How the films we watched as kids shaped our political positions today.
Robots (2005)
Perhaps without realising it, the films and TV shows we watched when we were kids shaped our political stances today. Yes, some films more than others- you would struggle to find a political symbol in Pingu- but there are many that taught us lessons about society. The first film I will analyse in this series is the 2005, Blue Sky animation film, Robots. The film ultimately has anti-capitalist and social egalitarian sentiments. Without being too heavy handed, this quick-witted film truly helped me understand unfair class systems as a seven-year-old child.
Social egalitarianism means equal opportunities between groups despite gender, age, race, class or religion. These are characteristics that should not mean an individual is treated differently or unfairly. So, in the context of these robots and the words of Big Weld, they should all have equal opportunities ‘no matter what they’re made of’.
Straight off the bat there are clear class systems in Robots. Whether it be Rodney’s hand-me-down robot parts or the futile musical dreams of his father, there are noticeable parallels within our own society.
The film's plot follows Rodney Copperbottom, the son of a dishwasher, who believes himself and his family deserve more than their working-class life. He is an inventor and wants to make life easier for others, specifically his dad in his laborious job. Rodney leaves his hometown to find the master inventor- Big Weld- in hope of employment, only to find Big Weld had been replaced by a shinier, money hungry Ratchet.
Rodney is a classic underdog; he wants to see the best in everyone and do the best for everyone. Furthermore, Rodney being voiced by the Scottish treasure Ewan McGregor, makes it hard not to sympathise with the character. The antagonist is Ratchet and he reeks of capitalism and elitism. Ratchet’s goal is to rid the city of the ‘outmodes’ (the lower and working classes of robots) and to fill the city with uniform shiny robots.
One message that is established from Robots is clear: Gentrification ruins lives. The people of Robot City struggle to survive while an elite few businessmen, led by Ratchet, thrive. Ratchet describes ‘upgrades’, a concept symbolic to healthcare systems as the business’ ‘big ticket item’, seeking only profit from new models that most of the public cannot afford. Rodney’s father casually jokes, ‘as soon as you reach the age where your warranty expires, you start falling apart’, the warranty is comparable to healthcare insurance. In the United Kingdom, we are lucky enough to have the NHS, meaning that unlike Americans and many other citizens of the world, we are privileged enough to not worry about having to pay for our healthcare. But in the world of Robots, they have to worry about being able to afford their upkeep so not to be left for scraps.
After Rodney finds himself uninspired in the city, he stumbles upon the amusing Fender, voiced by Robin Williams, and haphazardly joins his makeshift family. One of Rodney’s new housemates explains why he doesn’t have dreams; ‘never try never fail’. This is what conservative governments inadvertently want the lower classes to believe- don’t reach for the stars because the class systems would start to crumble if everyone reached their full potential. Similarly, Rodney’s dad had dreams of being a musician when he was younger and his father worried he wouldn’t make a living from it, so got ‘refitted’ as a dishwasher. This is representative of the changes to the arts in the education system under conservative governance, they are no longer respected and those interested in the arts have less and less opportunities by the year. Ultimately, in the film and in society, the lower classes don’t have the luxury to pursue their dreams and are told not to if they want to succeed.
Some terrifying dystopian machines go around the city in Robots, collecting those who are falling apart and cannot afford an upgrade. After ‘outmodes’ are swept up they are sent to the ‘chop shop’ where they are recycled into parts for other living robots. Ratchet ultimately tries to get rid of every single ‘outmode’ to create an elite new society. This is of course extreme, in mainstream, capitalist society the human lower classes are not literally killed and used for parts for the upper classes, but government policies, corruption and confusing benefit systems do not exactly let lower class people live. Alongside these sweeper machines there are some huge police bots roaming the streets, this image provides a small yet effective statement on how right-wing capitalist governments control and censor their people through institutions like the police.
When Rodney realises what is going on in the city, he starts fixing ‘outmoded’ robots for free. An important detail to notice is that Rodney didn’t utilise the free market to set up competition with Ratchet. Instead, he let Big Weld Industries exist as an unchallenged corporation, seeking to change who was in power instead of eliminating power. By refusing to work in a free market system, Rodney is making a political statement about power, government and healthcare.
To draw a quick comparison between Ratchet and his predecessor, Big Weld, here is an example of the kind of language they use. Ratchet speaks to a board of businessmen and one woman at the company, pitching his new idea of cleansing the city,
‘if we are telling robots that no matter what they’re made of they’re fine, how can we expect them to feel crummy enough about themselves to buy our upgrades and make themselves look better…why be you when you can be new.’
This is capitalism at its finest. Forcing robots to believe they are not good enough so that they must spend money to make themselves feel better. Big Weld’s quote speaks to egalitarianism, ‘whether a bot is made from new parts, old parts or spare parts, you can shine no matter what you’re made of’, with a tagline of ‘see a need, fill a need’. What a lovely sentiment. These quotes almost sound as if they are from Conservative and Labour Party Election Broadcasts.
The ultimate comparison between the two comes from Big Weld himself, ‘to me, having the company was all about making life better. With Ratchet, it was making money that came first’. The underlying message is that the government can best serve the people when those who are in charge actually care- and their ultimate goal is not money. Best serving society is the ultimate goal.
At the end of the film- and at the end of the day- Ratchet’s ‘upgrades’ fall off and we as the audience and those in the film realise that he is just like the rest of the robots. Similar to our society, if the upper and ruling classes did not reap the benefits of deep pockets, they too would be just like us. Rather, the upper and ruling classes should realise they are just like us- nothing more special, nothing less- just with deeper pockets.
Looking back on Robots, I often think of the lessons of social egalitarianism taught. At any age, morals can be plucked from the story, whether that is self-determination or ethical business production. With continuous interludes of Robin Williams’ witty humour and amusing song and dance sequences percolating throughout the film, it does not fail to put a smile on one’s face. And the added element of distaste for gentrification truly makes this ‘children’s animation’ a brilliant film. Witty, wholesome and socially egalitarian- what more could you want!
Madison Challis
Edited by Charlotte Lewis (Editor-in-Chief)
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