Review of the film: The Lorax
Review of the film: The Lorax
In the film, The Lorax, there are five main components that stood out to me as important elements to understanding the meaning of the film. These included an environmental warning, capitalism and consumerism, a main character's creativity and mental health struggle, overwhelming industrialization, and a personal campaign.
Throughout the film, there was an underlying message about the environment. A warning that things must change because the status quo simply was not working. Examples such as the artificial trees requiring 92 batteries to function, with unnecessary and unnatural features. This is important because it plays into the theme of capitalism and consumerism. The Mayor of Thneed-Ville, Aloysius O'Hare, capitalized on the vicious cycle of selling “clean air” to citizens while promoting various ways of increasing the issue of smog and poor air quality. The norm seemed to be that you would purchase “clean air” like we would purchase filtered water. At one point, Aloysius O'Hare marketed bottled air for anywhere such as a bottle of water you would purchase at a vending machine. People of Thneed-Ville, truly over-purchase manufactured comforts and were easily sold on the latest and greatest items. The other connecting theme here was the overuse of machinery and technology that were complex systems, such as vehicles and factories.
Although this film had a continuous theme throughout of consumerism and capitalism that negatively impacted the environment, there were also internal struggles and an important character development. There was a personal crusade, a campaign that was a relentless goal, that the main character, the Once-ler, who was striving for success in his invention and his mission to put a Thneed in everyone's hands. The second crusade was the 12 year old boy, Ted Wiggins, mission to bring a tree back for Audrey, the girl he was crushing on from the neighborhood. The creative people are often seen as the most eccentric and have the wildest and most impossible goals which has been eluded as a mental health issue both in this film and the reading by Montuori.
Reactions and feelings
Throughout this film, I felt a wide range of emotions and had a few different reactions based on the expressive music score and imagery. In this film, the colors provide emotional cues to the audience. It had visually pleasing color choices and stimulating to the creative mind. The dark intro makes for a feeling of doom for the character as he takes on a new scary challenge by leaving the city beyond the wall. During the story-time-period, the Once-ler tells a tale that is a bright and colorful account of life as it was. It was full of nature and “hope” for the future of the environment as well as the living beings within that forest. The colors used within this film helps the audience follow along with how they “should” feel at very specific spots within the story. This is helpful for the learning audience such as children to understand the emotions they are feeling towards the characters and the situation. For example, cutting down trees is dark and scary with louder pounding music in the background. Also word choice, for example, Aloysius O'Hare said: “You listen to me, boy. Don't go poking around in things you don't understand, or I'll be your worst nightmare. I'm Frankenstein's head on a spider's body!” which is graphic or the term used often by the Lorax was “Speaking for the trees” which is a word choice that causes the audience to feel empathy towards trees and humanize them. In a quick search online, I found a campaign for saving the trees called, “The Lorax Project: We Speak for the Trees” (The Lorax Project, 2019) This shows that the goal of striking emotion within the audience was successful in creating a long term feeling and attachment to the environment through this story.
Interpretation and connection
In regards to open systems which interact with their environment, share energy and information, this is applicable in the film The Lorax because closed systems do not interact with environment and the protagonists spent the plot trying to change the system. The objective elements identified reveal the complexity of these systems. This indicates that open systems help explain the role of change and creativity in the world much more than closed systems do. “Systems approach stresses that every system is part of a larger series of systems” (Montuori, p. 416) which we saw clearly in the film The Lorax because, for example, the real trees were pivotal in the success of the humans and forest animals’ survival. Within that complex system, the character who has the most creativity and change within the story, is characterized according to Montuori as paradoxical because this character is both passionate and objective, which highlights the beautiful characteristic of being a creative individual within an open system. “...creativity is not a remarkable and relatively exceptional phenomenon, but rather at the very heart of existence” (Montuori, p. 419.)
In comparing the Lorax with previous education and stories, there were parallels that I couldn’t help but notice, to the film Avatar by James Cameron. At first, the main character in Avatar didn't care about the environment on the planet Pandora and the people inhabiting the planet but then met an important protagonist who was part of that culture who showed them the importance of the environment, the planet, and their people which in turn changed the outcome for the positive. This was an ecological message and persuasion to the audience because the illustrations of the planet was so beautiful, it made the audience empathize with the native people to save the planet. Due to the relatability of the illustrations, the humans were portrayed as bad, an invasive species, until they began to actively save the planet. This shows how systems can change and the impact it can have. “UNLESS someone like you, cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.—The Lorax (Vitale, Oliveira & Polish, 2015)
This film reflects my own experience of the world in that I think about systems now and how they interact within my personal environment. In relation to prior studies, I am newly exposed to systems approach and the complexity of the creative being. It's interesting because I would argue all humans are “creative beings” and we all experience these highs and lows as the environment around us changes. “It has become part of a popular culture to believe creative people are a little (if not a lot) crazy.” (Montuori p. 415.) Aren’t we all a little crazy, especially about something we care about such as the environment? This has shifted my view of the world from a static one to a process oriented one, as best described in the article by Montuori.
