A few thoughts on the first minutes of "Wall-E"
These 8 minutes reveal a world that is poisoned, and we are given hints as to how and why but not every detail. This is important, because we are left wanting more information. Why is Wall-E the only robot left? Where are the humans? They must be in space, but why are we not shown them?
These questions beget more questions. This opening sequence - which contains no actual dialogue - sets the scene brilliantly. We are shown, not told but shown, the day of our main character. We see the world and his role in it, so we are oriented as the director wishes us to be and we are waiting to see what is going to happen next. Once hooked, an audience can be moved around much more easily.
Dan, lots of extensive, insightful analysis of the creation of the earth world that Wall-E inhabits. I really like how you tracked the shifts in the music and wide-shots to raise questions as what has happened to earth--as clues about what happened starts to unfold.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that there's no dialogue for much of the beginning of the film positions us to try to construct the meaning about what's going on. We start to perceive him a human through how he's portrayed doing things and adopting his perspectives.
I really like your analysis of how Wall-E is framed using wide shots to show how he's very much alone in this world as he moves about collecting things and trying to find some sign of life. And, you effectively show how the humans are portrayed in the space ship as blobs who do nothing (pretty consistent with the increased obesity rates.)
You also effectively note how the darker music starts to suggest that danger lies ahead--creating the challenges that Wall-E faces.
In all of this, you have a keen sense of how these techniques are purposefully used to create Wall-E's character and the storyline.