Pixar Hates Fat People
Jul 16th, 2008 by Matt
This post contains possible spoiler information for the film WALL-E.
Alrighty, I just learned that Pixar apparently hates fat people.
Here is the problem people seem to be having with the film:
The difference I see between a movie like Idiocracy (or classics like Player Piano, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and 1984) is that these stories are grounded in very real and tangible conflicts, like class conflicts, rapidly advancing technology, the distribution of power, and/or threats to the social and cultural orders. No one group of people are made to blame - it’s a collective human downfall.
But WALL-E specifically singles out and targets obese people as the primary cause of mankind’s demise, further perpetuating the stereotype of the gluttonous, slothful fat person. Furthermore, the film suggests that, in their exaggerated laziness, obese people disregard not only personal health, but also that of the planets, and are held up as the cause for the destruction of the environmental landscape -Rachel Richardson
I don’t see the film as a damnation of obese people so much as a warning of what our future will be like if our society continues down the path of rampant consumerism and instant gratification. “Fatties” are the end result of a very real problem and not the initial cause of it.
Whether or not any of these sweaty, angry people are willing to admit it or not, our society is facing some very serious issues right now. I have seen my local Walmart increase their motorized cart fleet from four to sixteen in only a few short years to keep up with demand. And judging from the groceries I see people loading these carts up with, It’s not people with non-preventable medical conditions wheeling themselves around the store, leaving long trails of candy bar wrappers behind them.
For the most part, I think that this extreme reaction to WALL-E proves that most movies are not forcing people to think very deeply about themselves and their core values these days, which is sad. When Pixar holds a mirror up to its audience and says: “This is what we are beginning to do to ourselves.” People are surprised by such blatant social commentary. Their initial reaction is one of anger…and also probably hunger.
But I challenge everyone who gazes into that mirror to look past their own reflection and realize that we as a society have the power to change our lifestyle and prevent this grim future from ever happening.
And in the spirit of total transparency; I write this post as I struggle to finish off two McChickens and a Double Cheeseburger…
-Matt
(by the way, anyone else think that there is a very good reason why the 3 Walmarts in my area do not have WALL-E toys?)
Where are my damn hover chairs?
Kevin Smith had some funny things to say about the film in his latest Podcast. He said it was a real sobering look at our future, but he secretly wants a hover chair and cup cakes in a cup.
He asked his kids if they would like to stay on the earth and try to clean it up or if they would rather stay in space and be served by robots their whole lives. The Kids said they wanted to stay on earth and he called them F@ck!#g morons.
Its been my experience that most “fat” people don’t want to be fat. So why shouldn’t other people not want them to be fat either? Is support of a healthy lifestyle automatically an attack on fat people? If you’ve actually seen this movie, you find that fat people actually save the day, and save the planet. In fact, I don’t recall seeing a single representatlion of the “skinny” person. As a person who is not able to acheive weight gain, due only to a high metabolism, and through no fault of his own, should I be offended to learn that Pixar belives that no “skinny” man could survive hundreds of years of space travel? I would be pissed now, only I realize that without generalizatiion, fables and fairy tales would never exist.
I don’t know if this person even paid attention in the movie. Mankind became fat AFTER leaving Earth a polluted, toxic waste land. They became fat and lazy because of the rampant consumerism and laziness that Wal-Mart…err Buy ‘N Large encouraged. It’s commentary on the general trend towards automating life, not a damnation of obese people.