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Community Corner

First Friday Films: WALL-E

WALL-E is a 2008 animated film directed by Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo), a collaboration between Walt Disney and Pixar. The first Pixar film to be nominated for six Academy Awards, it won for Best Animated Feature. You may recognize Sigourney Weaver's voice as the all-powerful computer.

Set 700 years in the future, it opens amidst tall skyscrapers; but on closer examination the skyscrapers are made of neatly compacted garbage bales piled on top of each other. Cleaning up the planet has fallen on the shoulders of WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class), a solar powered robot and the last of his kind. We see no humans on an Earth desolated by pollution; his only companion is a perky cockroach.

Though you may not know it, some consider WALL-E to be among the finest spiritual teachers in cinematic  history. So say Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality & Practice in their list of WALL-E's attributes (see http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=18217):

  • No task is too boring or repetitive that it cannot be done with care.
  • Wonder is a spiritual quality which makes everything interesting.
  • Everyone needs a love song that lifts the spirit and provides solace to the heart.
  • Falling in love is a risk that always leads to adventure and new possibilities.
  • Loving another makes us sensitive to the needs of others.
  • Picking up litter and trash is, in the big picture, one of the kindest and revolutionary things we can do to preserve the planet.
  • Inspiring others to do the right thing is one of the marks of a true hero.
Does WALL-E meet the love of his robo-life, EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator)? Do they save the planet? Join us to find out - this is a kid-friendly movie, so bring the kids and enjoy popcorn during and discussion after in the Youth Room. Run time: 98 minutes; Rating: G. See http://peacejourney.org/adult-education-forums/first-friday-films/ for more information.     

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