Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The Apple of His Binoculars (TNR)

Yeah, I tend to agree; see the full article for more details.  I enjoyed the movie, as did my kids, but it was in many ways an unsubtle Apple commercial.

The film is indeed charming and as visually stunning as its enthusiasts claim, but WALL-E's conservative critics are right to identify a problem with its message. Unfortunately, they've misdiagnosed it. There's nothing wrong with the film's anti-corporatism, which is just a variation of the anti-totalitarianism that's requisite to the genre. More troublesome is the film's complicity in the commodified culture it ostensibly critiques. This isn't about Disney, whose external merchandise and marketing are extraneous to the film's artistic vision. Within the movie itself, WALL-E betrays its true corporate overlord, and it isn't Mickey. It's Apple.

The Apple of His Binoculars

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