The hidden sociological message from Disney/PIXAR's newest film
| by Joe Leo, Columnist |
continued... from: previous page
Maybe Apple is trying to preview its future product lines, as one eagle-eyed fan pointed out when the MacBook Air was released, that Mr. Incredible himself--no, not Steve Jobs, but the superhero from "The Incredibles"--had a MacBook Air inside an envelope on his desk!
Debruge does say of the character EVE, "She's the animated equivalent of the next product that might be unveiled by Steve Jobs..."
Or maybe Apple is in a way, trying to paint a picture of what life will be like for us in the near future by sending subtle messages in its secret partnership with Disney and Pixar. With this film alone, there are already, as you can see, many references to Macs and our future.
Remember the starting point of this story? About how computers have taken us so far in this modern-day world, specifically referencing the "Wall-E" movie that opens today? Computers and technology in general have taken the human race to where it is today. To get one-sided here, let's touch base on the eons old argument of Mac vs. PC.
There's just no doubt that Macs run better, last forever (that 700 year comment by the editors over at MacDailyNews), and make our lives easier because they're much easier to use than Windows-based PCs. Then you add the other incorporated gadgets that Apple has brought into our lives, such as the iPod and the iPhone, and the picture suddenly becomes clearer.
There is definitely a hidden message to all of this when you analyze it and look at it closer. We can even have our new friend Peter Debruge help on this front without him even knowing it.
Debruge writes as the sub-headline for his story, "Steve Jobs let the animators at his other little company do what they do best with WALL*E: use breakthrough technology to bring a great idea to life, but don't let it out of the lab until it's perfect. Sound familiar? Inside the world's top animation studio, Pixar's chief says his CGI wizards work the Apple way."
What was that? The Apple way? And what about the line about using breakthrough technology to bring a great idea to life, but only letting it out when it's... perfect.
How about taking all of that and applying it to society. Our lives being easier to live because of Apple technology. Just think if Apple made other things like cars, clock radios, heck, even vacuum cleaners. Our wonderful world would be "Miles" (Armstrong) apart more than ever.
Through no fault of their own and little effort needed from them, maybe Apple isn't control of their fate (nor ours), but fate is controlling Apple and because of their success, all they have to do is keep doing what they do best-- create and innovate. And we as consumers should, think different, and start realizing the current and long-term benefits in our favor?
Debruge also writes, "When every other PC manufacturer was producing square boxes in grey and black, who put out iMacs in five colors?...Who took away the disc drive, trusting users to embrace online cloud computing?"
Oh yeah, Apple did. And that is where this all started. Never mind the talk of the future, or what the influence of the Mac or the iPod and iPhone have done to our society and culture today. It started out with an idea, a computer company that last year decided to drop the word from its title that signified what it was from the beginning. A move that was considered controversial.
But that move, from "Apple Computer, Inc." to just "Apple, Inc." signified what the company has become, and if not for that--like Pixar Animation Studios, going from computer company to studio--we wouldn't be talking about what we've been discussing today.
Apple, Inc.-- you sly fox, "Wall-E" (wiley) coyote you! [With our apologies to Warner Bros.]