Montuori, A. (2011). Systems approach. Encyclopedia of creativity, 2, 414-21.
The lorax project. Seussville. (2019, December 16). https://www.seussville.com/educators/the-lorax-project/
Vitale, C., Oliveira, M., & Polish, J. (2015, November 1). Children’s & Ya Literature: Theory and Method. Childrens YA Literature Theory and Method. https://childlittheory.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2015/11/01/the-lorax-response/
Exploring this blog has been extremely interesting, as I find commonalities between our emotions and interpretations of the film and differences in the way that we viewed creativity in the film. Reading your statement "Within that complex system, the character who has the most creativity and change within the story, is characterized according to Montuori as paradoxical because this character is both passionate and objective". While I understood Montuori's ideas of paradoxical, in this context, I found myself exploring a system that I often use in my professional life called "Real Colors". This is a system that takes information, gathered in the form of several questions and allows for an analysis and ultimately highlights the breakdown of your personality type. There are four different personality types that are represented by colors. Relating this back to creativity, I viewed the idea of creativity being paradoxical through the heuristic of "Real Colors". In the analysis, orange represents someone who is adventurous and energetic, and is usually a great personality at the start. If you need buy in on an idea or project, typically the test recommends using them as a start, because they bring an energy that will bring others along with them. With this comes from drawbacks, as they can be seen as stubborn or not as detail oriented. Gold on the other hand is structured but is not as charismatic as the oranges. These two are hypothetically opposed and yet, there are people who are both colors as dominate personalities. Exploring The Lorax, it seems like Ted has the orange needed to get these ideas to take off, but also has a the structure, needed to follow through. Relating it back to systems, this is him as system, turning inputs like information from Audrey about wanting a tree, and the seed from the Once-ler and turns it into change. Using “Real Colors” as a method for characterizing the creative individual within an open system is something I think is worth exploring after reading your first paragraph in interpretation because it may help give a better understanding of who may be more susceptible to a creative approach. It is worth noting that similar to leadership, the colors test is not something that is an end all be all, but something that could change help people adapt approaches to be a better leader or communicator.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. First of all, thank you for commenting and sharing this insight. I have never heard of "Real Colors" but certainly will look into this. I am curious about the meaning you mentioned because for example, orange does not convey "someone who is adventure and energetic" to me. It actually causes stress because I strongly dislike the color orange. This color has different meaning to me, so much so that I do not even wear orange in my wardrobe. How do you think personal experience to color and other prior opinions play a role in this established "Real Colors" theory? This is something I thought of watching the Lorax film as the colors were used strategically, I understand, but in some cases, these colors are misinterpreted according to their intention. At one point I wondered why the Lorax was orange, but could not come up with any reason besides it being a contrast to the color green, which was important in this film. This lens was interesting to look through, thank you!
DeleteI loved your analysis of the film! You make some very insightful points about the capitalist and consumerist mindset that dominates the American experience. O’Hare’s exploitation of natural resources and the commercialization of clean air underscores the dangers of prioritizing profit over the planet. The bottled air scenario is a sharp critique of how we commodify even the most basic necessities. This really isn’t that far off base - just think of the big business of bottled water.
ReplyDeleteYour reflections on the film’s emotional impact and the use of color and music to evoke specific feelings are spot-on. The strategic use of these elements enhances the storytelling and helps viewers, especially children, connect with the film’s themes on a visceral level. These elements all stood out to me as well and were the driving force of my heightened emotional reaction. The stark contrast between the imagery of a healthy forest and the post-thneed forest is incredibly impactful.
Moreover, your interpretation of open systems in relation to the film provides a valuable framework for understanding the dynamic interplay between the characters and their environment. The parallels you draw between “The Lorax” and “Avatar” highlight the universal and interconnected nature of ecological storytelling. Humans have been telling stories for eons that illustrate that we are just one part of a more extensive system, and our actions can pose dire consequences for the whole.
Thank you for your comment and insight. I love that you said humans are storytellers because that it clear throughout history although the platform we use to convey messages have changed dramatically. Such as movies and films, like the Lorax, that teaches younger generations big life lessons. They are first captivated by the colors and fun characters but we hope they subliminally understand the end message. It was a great example of how powerful film can be in sharing stories/lessons.
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