Similarites between World Inc. and Wall-E

Use this forum to discuss August 2018 book of the month "World, Incorporated" by Tom Gariffo.
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Bianka Walter
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Re: Similarites between World Inc. and Wall-E

Post by Bianka Walter »

Eileen R wrote: 04 Aug 2018, 08:14 At this point similarities are unavoidable in dystopian novels.
I'm not sure I agree. That's what makes dystopian novels so interesting. There are so many ways to come up with new ways of the world ending - this one was particularly unique. I have never read a book before about corporations ruling America, and the only place I can think of seeing something vaguely similar was in Wall-E.
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Post by JHuschle519 »

Bianka Walter wrote: 02 Aug 2018, 12:00 I know that the two stories couldn't be more different, but I couldn't help noticing some big similarities between World Incorporated and the Pixar film Wall-E.
In both, the big corporations take over, and the somewhat mindless people go about their everyday lives without much stimulation.
Did anyone else notice a slight connection between the two? Was there anything else from the book that shared themes from Wall-E?
I'll admit that I can see the similarity between the two, but only because you've mentioned it. I'm not sure I see any other similarities, however. Yes, they both have big corporations in charge, but I would say that in Wall-E the corporations took control due to lack of any other choice, and there was really nothing malicious about what they were doing. The behavior of the supercorporations in World Incorporated was drastically different. Still, I love that you noticed that one slight connection. Finding those little similarities has always been one of the fun parts of reading for me.
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Post by jay_2 »

That’s a good catch. I’d have to say that I think the same way. Honestly, a fan of World Inc for sure. Not so much Wal e though. But definitely there are some similarities. Nice
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Post by Bianka Walter »

JHuschle519 wrote: 04 Aug 2018, 16:23
Bianka Walter wrote: 02 Aug 2018, 12:00 I know that the two stories couldn't be more different, but I couldn't help noticing some big similarities between World Incorporated and the Pixar film Wall-E.
In both, the big corporations take over, and the somewhat mindless people go about their everyday lives without much stimulation.
Did anyone else notice a slight connection between the two? Was there anything else from the book that shared themes from Wall-E?
I'll admit that I can see the similarity between the two, but only because you've mentioned it. I'm not sure I see any other similarities, however. Yes, they both have big corporations in charge, but I would say that in Wall-E the corporations took control due to lack of any other choice, and there was really nothing malicious about what they were doing. The behavior of the supercorporations in World Incorporated was drastically different. Still, I love that you noticed that one slight connection. Finding those little similarities has always been one of the fun parts of reading for me.
Well, in Wall-E we don't actually know what happened to allow the big corporations to be in charge... they just kind of are. They should make a prequel to Wall-E :) But yes, other than that, the thing I noticed was how people rely on their tech more than they should, and they seem a little mindless in both. People like to have something to follow - so as a unit, they'll usually do what they're told.
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Post by JHuschle519 »

Bianka Walter wrote: 05 Aug 2018, 02:47
JHuschle519 wrote: 04 Aug 2018, 16:23
Bianka Walter wrote: 02 Aug 2018, 12:00 I know that the two stories couldn't be more different, but I couldn't help noticing some big similarities between World Incorporated and the Pixar film Wall-E.
In both, the big corporations take over, and the somewhat mindless people go about their everyday lives without much stimulation.
Did anyone else notice a slight connection between the two? Was there anything else from the book that shared themes from Wall-E?
I'll admit that I can see the similarity between the two, but only because you've mentioned it. I'm not sure I see any other similarities, however. Yes, they both have big corporations in charge, but I would say that in Wall-E the corporations took control due to lack of any other choice, and there was really nothing malicious about what they were doing. The behavior of the supercorporations in World Incorporated was drastically different. Still, I love that you noticed that one slight connection. Finding those little similarities has always been one of the fun parts of reading for me.
Well, in Wall-E we don't actually know what happened to allow the big corporations to be in charge... they just kind of are. They should make a prequel to Wall-E :) But yes, other than that, the thing I noticed was how people rely on their tech more than they should, and they seem a little mindless in both. People like to have something to follow - so as a unit, they'll usually do what they're told.
That is a valid point. I guess I just always assumed that the corporations took over on the ships in Wall-E because the cruise ships had been originally built as a temporary measure and that was all that was there. But you're right, the movie never touches on how life on those ships evolved after leaving Earth. A prequel would be pretty awesome :). The mindless reliance on technology is a definite similarity between the two. Both World Incorporated and Wall-E are full of people who are kept happy by material things and pretty much just do as they are told.
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Post by thaservices1 »

