Acquiesce the Machine!

The three primary techniques I use in this poster are Plain folks, Bandwagon, and glittering generalities. I Use Plain folks by having a normal baby be a part of the poster to make it seem that it’s normal to take this type of action because seeing a regular baby being used means it gives them the idea of also using their normal baby. Bandwagon, which is basically the sense of isolation, then triggers the fear of missing out in specific people who want to be part of some desirable group. This is depicted in the propaganda poster where ‘the Machine’ is taking care of everything in the world. This consists of children, academics for children, and new ideas for the people of this society. Glittering generalities uses appealing words and images to make the consumer more interested in buying that product. This is embellished in the indoctrination poster that was created to make people more interested in ‘the Machine.’ The words ‘trust’ and ‘reward,’ stand out in this propaganda poster, for the reason that, when people see the slogan “you can trust us,” they get reeled in by the term trust. This word is important considering the context of this situation. People have the false sense that their lives will be significantly better and easier with ‘the Machine.’ ‘Reward’ is used in this propaganda poster from the slogan “great genes mean even greater rewards” when their society sees the word ‘reward,’ they get eager to have ‘the Machine’ and have the undying desire to have the greater rewards promised in the poster. ‘Genes’ is also used in this indoctrination poster considering that The Machine Stops, talks about genes using eugenics to exterminate people with phenomenal athleticism capabilities, and this was to create a better society. Considering all this, all three primary techniques are used evidently throughout the poster and The Machine stops. 

Why E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stop’s and Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E can be seen as warnings for our future

E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stop’s, and Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E are some of the most interesting dystopian visions/stories from the past, for our generation. The story/portrayal of the future truly is incredible because of its many similarities to modern-day society. The fact that makes this story even more astounding is its release date of 1909, 113 years ago. This story becomes feels like a warning to our generation. A good portion of what E.M. predicted for the future, came to life. Such as the “blue plate” and its abilities, which is similar to our tablets, phones, and computers. So, it’s almost telling us that we are somewhat destined to leave the outer world, in some way shape, or form. The Machine Stops can almost act as a view of the future, even though it isn’t necessarily accurate, it gives us a reasonable possibility, when you look at the path of ‘making everything easier’, that humanity is taking. Many stories have the same roots, but different looking environments and characters, but the characters still play the same role. The Machine Stops is a story that takes place in the future and simply is a society that is cut off from the outer world, where each person lives in their own world, in their cell, and a lot of the technology used like a respirator, a blue plate, and self-moving furniture, etc., are all things that we have but isn’t commercially used but might be in the future. all-E is very interesting because it came out in 2008 and had a similar idea where society instead of being underground, they’re in outer space, and there is a group that wants change, who are curious, similar to how in The Machine Stops Kuno wanted to change, and there were other like him, who were already living on the surface. They both show a similar dangerous vision of the future that is like a reminder to us to avoid that, since it isn’t too far-fetched, both stories had that conclusion because of the way the world is progressing. Or as Kuno said “But Humanity, in its desire for comfort, had over-reached itself. It had exploited the riches of nature too far. Quietly and complacently, it was sinking into decadence, and progress had come to mean the progress of the Machine.” (p.23). Captain McCrea like Kuno, was looking for the truth, and wanted to share the truth with others. Before reaching the outer world (Earth), he had an argument with “auto” the captain’s co-pilot/autopilot robot. When he realized the beauties of nature that he and everyone else was missing out on, he said Earth is amazing! There are these things called farms. They put seeds in the ground, pour water on them, and they grow into food, like pizzas.” Both of these dystopian visions are connected to society because of the current direction we are headed in right now. When you look at both stories, they had to remove themselves from the outer world because of pollution, consumption, and neglect of our own environment. Even though it might seem childish at first, we don’t know what will happen when the time comes, and we make the outer world inhabitable, so looking at these two stories can be more than just stories, they could be possibilities for our future. Nothing is too far-fetched at this point, since the majority of our predecessors would have never predicted the severity of the state of our planet right now.

Works Cited:

How to interpret propaganda posters – History Skills

Celebrate Star Wars Day with These Sweet Propaganda Posters – Paste (pastemagazine.com)

WALLoE world | WORLD (wng.org)

Histomap: Visualizing the 4,000 Year History of Global Power (visualcapitalist.com)