Wall-E is an animated science fiction movie that was released in 2008. It has garnered a total of ten awards including Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Animated Feature Film. S. Jhoanna Robledo, a film critic of Common Sense Media, claims that Wall-E is a “Pixar masterpiece [that] manages to be profoundly moving and thought-provoking, yet still entertaining.” As much as it is acclaimed, the movie offers has lots to offer the audience with its insightful message to humanity.

 In Wall-E, the illusion of a perfect society is depicted through advanced technology and its convenience. Countless gadgets are manufactured on the spaceship which enables life to be much more convenient for the Earthlings. For example, automatic chairs and holograms do not require humans to do anything on their own. However, in reality, humans are over-reliant and over-comfortable with these automated technology that they have placed their free will in its cold, metallic machines. In other words, people have traded their autonomy for automation.

 The members of the spaceship are oppressed through the inconceivable control of technology. Because humans have automatic chairs that perform every practical needs and functions for them, they end up being lazy and letting technology control their lives. Even the Captain of the ship is merely a figurehead, with the ship’s autopilot handling all true command functions. Thus, people start losing their free will and autonomy. Through this oppression by technology, the director is trying to convey his message that if people don’t control their technology, it may wind up controlling them.

 Although our society has not yet reached the level of seriousness and control depicted in the movie, social media gathers every gesture, purchase, comment we make online and uses the data to predict our every preference. The collection of such consumer choice data can be dangerous because it can lead to preferences for political campaigns and distort democracy. This can be a serious issue because misleading preferences can obstruct our free will and stance. Also, our personal information and privacy are at stake if consumer choice data is collected and provided to sources that we are unaware of.

 Through this exaggeration, the movie emphasizes the necessity of humanity to be aware of the potential dangers of technology and its overuse. A potential solution to this current trend is strictly restricting consumer data collection and prohibiting its use for advertisement or political purposes.

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