Introduction
Currently, there are quite a lot of discussions about the impact of technology on society. A large number of literary and cinematographic works were devoted to this topic, the primary purpose of which was to draw attention to the ethical side of the issue. This message is incredibly effectively conveyed in the cartoon WALL-E, which, despite its target audience, carries an urgent topic for adults. Thus, the study of the cartoon WALL-E provides an understanding of the key ethical implications of technology for people, according to its creators.
Ethical Implications of Technology for Society as Shown in WALL-E
One of the main implications presented to the viewer when watching a cartoon is the deterioration of the environment. The problem of pollution and depletion of natural resources is especially concerning in modern society, and WALL-E provides insight into what may happen next. Hence, the cartoon shows that people will leave the Earth in the future because of rampant consumerism, corporate greed, and environmental neglect.
Specialized robots remained on the planet: waste allocation load lifters: earth class or WALL-E (Stanton, 2008). Their main task was to trash and sort the garbage that once turned the green earth into a landfill. Research stated that “WALL-E is a reminder that humans should treat the planet in a better way through waste management, reducing the production of unrecyclable goods, and production of more environmentally friendly policies” (Pradsmadji & Imanjaya, 2023, p. 5). Through this portrait, the authors show that technologies can lead to environmental degradation due to their excessive.
Another consequence of excessive reliance and use of technological advancements is the deterioration of people’s quality of life. This aspect does not imply simplifying many processes of life through the use of technology. On the contrary, this problem is realized by providing a picture of people who suffer from significant weight gain, laziness, and lack of initiative.
In the cartoon under study, “human existence is reliant on the technology, making this technology an integral part of the human identity and the continuity of humanity itself” (Merritt, 2020, p. 50). Living on a specialized ship, individuals have lost the desire to do anything independently and have entirely transferred all powers to technology. Through this picture, the creators of the WALL-E cartoon draw viewers’ attention to how technology can worsen a person’s life and that one cannot wholly rely on them to perform any actions, especially the simplest ones.
One of the traceable ethical problems that stands out relative to the previously mentioned ones is the dehumanization of society. The cartoon shows that individuals have ultimately succumbed to technology and have no idea or desire to find out what will happen next in their lives. In other words, they rely entirely on innovation and arrive passively and unaware. Therefore, the creators of WALL-E show that excessive technology can contribute to people’s autonomy and deprive them of the most important thing: the ability to choose and make decisions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, WALL-E is one of their examples of a great representation of the ethical implications of using technology. Excessive reliance on innovations in the cartoon leads to a loss of independence and autonomy in society, which is also caused by a deterioration in the quality of health. In addition, technology has led to the deterioration of the environment and the entire planet, as people left it when they realized it was no longer an appropriate place to live. These ethical issues cause concern among viewers and may motivate them to be more considerate when using technology.
References
Merritt, M. (2020). Rethinking the Cyborg: Posthuman Representations in WALL-E. LURe: Literary Undergraduate Research, 50-58.
Pradsmadji, S. I., & Imanjaya, E. (2023). Progressing but also degrading: the representation of environmental destruction and life in the future in WALL-E. In E3S Web of Conferences (vol. 426, p. 02132). EDP Sciences. Web.
Stanton, A. (2008). WALL-E [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios.