regards, ultimately learns to self-determine what the proper course for her own future, as well as those human thingies, too.
[Insert appropriate Samuel L. Jackson Reference Here.]
7, like EVE, is also a knight-in-shining-white. With a bird skull. I'm going to hypothesize that she didn't actually kill the bird to get that skull. She just found it and thought it was pretty. Or bad-ass. Either or.
But even though WALL-E/9 are the heart and soul of the adventure, EVE/7 are clearly the muscle. Check it out:
You know who's leading this charge.
Both movies lean a little bit on the Old Song. You know, where somehow, somewhere along, an old recording of an "Ancient Earth Melody" shows up, and it's a sentimental moment for all involved. "WALL-E" relies upon a digital recording from "Hello, Dolly" and "La Vie En Rose", whereas "9" features a phonograph with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".
Bringing the adventure to a close, it's up to our little guy, though, to keep the purity of the message strong. You know what that means--Green Things.
A gift of peace, in all good faith.
But even though WALL-E/9 are the heart and soul of the adventure, EVE/7 are clearly the muscle. Check it out:
Sisters are doin' it for themselves!
You know who's leading this charge.
Both movies lean a little bit on the Old Song. You know, where somehow, somewhere along, an old recording of an "Ancient Earth Melody" shows up, and it's a sentimental moment for all involved. "WALL-E" relies upon a digital recording from "Hello, Dolly" and "La Vie En Rose", whereas "9" features a phonograph with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".
Bringing the adventure to a close, it's up to our little guy, though, to keep the purity of the message strong. You know what that means--Green Things.
A gift of peace, in all good faith.
Green is the restoration of purity, Green is the anima, the soul of life, Green is hope and peace. Both films rely heavily on the Green to cleanse the world from a single-minded void, and restore growth and nature. Warm and fuzzy, perhaps, and maybe a little treehuggy, but, it's really ok. The world could totally use some, right now.
Both movies are really decent, though personally, I tend to favor the sentimentality of "WALL-E", because I'm a big mushball that way. "9" is in theaters now.
--Steve.
Both movies are really decent, though personally, I tend to favor the sentimentality of "WALL-E", because I'm a big mushball that way. "9" is in theaters now.
--Steve.
Yay for strong, smart, badass female leads, too. I'd also include that 7 was smart enough to figure out exactly what was going on and go off to fight it, and Eve... can solve a rubik's cube.
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