Here is my propaganda poster using Canva
Are You Helping the Machine?
I used a sort of fear or guilt tactic as a base idea when designing the poster. The poster references the point in “The Machine Stops” when the mending apparatus has broken and needs fixing. the gears are meant to symbolize the machine itself and the robotic humanoid is referring to how the people in machine stops live life sort of like machines, following a set routine without straying from that unless something out of their control prevents them from doing so. the grey, silver and white were chosen as colors due to robots being made out of metal and metal coming in those colors. Using different fonts I attempted to make the last sentence on the poster seem a bit more “aggressive” like a call to action of sorts. While the initial line is simply big and bolded to get someone’s attention.
Synthesis Composition of The Machine Stops and WALL-E
The reason that the story The Machine Stops, which was made in 1909 by E.M. Forster, is relevant today is due to its relationship with how technology has advanced over the years. The Machine Stops also shares similarities with the move WALL-E, which was produced by Andrew Stanton. Both pieces of media show how humanity has relied more and more on technology without second-guessing it. With some people choosing to prioritize technology over themselves. Wall-E is similar in a sense to The Machine Stops due to both taking place in a dystopian future where the earth is described as uninhabitable. Dystopian elements are clearly present in each story. A place shown as a fake utopia; citizens’ thoughts in a way being restricted, and the humans lived in a dehumanized state. Both of these stories can relate to current times of the world as technology continues to advance at lightning speed. Some people are more concerned over the safety of their devices rather than others or sometimes themselves. “… dystopian [literature] lets us vicariously experience future worlds ~ but we still have the power to change our own.” Said Ally Condie. Society in its current state is heading down a path similar to those shown in The Machine Stops and WALL-E. With the general population doing nothing to resolve this, who knows when it could be too late to go back. “And in time there will come a generation that has got beyond facts, beyond impressions, a generation absolutely colourless” wrote Forster. With enough time and technological advances, humanity could become more dehumanized than one could imagine. To progress this way, as shown in both pieces of media, will not result in a bright future. Dystopian futures should be kept to fiction rather than brought to fruition. “Wait, that doesn’t look like Earth. Where’s the blue sky? Where’s t-the grass?” is quote from the captain in WALL-E. The earth, hopefully will never get to the point where the blue sky is no longer present. Where the grass no longer grows. Where the lively planet has become a barren wasteland with only what remains of what was once humanity. As jobs are replaced with machines humanity will have to do less and less, as shown in WALL-E. Where what remains of humanity are sitting on hoverchairs, chatting with each other virtually, and seeing only their screens and none of their surroundings, nor talking face to face with anyone. They Eat something meant to taste like food, sit around all day, getting no exercise, and wait for the assistance of a machine rather than completing a task themselves. Whether stated by the individual or not, everyone at some point thinks, “I don’t want to survive! I want to live!” which is why things cannot be allowed to progress to the point that is shown in WALL-E or written in The Machine Stops. As the machine did, technology and humanity, needs to know when to stop.