About the Poster:
Every Authoritarian Regime needs propaganda, and that is no different for The Machine, from the story, The Machine Stops, by E.M. Forrester. For a school assignment, I had to create a propaganda poster for the machine. For this assignment, I had to make use of a variety of techniques which are used in propaganda, here is what techniques I used and why I used them. One of the techniques that I used is to put the machine in a form of virtue. This can be seen by how it is giving an apple to the person on the poster, this instills a sense of virtue in the Machine. It tells the message to the viewers of the poster that the Machine is a giver, something generous and that is to be welcomed. This is reflected in the story, as the machine does practically most things for the citizens, such as give food, pick up fallen objects, etc. Another technique that I utilized is sending a message to the ‘plain folk’. This is emphasized as the poster says, “The Machine Gives to All”. This tells the audience that no matter what background you come from, the machine will give you the food, and potentially other necessities, and that it is blind to ethnicity, gender, and wealth. One final technique which I wanted to point out is the minimalistic style of the poster. As the society of The Machine seems to be devoid of any individualism or culture, I wanted to reflect that in the poster. Due to the simplistic art style, the poster is devoid of most character and culture. I also reflected this down to the color choices, as most of the poster is in shades of grey, or in drab colors.
Synthesis Composition Regarding the Machine Stops.
Despite its 1909 publication date, The Machine Stops by E.M. Forrester seems to contain some elements which are eerily similar to today. But that begs to ask the question, how does the Machine Stops compare to our modern world and the movie WALL – E by Andrew Stanton, , and what lessons can we learn from these 2 pieces of media.
With regards to Wall – E, The Machine Stops and WALL – E seem to have very similar societies and premises to each other. First is that in both stories, people are isolated from each other in some form, in the Machine Stops its in rooms, while in WALL – E it is mobile leisure chairs. In fact, in The Machine Stops, touching is considered taboo, an example of this is when a woman yelled “How dare you” and “You forget yourself” (p.9) after someone stopped a person from falling onto the ground by grabbing them. To communicate people do not need to leave they’re isolated areas and can communicate through video calls in both universes. They are able to communicate with anyone they want in the world or the ship depending on the universe. This is the first immediate thing that is similar to our world is how people are able to communicate with each other anywhere on the earth. This is seen in the machine stops as a blue disc that projects the users face and allows them to communicate through voice. This seems quite close to today’s communication technologies, where we can instantly text or call each other and receive near immediate responses from the people we are communicating with. Another thing that our world and these two stories have in common is that these societies are based on convenience. Our world is less developed in this case compared to The Machine Stops and WALL – E, but it has begun to spring up, especially due to the rise of digital technologies, Wi-Fi, and consumerism. In the short story and film, it is much more evident, as seen through the immediate service of things such as food through a click of a button. Now that we have compared The Machine Stops, WALL – E, and our own world, what lessons can we learn from these 2 pieces of fiction. One thing that we can clearly learn from these 2 stories is that Convenience breeds laziness, and that laziness breeds comfort, and that comfort breeds ignorance. This cycle has happened in these 2 stories, a convenient way of life was created, people became lazy and then became comfortable in this environment, which led to the ignorance of reality, and the situation that they were in. Clearly, we are heading into a future of greater convenience for the average person, not just in communication and lifestyle, but in access to entertainment and information. If we must continue to live in a free society with continued critical thinking, we cannot just accept the most convenient lifestyles, as it will lead to loss of personality, critical thinking, and independent lifestyles.
Despite this concerning cycle, and the ways we can avoid this seemingly mindless existence, there is always hope, and that hope is the feeling of experiencing something. Whether it be a trip, a new hobby, or just simply meeting up with someone face to face, there will always be someone who wants to experience something new, to feel like life is worth living rather than just talking to someone all day through a screen. In the words from Captain B McCrea from WALL – E, “I don’t want to survive, I want to live!”
Works Cited
The Machine Stops – By E.M. Forrester
WALL E – Disney/Pixar – By Andrew Stanton