Book Of Revelation Vs Wall-E Essay

The Book of Revelation and the movie WALL-E serve as distinct forms of apocalyptic literature to expose the reality of the human condition beneath the surface. Even though there are blatant disconnects between the two, they both share common ground as criticisms of society and to warn humanity of its coming judgement. The Book of Revelation and WALL-E offer a frightening yet rectifiable future for humanity by remaining loyal to its “core values”. One of their most evident similarities is how they both harshly critique dominant society in their respective periods of time. Additionally, they both address the urgency for humanity to correct these societal issues before judgement arises. Consequently, the Book of Revelation and WALL-E can be interpreted as learning lessons for humanity by the

writers calling attention to societal flaws that must be corrected swiftly. In the Book of Revelation, John tells the story of God’s wrath on humanity for refusing to repent and how he eventually develops into one of the “monsters” of Revelation who poses as a threat to the well-being of humanity due to their rebelliousness. In particular, God is angered by the complacency of Christians in “Babylon” (Rome) for assimilating into dominant Roman society as a result of the persecution they suffered due to their faith. Consequently, they have no longer remained faithful to their core values as God commanded. God’s vengeance upon the people for transgressing his command is explicated when the last of the three angels who have come to proclaim God’s judgement upon Babylon addresses those who have chosen the beast over God by crying, “‘Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their forehead or on their hands, they will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb”’ (14.9-10). In this case, God’s fury and relentlessness are conveyed to the reader through his warning to humanity of the coming severe death and destruction due to their disobedience. Accordingly, the people have only aggravated God further by worshipping his enemy, “the beast” over himself by receiving the “mark” on their bodies. As a result, this passage can be interpreted as a strong critique of society’s “hardness of heart” as it pertains to God. This ultimately provokes him to unleash merciless destruction upon Babylon in order to cleanse the Earth of its wickedness. This act is also necessary to establish a “new heaven and earth”. On the other hand, WALL-E also holds a similar underlying theme in its critique of society today. The director of the movie is able to convey his concerns for the state of present-day society by addressing issues including: pollution, obesity, mass-consumerism, and technology. Yet, unlike the Book of Revelation, the humans are already living in a post-apocalyptic society and never face judgement from a higher-power figure such as God. Therefore, the director is suggesting God’s absence and inability to prevent humanity from polluting the Earth, and that we are held solely accountable for our actions. Hence, the humans are forced to evacuate into space as part of their judgement for remaining complacent in a society that glorifies materialism and mass-consumerism. Now, there are also striking disparities in how the humans are judged in both narratives as well. In particular, the most glaring disconnects between the two narratives concern the severity of humanity’s judgement and the distinction drawn between the people who are judged and condemned. In the Book of Revelation, the people are inflicted with severe punishment and destruction in comparison to WALL-E.

This definite contrast is exemplified when the seventh bowl of God’s wrath is poured by the seventh angel to indicate the ending of God’s judgement as John then proclaims, “And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake, such as had not occurred since people were upon the earth, so violent was that earthquake” (16.18). As a result, this reveals God’s rage with an entire collective of people for refusing to repent of committing wicked acts such as the “worshipping [of] demons and idols” (9.20). Whereas in WALL-E, the humans never encounter death and destruction unleashed by the wrath of God for refusing to address societal issues. Instead, they are all given the opportunity to flee from Earth with the help of the monopolistic company “Buy ‘n’ Large”, which builds a gigantic spaceship named the “Axiom” for the humans to populate space. Even more, all of humanity is given a second chance for survival even after receiving harsh judgement. Another disconnect between the two is how in the Book of Revelation it is proclaimed that only the 144,000 of Israel were given salvation from God’s wrath as a reward for remaining faithful to the

end. Consequently, according to one of the elders who addresses John when referring to their salvation, he indicates, “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,” (7.16-17). Meanwhile, in WALL-E, every human is offered the opportunity to flee from Earth when it becomes uninhabitable, and no specific group of people is denied access to salvation since all the humans receive the same judgement collectively and not one person is hurt during the process. When the robots WALL-E and EVE notify the Axiom’s captain of the Earth’s re-inhabitability, all of humanity returns to Earth and none are further punished. Whereas in Revelation, the dead and living are judged according to their actions on whether or not they will be punished or praised in the kingdom. Therefore, WALL-E can be interpreted as a more optimistic future for the wicked given the mild judgement they face in comparison to Revelation, whereas Revelation gives hope to the righteous for their salvation when the day of judgement arises. Nonetheless, both narratives offer promise to those who strive to remain faithful to their “core values” by restricting the complacent effect society has coerced upon humanity.