Wall-E

In episode 42 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha go back to an animated classic, the 2008 Disney Pixar film Wall-E. As well as exploring how the central ecological message of the film has fared in light of 2026 consumerism, we talk about the roles of advertising, corporate power, and human apathy have contributed to the state of the world in the era of late-stage capitalism. We also discuss how an 18-year-old film foresaw the rise in screen-addiction, increased automation, the loss of expertise, and the reliance on vs the potential threat of AI. In the episode, we refer to ways to better inform ourselves with respect to waste production. Among other sources, we suggest checking out: https://www.earthday.org/how-our-trash-impacts-the-environment/.  If you enjoyed this episode, please do rate and review us. You can get in touch via Instagram, Bluesky, or Substack.