#if all the sunrise ppl had shown up for that? maybe!

[madtomedgar]

I often wonder what the world would look like if pressing local or state level issues people claim to care about generated the same kind of action and enthusiasm that massive national news stories with complicated power mapping do. Idk even when I'm 100% with the people who are up in arms. Like what if just as many people in MA had turned out for the ROE act as turned out to protest the overturn of Roe after the fact? What if the rent control actions were as well attended as the ceasefire actions? I have had many instances where I am trying to get progressive people who regularly go to big demonstrations to show up for something state level they have said they care about and they just won't. And what I'm left with after that is the conclusion that where their interests actually are is feeling like a part of something big and heady rather than accomplishing a concrete goal and that's. Demoralizing.

[strangled-mangoes]

FINALLY SOMEONE GETS IT‼️‼️‼️ I LOVE YOU

and forgive me but i am going to hijack this post to focus on the anti-capitalist message (that u mentioned). i was talking to my friend and had a lot to say, so i think other ppl should see it too (even if it’s just you, op)

in the end credits (that u mentioned with the mural <333), there are several period art styles referenced and some specific paintings in particular.

Sunrise by Claude Monet

Monet focused on France's industrialization(?) (i don't know if that's the word they were using at the time), and so the background is the most important part of the piece-- big smokestacks creating smog above the water, turning the sun red due to the smoke (which is something my friend & I are familiar with in california during forest fires).

It was supposed to be a celebration of France's achievements, highlighting their new technology. Small rowboats are in the foreground, but they are not at all the focus. Also, Monet actively ignored residential buildings that would've been in the background irl, in favor of what he wanted the painting to focus on.

This painting is referenced in WALL-E, however...!

The foreground is made to be the focus, highlighting the sailboats, which do not pollute, and in the background, the sky is clear!

But what I find really interesting is that while Monet made his sun clear (which of course it was, even at sunrise, smoke blocks the rest of the light), WALL-E hid their sun behind residential buildings! You can still tell it's sunrise, though, because the sun's rays light up the sky so brightly and clearly, and they leave a reflection on the clear water (Monet's Sunrise also has a reflection on the water, but it's only from the sun itself, and the water is murky anyway).

instead of celebrating new technology (which pollutes the Earth), it's celebrating the life and beauty of the Earth itself!

Bathers at Asnieres & A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

These paintings are a set, though the second painting is much more well-known.

“A Sunday Afternoon” depicts upper-class people enjoying themselves on the rich's side of the river, while “Bathers” depicts the poor on their side.

While there are many similarities between both paintings, something I find interesting is how much bleaker Bathers is compared to A Sunday Afternoon (color-wise). It makes sense that the rich would have access to more color for their clothes, but even the riverbank is greener! This could just be because Bathers was painted before, so maybe Seurat had less experience in his style, or maybe it's just been preserved worse. But, I'd like to think it's intentional.

Also, the reason A Sunday Afternoon is more well-known than its companion piece, is probably because the people who were buying art were the people that painting was made for, so they would have little interest in the one depicting the poor.

WALL-E’s version

the Bathers painting is much more colorful, and the man fishing appears happier than the man sitting in the original.

The sad truth in WALL-E is that the people on the Axiom & other ships are descendants of rich people 700 years ago (by time of their return). The people who did not go on the "5 year cruise" got left behind to die, as Buy n' Large (global corporation and government) decided it was "easier" if everyone just stayed in space, instead of trying to fix the planet.

WALL-E is shown to have a large collection of lighters (which are ofc produced by BnL), probably due to people trying to smoke away their problems in their last years on Earth.

But, when humans on the Axiom returned to Earth, not only did they restore life, they removed money entirely (evidence: a girl gets fish from a man and isnt shown paying or trading for them).

The captain learned about farming and dancing, not the economy!

At the end of WALL-E, humanity sacrificed wealth for happiness.

you can’t get more blatantly anti-capitalist than that!

Idk, I'm a huge WALL-E fan, but I feel like if you watched that movie and got "socialism makes you a disgusting fat fatso fatty and lazy and you must grow your own food like a true aryan and disabled people die challenge" I feel like you may have taken the fat jokes a bit too personally.

I am speaking as a fat person!!!

Was fatness used as a joke in WALL-E? I mean, yeah, it was, absolutely. Cheap shot for sure, but oh my God, y'all, the fat characters we were introduced to didn't STAY as fat jokes. They became people!

They were written very respectfully for the latter half of the time we saw them, they were in LOVE with EACH OTHER and it wasn't a joke! They put themselves in danger to protect fat babies, and it wasn't a joke!

They were introduced as a shock-value joke, but the writers didn't KEEP THEM that way.

And on top of it all, they STAYED FAT at the end. There's no time skip where they're buff or skinny, there's a mural where they're STILL FAT.

And just to tack it on, that movie is as anticapitalist as a Disney Pixar movie can be without actually saying it.

They didn't have a socialist utopia on the ship, they were entirely reliant on their CONSUMERISM. Their whole lives revolved around CONSUMERISM to a point where THE ROBOTS had more human curiosity than the humans themselves!!! The humans who quite literally followed paths set by robots, trends set by programs, fashion and art set by algorithms!!!! Their whole lives were programmed for them!!! They were not active participants in their own lives

Also, the earth was DESTROYED by consumerism and a mega corporation. THEY SPENT THE WHOLE FIRST HALF OF THE MOVIE MAKING SURE YOU UNDERSTOOD THAT.

