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Alison Skirtboston

Skirt! Boston editor

Skirt! is evidence that the universe is paying attention: I spent the last six years at mach speed, whether finishing college (Emerson) while writing full time for Boston Globe West (2001-2004) or editing the Boston Parents’ Paper during the day while holding down the steady gig writing for Globe ...

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Pixar for President

Alison, editor

I hope I wasn’t the last person on earth to see Pixar’s new movie, Wall*E (little joke there for those in the know)..

Here’s my unreserved endorsement: GO SEE IT. And take a corporate executive with you!

And it’s not just because he’s so cute.
You know the story: this little robot is left on a barren, waste-strewn Earth to clean up our unbridled consumerism. He toils, collecting trinkets that catch his eye (like the Rubic’s Cube, above) and “living” a very mundane existence until a space ship arrives and deposits another robotic creature nearby.

The story line is simple enough for your 3-year-old to enjoy and understand. But, unlike an adult who decides that what’s on the screen isn’t for real, a kid may be scared by the images Pixar has created... because they may be pretty close to the truth that we don’t like to face. They’re images like giant dust storms and towering mounds of trash.

But who is Pixar aiming the message at? Parents of kids who are likely to feel responsible for the way things are going? They’re really taking easy shots at consumerism without pointing a finger directly at the huge corporations that are shaping the environment worldwide.

Check out this abstract from the Georgetown University Environmental Law Review:

The results of the MA, a four-year comprehensive environmental analysis by 1360 of the world's top scientists ... warns that nearly two-thirds of the ecosystem services-such as provision of fresh water and the regulation of climate and air quality-on which human society depends are being degraded or used unsustainably, a trend that could "grow significantly worse" over the next fifty years if human society does not alter its course. [...] human activity, including the pursuit of economic gain, "is putting such strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted."

Of course Pixar is using its talent pool to do what it does best: tickle our consciences and poke our expanding bellies. It’s up to us to connect the dots between that and, perhaps, voting (or not eating beef?).

So, why Pixar for President? Because you have to admit there’s a problem before you can start to correct it. And our government hasn’t taken that step.