Similar to Wall-E, yes, I agree. Both in the corporation aspect and also in the end results for the planet. Although Wall-E takes place in a future where mankind had fled and given up, by the end of the movie we return and nurture the Earth. The biggest comparison then in my mind is that when mankind unites in common cause the planet benefits.

I found the personalized advertising put me very in mind of Minority Report.
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Post by Bianka Walter »

thaservices1 wrote: 05 Aug 2018, 15:02 Similar to Wall-E, yes, I agree. Both in the corporation aspect and also in the end results for the planet. Although Wall-E takes place in a future where mankind had fled and given up, by the end of the movie we return and nurture the Earth. The biggest comparison then in my mind is that when mankind unites in common cause the planet benefits.

I found the personalized advertising put me very in mind of Minority Report.
Wow, you are so right, they do remind me of Minority Report. I would never have made that connection. Now I can't unmake it :)
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Post by Alicia09 »

I think that in both World, Inc. and Wall-E people were passive consumers accepting whatever was given to them. I think that in both stories technology was so dominant and advanced people came to rely on it for almost everything including human conversations. It's almost scary to think that if we're not careful, we may end up becoming more attached to technology than other humans. Then again, some would argue that has happened already (like with social media, for example).
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Post by Samy Lax »

I honestly haven't had the pleasure to read either of these books; but, considering that Walle-E and World Inc. belong to the same genre, I am sure they could be relatively similar.
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Post by Bianka Walter »

Samy Lax wrote: 05 Aug 2018, 23:56 I honestly haven't had the pleasure to read either of these books; but, considering that Walle-E and World Inc. belong to the same genre, I am sure they could be relatively similar.
Wall-E is an animated film :)
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Post by chelhack »

I'm not so sure about Wall-E but come to think about it there is a movie I watched a long while ago titled Equilibrium that this book puts me in the mind of. People were pretty much just consisting/existing with not much use for themselves or others.
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Post by thaservices1 »

chelhack wrote: 06 Aug 2018, 15:36 I'm not so sure about Wall-E but come to think about it there is a movie I watched a long while ago titled Equilibrium that this book puts me in the mind of. People were pretty much just consisting/existing with not much use for themselves or others.
yes! I could not remember the name of that one. Another I thought of was one I believe that if was Imposter. And the comedy Idiocracy showed the possible low dependency on tech could bring about. That movie actually scared me.
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Post by starshipsaga »

Maybe it's because of how much sci-fi I read, but megacorps replacing governments and taking over people's lives is quite a common trope in the genre, so I didn't immediately make the connection. It's an interesting comparison though!
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Post by jessinikkip »

You know, I hadn't until you brought it up. The connection is very small, but it is there. There is that element of something bad happening and the big super corporations taking over and people just not really having any kind of self-control. However, the differences I see tend to be so big that it makes the connections hard to catch
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Post by Bianka Walter »

jessinikkip wrote: 06 Aug 2018, 21:52 You know, I hadn't until you brought it up. The connection is very small, but it is there. There is that element of something bad happening and the big super corporations taking over and people just not really having any kind of self-control. However, the differences I see tend to be so big that it makes the connections hard to catch
You're right, I think the differences outweigh the similarities. It was mostly the people acting like drones, and the supercorps running the place. Either world is not one to look forward to though :)
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