They absolutely did not have a "socialism and fat people bad" message, they had a "earth can be saved if we work together" message, the movie is literally for children c'mon y'all

[dramarants]

going through the 20th century girl tag to move on and appreciate all the great moments only to find out ppl would rather yijin died than not end up with heedo

[lovleez]

you zhangjing "azoraland” mv theory

i finally found the words to write this :D

if you want, it might be easier for you to process this if you watch these two before reading:

azoraland mv

night of one star mv

okay, to start off

i'm going to assume the start of this mv could have taken place before humans  have been "created" (it’ll make sense soon just wait)

i think we all can agree here when i say that zhangjing emits an aura of a supernatural being, right?

so like in the beginning of the mv we see zhangjing in a sort of mournful state. the colors around him are all dark/purple-ish hue, which gives way to a depressing mood. you can also see zhangjing expressing sorrowful movements with his body (ex: reaching out for something, which expresses his yearning for something that was lost perhaps?). another hint to this mood is the lightning and rain. these two elements in media are usually used to express a depressing mood, which is exactly what they are doing here. you can even say that the electric rain represents his tears.

now why is zhangjing so sad? idk man. moving on-

jk jk, i'm actually going to loop in the "night of one star" mv here. in contrast to azoraland, its bright and pink, full of explosive color. you felt happy watching it right? (or not because i felt confused but well. yeah) perhaps zhangjing found his happiness there too. perhaps in the time between these two mvs, zhangjing lost his happiness, causing him to be in the state he is now. i won't go further into this 

now fast forward to 1:45 in the mv. the weird part. ppl are exploding from the ground. why? idk. it was a weird decision on the hand of the creative team. but this could as well as represent the birth of humans, no? note down that as zhangjing is walking through the field of exploding humans, we can see interest is shown in his face (or maybe i'm seeing things, lets just pretend he looks interested for my sake) 

ok then fast forward in time (not like mv time but in the mv universe) and you see the humans simply chillin in the sand. but whats this? the atmosphere is quite dull, no? as if the humans are all lost.

cue zhangjing (obv, it is his mv)

in this part of the mv, zhangjing is simply going "oooooooo" (very pleasing to hear btw, thank u for ur heavenly vocals). but what if, take this, its a call to the humans?

(yes it may look like he's purely singing in these, but lets think abt it creatively for my sake once more okay)

see, everyone is perking up towards voice. moments after/during the call, the humans start walking towards zhangjing's assumed location in what seems to me like a trance like state.

-

okay, pause about the mv for a lil while. what does everybody know abt sirens?

in greek mythology, sirens were:

“singing enchantresses capable of luring passing sailors to their islands, and, subsequently, to their doom.“

are the pieces clicking in your mind yet 👀👀👀

if not then

yes, i am implying that mayhaps zhangjing could possibly have powers similar to a siren. but not that he is a siren, no. just similar to one. (keep in mind we've already established that zhangjing is perhaps a powerful creature)

ok so

this part really is what stood out the most to me. it seems very out of place, right? there's two things about the gif i want to address.

before i do, i want to say that what we see in this scene could possibly be what the humans are seeing themselves (basically it’s in their pov)

okay so

1) his gaze. its very entrancing and sharp right? like it's beckoning you to come closer

2) the sudden change in scenery. no longer are things dark and gloomy. now we have arrived at a sunrise, everything is bathed in light. which, to me, seems like all this sudden yellow hue is representing hope (from the dark gloomy scenery or whatever else). also sunrises represent new beginning right? which is kinda related to hope???

as it zooms out, we see humans running towards zhangjing.

but whats this? back to the original scenery, are we?

i won't go further into this until later, but this scene suites the more darker route for the mv ending

ok so for the lighter route :D

where are the humans going? the mv suggests nothing, but my brain came up with something.

brushing back to the earlier half of this mv, we have to remember zhangjing seemed like he was in a pretty dark place himself. but what if he saw these humans just be vibing sadly and thought "what if i could offer them the happiness i once found in my life (the night of one star mv)"

basically, zhangjing saw that they were experiencing the same sorrow as him, and wanted to offer them something better. so, where they jump to would basically be a place that makes them happier, which could be implied by the golden rays representing happiness and better times.

right? right??? ayra plz tell me this ends happily :')

ahahaha its a likely theory but i have a stronger one that gets a bit dark ;-;

(aka plz kadoodle off here and accept that as the only theory if your uncomfy with death)

so ;-;

look we all knew this was coming the moment i mentioned sirens okay.

now lets go back to that one scene

recall that i told ya'll that zhangjing's hawk gaze was in the pov of humans. that is a key piece.

this scene would be in the pov of zhangjing.

the humans are in a trance like state, yes? they are too blinded by what zhangjing is showing them. whats he showing them? happiness maybe. that's why everything is in a golden hue.

this gif shows that everything is not as it seems.

they are, for sure, in a trance

note down in the mv that when they start jumping off the cliff, zhangjing is nowhere to be seen.

it is neither shown, nor implied that he jumped off with them.

what conclusion do i draw from this? the sunrise and whatever the humans see is an illusion.

zhangjing is, in fact, leading them to their deaths, as is the nature of the sirens.

why? idk man.

i just don't know.

(actually i need to connect this back to the first half of the mv for the sake of closure. remember that the humans were just vibin (sadly) on the sand....but they were in pairs. maybe they were actually happy. maybe zhangjing just didn't like that they achieved something he had lost)

anyways.....plz take this with a pinch of salt. i pulled this out of nowhere, and surely the mv had a different meaning. i didn't even bother looking into the song lyrics too so. yeah. ✌